Flood insurance has many limitations

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Nov. 17, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

Area residents who need flood insurance the most may not qualify for it, according to state and federal officials.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources held forums concerning flood insurance for the public, insurance agents and local government officials Monday and Tuesday in Bemidji, with the most important information for landowners coming in Monday's session.

About 25 area residents learned that even though they may have purchased a flood insurance policy from the National Flood Insurance Program or from an insurance company, their losses may not be covered if caused strictly by underground flooding.

DNR Permits and Land Use Administrator John Stine said Tuesday that some who attend Monday night's session for home owners left "frustrated" because their losses won't be covered if caused by the largest problem in Beltrami County -- a rising water table.

Since May, Beltrami County residents have been battling a steadily rising water table which has destroyed basements in homes, business property and even a church. Problems have been extreme in Northern, Grant Valley and Eckles Township.

There's been little help for the victims because even the ones pumping water out of their homes face more water seeping through the ground. The problem is unlike a rising lake where the water can be drawn down in numerous ways.

Stine said Tuesday those faced with such problems should focus their attention on local government officials for help because most state and federal flood relief money is channeled to local governments. Property owners not covered by insurance and not eligible for government aid are caught in a bind, he added, stressing the importance of talking to local officials.

"It would be the best to call and shop ideas with local county and city officials," Stine said. "They are the ones who might have some ideas. But there is no good government fit for their problems."

In addition, Stine said, local officials also will be able to help property owners determine if they will qualify for flood insurance or some other type of program because each flooding case is determined on a case-by-case basis.

"If you're experiencing lake flooding problems there's maybe some things to help. If you're experiencing ground water problems, there's probably not much there to help you," Stine said. "But if it's something in between, well, maybe, maybe, maybe."

Stine added that those who do suffer damages from surface water flooding will need to demonstrate a "general condition of flooding," meaning that the victim's property and two adjacent properties are flooded.

He said that those who do qualify should also understand what flood insurance covers because there are many misunderstandings.

Here is a sampling of flood insurance regulations:

• Each permanent structure requires a separate flood insurance policy. So a house and a garage would require two policies.

• Flood content insurance will cover home furnishings and such, but only at their actual value -- not at replacement value.

• Contents in basements, however, are not covered.

• Items outside of the insured structure are not covered.

• Automobiles have to be covered by a comprehensive auto insurance policy.

• And portable storage structures and their contents are not covered.

"Flood insurance is for structures and contents -- similar to homeowner's insurance," he said. "But since homeowner's insurance doesn't cover floods, that's what flood insurance is for."