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Flood Adjusting

Flood Understanding and Recovering from One of Nature's Worst Disasters

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interruption losses. Losses from mudflow and land subsidence that result from erosion that is specifically covered under the definition of flood, are covered. (Please see definition of flood on page 2.)

Basements
Basements are the most misunderstood areas when adjusting flood losses. A basement is defined as "any area of the building, including any sunken room or sunken portion of a room, having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides." However, if a room is subgrade on three sides, and has at least one walkout door (a door opening onto dry land where the ground is lower than the finished floor of the subgrade room), the room is not considered a basement. Many exclusions apply to basements unless there is a walkout door.

Property covered in a basement:

• Unpainted drywall and ceilings
• Sewer lines (if backed up)
• Sump pumps
• Well water tanks and pumps
• Fuel tanks and the fuel in them
• Cisterns and the water in them
• Pumps and/or tanks used in conjunction with solar energy
• Central air conditioners
• Non-flammable insulation
• Furnaces and water heaters
• Clothes washers and dryers
• Food freezers and the food in them
• Heat pumps
• Electrical junction and circuit breaker boxes
• Stairways and staircases attached to the building that are not separated from the building by elevated walkways
• Elevators, dumbwaiters and relevant equipment, except for
• such relevant equipment located below the base flood elevation if such relevant equipment was installed on or after Oct. 1, 1987
• Clean-up costs

Property not covered in a basement:

• Contents or personal property
• Finished walls, floors and ceilings
• Doors
• Cabinets
• Stoves, dishwashers
• Any building equipment not specifically listed

NFIP will not cover anything below the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). The BFE is determined by FEMA and represented on contour maps that are very hard for most people, including adjusters, to understand.

Garden-Style Apartments
Garden-style apartments and their "basement" units present a unique

problem in flood adjusting. There are thousands of these apartments in the country, and they are usually comprised of two levels; however, often the first floor is several feet below ground. Unfortunately, unless there is a walkout door, the bottom level is considered a basement and many items are not covered by flood insurance. In certain instances, when a flood strikes such apartments, determining what is covered and what is not can be tricky.

For example, in 1996 a widespread flood devastated Grand Forks, North Dakota, when the Red River overflowed its banks. Water levels reached up to six feet or higher on city streets, and roughly half the