The Basement Dilemma for Flood Coverage
/For many homeowners with basements, it is another very vital part of the home. For many that have basements that have to file a floodplain it is a troubling reality. The national flood insurance program does not cover finished basements.
Your basement is covered for the most basic of items. For example, all of the walls that had drywall on them in your basement can be put back but not finished and painted as per the national flood program.
Your electrical, air conditioning and heating, water heater, and freezer can all be covered by flood insurance. Your electrical will also be covered as it pertains to the basement and supplying electricity to the remainder of the home. Your flood coverage will often take care of sump pumps as well.
Your coverage will also take care of things you store in the basement and even replace windows that were broken due to storm.
Because of this limitation that is put on basements under the national flood insurance program it is more important than ever to make sure that you use services that we provide a Global Patriot Adjusters to get every dime available for this space. It is just as important to get the insurance company to pay for all items that are comparable in the basement as it is to make sure the insurance provider is paying market rates.
We recently dealt with a basement where the carrier had only offered the homeowners $23,000 for what we assessed at $46,255. But a strong attention to detail and bringing factors to the attention of the carrier, we were able to get this project fully funded.
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This rule regarding basements, applies to any area in your home that is below the base level of your home. This rule may come into effect if you have any area of your home which is sunken even for an architectural effect.
At times insurance carriers will misappropriate the basement clause in the national flood insurance program. We see many occasions where a first floor is called a basement wrongly, and we must resolve this with the carrier in our scope of services we provide.
