4 Types of Basements and How They Can Impact Your Flood Insurance Rates

Today we are discussing 4 types of basements and how they can impact your flood insurance rates. The 4 types of basements are walk out, full, finished, and unfinished. So lets discuss these types of basements.

Walk out Basements

Walk out basements are just like they sound they have an entry way from outside the home. Because of these not all asides of the basement are below grade and they can have a lower impact on flood insurance rates. It's also important to understand that many times walk out basements can be mistaken for split level slab homes. It all depends on how the grade runs along the outside of the home.

​Full basements

Full basements are generally basements that are below grade on each side with no entry way from the outside. Full basements can cause flood insurance rates to be higher because they will generally be more negatively elevated than other basement types. While they don't have the risk of allowing water to come through a door way they do have the risk of allowing water in through other areas like windows or even through the ground. Its important to understand that flood insurance will not generally pay out for damages from water that comes from the ground.

Finished Basements
Finished basements can create a major financial risk for property owners because coverages for basements are generally limited. Things like drywall, carpet, window treatments are not covered by the National Flood Insurance Program policy. You can get additional coverages for basements with a private flood insurance policies that will provide additional content coverages.

Unfinished Basements
​Unfinished basements can also have a minimal impact on flood insurance rates. One reason is there is not much to cover and not much that can get destroyed. Things that are generally covered in these types of basements are freezers, washers, dryers, circuit breakers, and furnaces.

Its always important to review flood insurance policies before purchasing to see how your basement will impact your flood insurance rates and what coverages are available.
If you have questions about how your basement might be impacting your flood insurance rates please visit our website Flood Insurance Guru, our YouTube channel The Flood Insurance Guru, or our Facebook page The Flood Insurance Guru where we do daily flood education videos. You can also click the link below.