Couple told their living room is a ‘basement,’ not covered under flood policy

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — After 12 years of faithfully paying for flood insurance, Jaime Giangrande-Holcom and her husband filed a claim, after Hurricane Helene flooded their Town N’ Country home.

They tell me their claim hit a major snag when the insurance adjuster said the 3 1/2 inch “step down” means their living room is classified as a basement and not covered.

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“It’s ridiculous,” Giangrande-Holcom said. “It’s ridiculous. To even come out and say the word basement in the state of Florida is comical. I grew up in New York, and I know what a basement looks like. I lived in basements. This is not a basement.”

The couple have a policy through the national flood insurance program, administered by FEMA.
This year’s premium was $3,800.

“Measurement wise it’s 4 1/2 inches coming up into our house, and it’s a 3 1/2 inch stepdown into our basement,” she said.

Those measurements give Giangrande-Holcom hope she can prove her living room is not below ground level and not a basement. She says she worries others will soon being going through the same thing.

NFIP describes a “basement” as any area of a building, including any sunken room or sunken portion of a room, having its floor below ground level (subgrade) on all sides.

Typically it only covers “essential building elements and systems” like AC, furnaces, electrical outlets and switches, unfinished drywall, stairs attached to the building and foundation elements.

A spokesperson for FEMA sent this statement:

“It is crucial for homeowners to understand what their policy does and does not cover when purchasing flood insurance to avoid out-of-pocket expenses. Online resources exist to help policyholders understand coverage decisions and how to appeal a decision.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) considers a sunken living room a basement when it has a floor below ground level (subgrade) on all sides. In this situation the 3 ½ inch stepdown (sunken) area of the referenced home is considered a basement and there would be limited coverage in this area as a result.

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