Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in National Underwriter, P&C.
WASHINGTON--The National Flood Insurance Program will pay claims for damage to homes and contents from oil driven ashore during hurricanes, its officials have announced.
In a statement, Rachel Racusen, press secretary to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which runs the flood program, said, "The mixing of oil and other pollutants in flood water is not unusual during a storm."
She added, "Damage caused by these pollutants in flood waters is covered under the NFIP, subject to the provisions in the Standard Flood Insurance Policy."
Effectively, Racusen confirmed what Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney told state residents in a statement released Tuesday by his office.
In the statement, Chaney said that to recover damages stemming from the additional risks oil poses should a hurricane strike, claimants seeking payment under the NFIP must prove there is a flood as defined in the standard flood insurance policy.
If that can be proven, Chaney said, damage caused by pollutants to commercial policies is limited to $10,000.
Home and condo payments will be limited to policy limits, and oil or water with oil in the yard is not covered.
Chaney further said that the cost of complying with any local or state ordinance, including one that requires special removal methods for oil, is specifically excluded, with the exception of certain floodplain management mitigation requirements.
Moreover, Chaney said, there will be no coverage for testing for, or the monitoring of, pollutants unless there is a law or ordinance requiring it.
Arthur D. Postal is Washington Bureau Chief for National Underwriter, part of Summit Business Media's P&C Magazine Group, which includes Claims.
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