TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — After 12 years of faithfully paying for flood insurance, Jaime Giangrande-Holcom and her husband filed a claim, after Hurricane Helene flooded their Town N’ Country home.
They tell me their claim hit a major snag when the insurance adjuster said the 3 1/2 inch “step down” means their living room is classified as a basement and not covered.
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“It’s ridiculous,” Giangrande-Holcom said. “It’s ridiculous. To even come out and say the word basement in the state of Florida is comical. I grew up in New York, and I know what a basement looks like. I lived in basements. This is not a basement.”
The couple have a policy through the national flood insurance program, administered by FEMA.
This year’s premium was $3,800.
“Measurement wise it’s 4 1/2 inches coming up into our house, and it’s a 3 1/2 inch stepdown into our basement,” she said.
Those measurements give Giangrande-Holcom hope she can prove her living room is not below ground level and not a basement. She says she worries others will soon being going through the same thing.