Ins and outs of flood insurance [American News, Aberdeen, S.D.]

Ashford said people often have a couple of questions about flood policies:

Q. How is a flood defined?

A. Simply put, a flood involves temporary surface water on more than one piece of property or multiple acres, Ashford said.

"This is flood policy, and a flood is surface water," he said.

Q. What do flood insurance policies cover?

A. Flood insurance policies don't cover damage caused by seepage that's not from surface water and don't cover sewer backup damage unless the backup is caused by surface water. They do cover surface water that runs in through windows and causes damage.

Policies for residences cover as much as $250,000 in flood damage to homes, Ashford said. As much as $100,000 in coverage is available for contents, though that requires an extra premium charge. While there is 10 percent coverage for detached garages, separate policies are needed to cover other structures on your home's property.

Premiums for the most basic flood insurance policies for homes in low- and moderate-risk flood zones start at $129 annually, according to information from FEMA. But policies can cost considerably more, especially for people who live in high-risk zones.

Basements

Flood policies also offer limited coverage for basements. They will pay for pumping out water, cleaning up basements, drywall, insulation, new studs, foundation damage and new appliances, Ashford said. But they won't cover the cost of finish work like painting or putting on siding. Some contents stored in basements are also covered, he said.

A basement is defined as any room or portion of a room that has its floor below grade on all sides.

Ashford said a presidential disaster declaration is not needed for flood insurance claims to be paid.

While it's been a mild winter and the prospect of flooding appears low, FEMA officials urge residents to keep their flood insurance policies in place. Trying to guess when it might flood is dangerous because natural disasters don't follow schedules, they said.

"Don't try and time it," Ashford said of buying a flood insurance policy.

Policies don't go into effect until 30 days after they're purchased.

A big reason that flood policies have the caveats they do is that premiums have to cover the cost of the program, Ashford said. The federal flood insurance program is not subsidized by the federal government, he said.

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