FEDERAL PROGRAMS · 6 MIN READ

SFIP Forms, Limits, and Exclusions

The NFIP sells one federal contract — the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) — in three forms matched to the occupancy. The Dwelling Form covers one-to-four-family residences, the General Property Form covers other residential and non-residential buildings, and the Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP) covers condominium associations. Maximum limits for a single-family dwelling are $250,000 on the building and $100,000 on contents; non-residential limits under the General Property Form run to $500,000 building and $500,000 contents. These caps have not changed since 1994, so buyers who need more protection purchase private excess flood insurance above the NFIP layer. Just as important as what the SFIP covers is what it refuses to cover. There is no loss-of-use or additional living expense coverage — even when flooding makes the home uninhabitable — which is a sharp contrast with a standard homeowners policy's Coverage D. The SFIP excludes earth movement, including earthquake, landslide, and gradual erosion; the single exception is mudflow, defined as a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surface of normally dry land. Mudslides that are true earth movement are excluded. Other key exclusions include land subsidence, losses already in progress when coverage attaches, pre-existing damage, crops and livestock, and most foundation elements. Contents located in basements face severe carve-outs, with only limited categories covered. One more structural point: the SFIP pays only for direct physical loss by or from its defined flood. Wind and windstorm are excluded. When a hurricane produces both wind damage and storm-surge flooding, the homeowners carrier pays the wind portion, the NFIP pays the flood portion (storm surge qualifies as flood), and adjusters allocate the loss by cause with no double recovery — federal law imposes no automatic split.