Flood claim denied for restaurant turned ‘basement’ after Miami Beach raised street
That left some establishments a few feet down at a lower sidewalk level. Unknown to their owners, their businesses are also at a level not usually seen in
That's what an insurance adjuster decided was the new status of a restaurant at the low corner of
While city leaders have touted the dry street during king tides during the past two years, showing off dry streets on days where coastal flooding inundated other parts of
Restaurateur
The estimated
"It doesn't make sense that we're a basement just because the city raised the road," Gallo said on Wednesday.
Gallo is appealing the decision, but his problem raises the question of how the insurance industry will respond to sea level rise and the measures being taken to keep roads above water. Ten businesses lie below the street level on the block hugged by
The work in Sunset Harbour is one portion of a
An owner's National Flood Insurance Policy is offered through private insurance companies, like Allstate. In a statement Tuesday, Allstate officials said all coverage decisions are made by the federal program.
"Although policies are sold and serviced by private insurance companies like Allstate, all coverage and claim decisions are made by the National Flood Insurance Program based on their policy language," said spokeswoman
The
On Tuesday, city officials said they were talking to
"We're fighting this all along the way," Daniels said, arguing that the public sidewalk that remains in front of the business negates the basement designation and the adjuster made a mistake. "And we'll be working with
"We are working with the adjuster to reinterpret that guideline," she said.
Sunset Harbour's low-lying land, along with the southern stretch of
Assistant City Manager
"We are not going to knowingly create a scenario where we adversely affect private property owners," he said.
The flooding that damaged
Gallo said when flood waters rushed into his restaurant in 2009, back when the street and sidewalk flooded at high tide or in heavy rainfall, he got a check two days after the adjuster saw the property.
Now, with a re-engineered street, he worries the city's "experiment" in combating sea level rise might come with some collateral damage.
"It's an experiment," he said. "We're going to have to pay the price for their experiment."
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