A building that has 2 or more exterior rigid walls and a fully secured roof and that is affixed to a permanent site.

The time between the date of application and the policy effective date.

A grant of relief by a participating community from the terms of its floodplain management regulations.

A policy in which the insured and the insurer agree on the value of the property insured, that value being payable in the event of a total loss. The Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) is not a valued policy.

An enclosed area that is used only for the parking of vehicles, building access or storage purposes and that does not meet the definition of a finished (habitable) area. Drywall used for fire protection is permitted in unfinished areas.

A building for which 50% or more of the Actual Cash Value (ACV), including machinery and equipment that are part of the building, is below ground.

A residential building, including an apartment building, containing two to four residential spaces and in which commercial uses are limited to less than 25% of the building's total floor area.

Under the NFIP, a travel trailer can be considered a building only if it is without wheels, built on a chassis and affixed to a permanent foundation and regulated under the community's floodplain management and building ordinances or laws.

FAQs Archive - Page 2 of 23 - Flood Insurance Education & Resources

Q: Wave Height Adjustment

A measurement that is added to the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) for V Zones shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) published prior to 1981. For coastal communities, the BFE shown on FIRMs published prior to 1981 are stillwater elevations, which include only the effects of tide and storm surge and not the height of wind-generated waves.