FLOOD02918

• County: Denver
• Community: Denver
• Stream Name: South Platte River
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: Estimation of Flood Depth-Damage Curves for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Properties in the Denver Region
• Date: 10/1/1977
• Prepared For: CWCB
• Prepared By: Wayne J. Grahm ‎(Master of Science Candidate at CSU)‎
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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FIA CLAIM FILES

TWo visits were made to the flood insurance servicing company for

this area, CNA. They handle flood claims in the states of Colorado, New

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Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Their flood claim files were analyzed but

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due to the small number of claims on file and the relatively minor flood

events and corresponding shallow flood depths experienced, it was not

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thought that any valid relationships could be derived from the data. The

claims on file at CNA go back approximately one year. Claims for flooding

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in earlier years are on file at NFIA in Arlington, Virginia, but the author

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was not granted access to these records. It is interesting to note that

from January 1 through the end of August, 1977, $51,074 had been paid by

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NFIA for losses in the four-state area. This was based upon 43 closed

claims, 22 of which were closed without payment. Of those closed without

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payment, either the damage did not exceed the deductible or the damage was

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not the direct result of "flooding"; the definition of which is in the

Standard Flood. Insurance Policy, This results in an average loss payment of

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approximately $4,645 and an average of $2,430 per closed claim. The cost

for adjustment of the 43 closed claims ran to $4,586 or approximately $107

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per claim. From this, it can be deduced that to do a good post damage flood

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survey for residential and small businesses on the average $100 in time and

materials would have to be spent to develop dependable damage estimates.

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