About Flood Insurance Coverage
Building versus Contents Coverage:
Flood insurance protects two types of insurable property: building and contents. The first covers your building, the latter covers your possessions; neither covers the land they occupy.
Building coverage includes:
- The insured building and its foundation
- The electrical and plumbing system
- Central air conditioning equipment, furnaces, and water heaters
- Refrigerators, cooking stoves, and built-in appliances such as dishwashers
- Permanently installed carpeting over unfinished flooring
Contents coverage includes:
- Clothing, furniture, and electronic equipment
- Curtains
- Portable and window air conditioners
- Portable microwaves and dishwashers
- Carpeting that is not already included in property coverage
- Clothing washers and dryers
What's Not Covered
- Damage caused by moisture, mildew, or mold that could have been avoided by the property owner.
- Currency, precious metals, and valuable papers such as stock certificates.
- Property and belongings outside of an insured building such as trees, plants, wells, septic systems, walks, decks, patios, fences, seawalls, hot tubs, and swimming pools.
- Living expenses such as temporary housing.
- Financial losses caused by business interruption or loss of use of insured property.
- Most self-propelled vehicles such as cars, including their parts (see Section IV.5 in your policy)
Flood Insurance for Basements and Areas Below the Lowest Elevated Floor
Coverage is limited in basements regardless of zone or date of construction. It's also limited in areas below the lowest elevated floor, depending on the flood zone and date of construction. These areas include:
- Basements
- Crawlspaces under an elevated building.
- Enclosed areas beneath buildings elevated on full-story foundation walls that are sometimes referred to as "walkout basements"
- Enclosed areas under other types of elevated buildings
The two most common reimbursement methods for flood claims are: Replacement Cost Value (RCV) and Actual Cash Value (ACV). The RCV is the cost to replace damaged property. It is reimbursable to owners of single-family, primary residences insured to within 80% of the building's replacement cost.
All other buildings and personal property (i.e. contents) are valued at ACV. The ACV is the RCV at the time of the loss minus physical depreciation. Personal property is always valued using the ACV.
