Building Property Coverage

Why is it so important to be able to correctly identify a basement as defined by the NFIP?

Because there are coverage restrictions that apply, the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) offers limited building coverage and very limited personal property coverage within basements.

The SFIP restricts building coverage to items listed in Coverage A (Building Property). This coverage list applies to all basements regardless of the building’s date of construction or its flood zone.

The 17 named building items are covered if installed in their functioning locations and, if necessary for operation, connected to a power source. Cleanup is also covered.

The Building Property items insured in a basement are limited to the following:

  • Central air conditioners
  • Cisterns and the water in them
  • Drywall for walls and ceilings in a basement and the cost of labor to nail it, unfinished and un-floated and not taped, to the framing
  • Electrical junction and circuit breaker boxes
  • Electrical outlets and switches
  • Elevators, dumbwaiters, and related equipment except for related equipment installed below the Base Flood Elevation after September 30, 1987
  • Fuel tanks and fuel in them
  • Furnaces and hot water heaters
  • Heat pumps
  • Non-flammable insulation in a basement
  • Pumps and tanks used in solar energy systems
  • Stairways and staircases that are attached to the building
  • Sump pumps
  • Water softeners and the chemicals in them, water filters, and faucets installed as an integral part of the plumbing system
  • Well water tanks and pumps
  • Required utility connections for items on this list
  • Structural items such as footings, foundations, posts, pilings, piers, or other foundation walls and anchorage systems required to support the building
  • Cleanup for covered items