Flood Insurance

53 terms

Flood Insurance terms

2 to 4 Family Residence A residential building (excluding hotels and motels with normal room rentals for less than 6 months' duration) containing no more than four dwelling units.
Act The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and any amendments to it.
Actual Cash Value (ACV) (ACV) The value of your property, based on the current cost to replace it minus depreciation.
Base Flood The flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
Base Flood Elevation (BFE) (BFE) The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Zones AE, AH, A1-A30, AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/A1-A30, AR/AH, AR/AO, V1-V30, and VE that…
Basement Any area of the building, including any sunken room or sunken portion of a room, having its floor below ground level (subgrade) on all sides.
Breakaway wall A wall that is not part of the structural support of the building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse under specific lateral…
Community A political entity that has the authority to adopt and enforce floodplain ordinances for the area under its jurisdiction.
Community Rating System (CRS) (CRS) A program developed by the FEMA Mitigation Division to provide incentives for those communities in the National Flood Insurance Program that have gone…
Condominium That form of ownership of real property in which each unit owner has an undivided interest in common elements.
Elevated Building A building that has no basement and has its lowest elevated floor raised above the ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings…
Elevation Certificate A certificate that verifies the elevation data of a structure on a given property relative to the ground level.
Emergency Program The initial phase of a community's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Enclosure That portion of an elevated building below the lowest elevated floor that is either partially or fully shut-in by rigid walls.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (FEMA) Federal agency responsible for the emergency evaluation and response to all disasters, natural and man-made.
Federal Policy Fee A flat charge that the policyholder must pay on each new or renewal policy to defray certain administrative expenses incurred in carrying out the National…
Flood A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least…
Flood Disaster Protection Act (FDPA) of 1973 (FDPA) Made the purchase of flood insurance mandatory for the protection of property located in Special Flood Hazard Areas.
Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) (FHBM) Official map of a community issued by the Federal Insurance Administrator, where the boundaries of the flood, mudflow, and related erosion areas having…
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) (FIRM) Official map of a community on which the Mitigation Division Administrator has delineated both the special hazard areas and the risk premium zones…
Flood Zone (Zone) A geographical area shown on a Flood Hazard Boundary Map or a Flood Insurance Rate Map that reflects the severity or type of flooding in the area.
Floodplain Any land area susceptible to being inundated by floodwaters from any source.
Floodplain Management The operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to, emergency preparedness…
Grandfathering An exemption based on circumstances previously existing. Under the NFIP, buildings located in Emergency Program communities and Pre-Flood Insurance Rate…
Group Flood Insurance Policy (GFIP) (GFIP) Issued by the NFIP Direct Program in response to a presidential disaster declaration.
Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) (ICC) Coverage for expenses a property owner must incur, above and beyond the cost to repair the physical damage the structure actually sustained from a…
Lowest Floor The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including a basement). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles…
Mandatory Purchase Under the provisions of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, individuals, businesses, and others buying, building, or improving property located in…
Manufactured (Mobile) Home A structure, built on a permanent chassis, transported to a site in one or more sections, and affixed to a permanent foundation.
Mitigation Division A division under FEMA that manages the NFIP and oversees FEMA’s mitigation programs.
Mobile home To be eligible for coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program, a mobile home must be on a permanent foundation and meet specific anchoring…
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) (NFIP) The program of flood insurance coverage and floodplain management administered under the Flood Disaster Protection Act (FDPA or Act) and applicable…
National Flood Insurance Reform Act (NFIRA) (NFIRA) The purpose of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 is to improve the financial condition of the NFIP and reduce federal expenditures for…
Non-Residential Includes, but is not limited to: small business concerns, churches, schools, farm buildings (including grain bins and silos), pool houses, clubhouses…
Non-Special Flood Hazard Area (NSFHA) (NSFHA) An area in a low to moderate risk flood zone (Zones B, C, X) that is not in any immediate danger from flooding caused by overflowing rivers or hard rains.
Other Residential Hotels and motels where the normal occupancy of a guest is 6 months or more; a tourist home or rooming house which has more than four roomers.
Participating Community A community for which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the sale of flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program…
Policy The contract form issued by the company to explain the coverage provided. It is a legal document.
Post-FIRM Building A building for which construction or substantial improvement occurred after December 31, 1974, or on or after the effective date of an initial Flood…
Pre-FIRM Building A building for which construction or substantial improvement occurred on or before December 31, 1974, or before the effective date of an initial Flood…
Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) (PRP) A policy that offers fixed combinations of building/contents coverage or contents-only coverage at modest, fixed premiums.
Probation Surcharge (Premium) A flat charge that the policyholder must pay on each new or renewal policy issued covering property in a community that the NFIP has placed on probation…
Regular Program The final phase of a community's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Replacement Cost Value (RCV) (RCV) The cost to replace property with the same kind of material and construction without deduction for depreciation.
Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP) (RCBAP) Policy issued to insure a residential condominium building and all units within the building, provided that the building is located in a Regular Program…
Single-Family Residence A residential single family dwelling. Incidental office, professional, private school, or studio occupancies, including a small service operation, are…
Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) (SFHA) An area defined on a Flood Insurance Rate Map with an associated risk of flooding.
Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) (SFIP) Policy issued to insure a building and/or its contents.
Submit-for-Rate An application for flood insurance on a building for which no risk rate is published in the Flood Insurance Manual.
Waiting Period The time between the date of application and the policy effective date.
Wave Height Adjustment A measurement that is added to the base flood elevation for V Zones shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map published prior to 1981.
Write Your Own (WYO) Program (WYO) A cooperative undertaking of the insurance industry and FEMA begun in October 1983.
Zone A geographical area shown on a Flood Hazard Boundary Map or a Flood Insurance Rate Map that reflects the severity or type of flooding in the area.

Sources

National Flood Insurance Glossary 53 definitions