Hurricane Debby caused significant rains and flash floods in the Southeast this week; it has already subsided into a post-tropical storm. Despite this reduction, as the storm advances up the coastline, it is anticipated to produce substantial rainfall and perhaps floods in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas.
Many homes have acquired flood insurance to guard against such occurrences. They might be shocked to learn, though, that damage to personal belongings kept in basements is frequently not covered by flood insurance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that 90% of yearly disaster-related damage in the United States is caused by flooding. A home can sustain up to $25,000 in damage from even one inch of water. Flood damage is not covered by most homeowners’ and renters’ insurance plans despite this danger. Instead, homeowners need to get a separate flood insurance policy, which covers losses from storm surges, heavy rains, or overflowing bodies of water that allow water to enter a property from the ground up.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) of FEMA provides the majority of flood insurance coverage in the United States. By the end of 2023, almost 4.4 million residential NFIP insurance were owned by Americans, with a total of $1.2 trillion in coverage. Even with these plans available, a large number of homeowners do not have insurance. The Wharton Danger Center at the University of Pennsylvania estimates that just 30% of residences in the areas most in danger of flooding have flood insurance.
Claims for individuals who do have coverage can be significant. In 2023, over 21,000 policyholders submitted claims, with an average payout of around $46,000. According to FEMA, the average yearly premium for flood insurance was $700 in 2019.
NFIP plans do not cover personal property and other objects kept in basements, which is one of their major drawbacks. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a basement is any part of a structure below ground level on all sides. This definition can include partially below-ground areas like sunken living rooms, crawlspaces, and lower floors of split-level buildings.
According to FEMA, the following items are frequently not protected in a basement under NFIP standards:
- Personal belongings, including apparel, gadgets, and furnishings
- Enhancements to the basement, such as completed walls, floors, and fixtures for bathrooms
- Generators and related apparatus
- Some dehumidifiers
- Things kept in a basement without access to electricity
FEMA suggests that policyholders who are worried about flood danger relocate important things from basements to higher ground or storage facilities.
Yet, there are a few outliers. Some basement goods could be protected if policyholders acquire supplementary “contents coverage” and the objects are connected to a power source. Among them are:
- Clothes washers and dryers
- Portable or window air conditioning units
- Food freezers and their contents (excluding walk-in freezers)
- Private insurers may offer more comprehensive basement coverage, but it varies by provider.
FEMA also outlines the types of structural elements in basements that are covered under NFIP policies, which include:
- Central air conditioning units
- Fuel tanks and the fuel inside them
- Furnaces and water heaters
- Sump pumps, heat pumps, and well water tanks and pumps
- Electrical outlets, switches, and junction boxes
- Elevators and dumbwaiters
- Certain drywall
- Stairways and staircases attached to the building
- Foundation elements and anchorage systems required to support the building
- Policyholders can also seek compensation for cleanup costs associated with flooding, such as pumping out water, mold and mildew treatment, and structural drying.
To speed up the claims process, FEMA advises policyholders to record the make, model, serial number, and capacity of any equipment located in their basements.
Hurricanes such as Hurricane Debby draw attention to the weaknesses in present flood insurance policies, particularly with regard to basements. To address these vulnerabilities, FEMA has suggested improvements to the NFIP program that might potentially improve policyholders’ basement coverage.
Since climate change is predicted to increase storm frequency and intensity, homeowners are recommended to carefully evaluate their flood insurance policies to understand what is and isn’t covered.
