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<br />m <br /> <br />FLOOD INSURANCE <br /> <br />Flood insurance coverage is available from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to <br />all owners and occupants of insurable property (buildings and their contents) in communities <br />that participate in the NFIP. <br /> <br />Walled and roofed buildings that are principally above ground and not entirely over water may be insured if <br />they are located in a participating NFIP community. Flood insurance is available to all buildings in a partici- <br />pating community whether the buildings are in or out of the flood plain. This coverage is also available for <br />manufactured homes that are anchored to permanent foundations. Up to 10 percent of the policy value for <br />building coverage may apply to a detached garage or carport on the same lot. Contents within insurable <br />walled and roofed buildings also may be insured under a separate coverage. An NFIP policy does not cover <br />items such as paneling, carpeting, furniture and contents in the unfinished portion of a basement or enclosure <br />underneath an elevated building, travel trailers, converted buses or vans, valuable papers, and land values. <br /> <br />The purchase of flood insurance is required for buildings located in a special flood hazard area as a condition <br />of having a Federally-backed mortgage or home improvement loan, and obtaining Federal disaster assistance. <br />NFIP flood insurance is available through private insurance companies and agents. All companies offer <br />identical coverage and rates. <br /> <br />Insurance rates for new structures are set on the basis of designated flood hazard zones and the elevation of <br />the building or structure in relation to the expected flood level in that particular location. This rate structure <br />provides an incentive to property owners to elevate buildings in exchange for receiving the financial benefits <br />of lower insurance rates. <br /> <br />Any new or substantially improved (including substantial damage) residential building must be elevated to or <br />above the base flood elevation (BFE). Flood proofing (other than elevation) is not recognized as meeting this <br />NFIP requirement. A residential building is considered to be substantially improved when the cost of any re- <br />construction, rehabilitation addition or other improvements equals or exceeds 50 percent of the value of the <br />building. Elevating a building above the BFE does not eliminate the requirement to purchase flood insurance <br />unless the property is removed from the special flood hazard area by obtaining a Letter of Map Revision <br />(LOMR). Even though a building is elevated, the potential exists for residual damage or a catastrophic event <br />that exceeds the BFE. <br /> <br />Almost all of the nation's communities with serious flooding potential have joined the NFIP. Propertyown- <br />ers who do not presently have flood insurance should consider purchasing a flood insurance policy if they <br />are located in a flood prone area. While damages to the building and its contents from flooding are not al- <br />ways preventable, flood insurance will lower the financial burden to the property owner when damage <br />occurs. To find out if flood insurance is available in their community, property owners should contact <br />their insurance agent or local building official. Property owners who already have flood insurance should <br />find out whether the coverage is adequate. <br /> <br />E!] LEVEL OF PROTECTION <br /> <br />Flood proofing measures may be designed to provide different levels of protection depend- <br />ing on the factors discussed in this document. Level of protection is generally defined by the <br />probability (percent chance) of flood magnitude required to exceed the capability of the flood <br />proofing measure in any given year. Annual exceedance probabilities are expressed in decimals less than <br />1.0, such as 0.10, which means one chance in ten. A more likely flood with a probability of 0.5 would be <br />equivalent to one chance in two. Companion terms for these probabilities are flood frequency in average <br />numbers of years, i.e. lO-year and 2-year. The level of protection may be constrained because of depth of <br />water, velocity of water, condition of the building, site conditions, cost of flood proofing, etc. <br /> <br />6 <br />