State and federal officials are asking that homeowners be given more time to request a review of their superstorm Sandy insurance payouts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The FEMA flood insurance reviews were established earlier this year after allegations of fraud and low insurance payouts plagued the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Eric Nedelkoff, executive director of the Monmouth County Long Term Recovery Group (MCLTRG), said he would welcome an extension, but added many homeowners have already begun the NFIP review process. “It would be great if they would extend it, even if they only get one more person,” Nedelkoff said in an interview. “But anyone who is up on the information is already aware and has applied.
“I expect very little difference. I know my organization and our partners have all pushed this issue very much.”
State Sen. Jennifer Beck and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (both R-Monmouth) recently joined a chorus of New Jersey elected officials calling on FEMA to push back the Sept. 15 deadline by three months. “We stand with the entire New Jersey congressional delegation to ask that the deadline to appeal superstorm Sandy insurance claims be extended three months, to Dec. 15,” Beck and O’Scanlon said in a joint statement.
“Victims of Sandy, many of whom we represent in our legislative districts, need more time to compile documents for FEMA review.
“People who may have been wronged by the system need to have every avenue available to them to seek recourse. Clearly, there are more people that need to be helped.”
The review process is open to the 142,000 homeowners who filed flood insurance claims in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy.
As of Sept. 3, 19,892 people have requested reviews and 12,649 have been deemed eligible and begun the process, according to Rafael Lemaitre, director of FEMA’s Office of External Affairs.
According to Lemaitre, FEMA has begun cutting checks for homeowners who were approved for additional insurance payments under the review.
Currently, FEMA remains undecided regarding the prospect of a three-month extension, Lemaitre said.
“I have no news on that front,” he said in an interview. “Right now, we remain laserfocused on getting as many people as possible to sign up by Sept. 15.
“All people have to do is register online,” he added. “There will be time later in the process for getting paperwork in.”
Last month, New Jersey’s congressional delegation, including Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) and Reps. Frank Pallone (D-Monmouth, Middlesex) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (DBurlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean), signed on to a letter asking FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate to extend the deadline until Dec. 15.
“It has been nearly three years since Sandy struck our shores, causing billions in damage and forever changing the lives of thousands of our neighbors,” the Aug. 13 letter reads. “Despite all of the missteps, delays, and mistakes, FEMA has an opportunity to bring some measure of justice to those affected. “We urge you to grant an extension and not to let arbitrary deadlines obscure your vision from the ultimate goal: fairness and a full recovery for all.
“Extending the deadline to Dec. 15 would give Sandy victims the time necessary to understand this complex process and decide whether or not it is in their best interest to participate.”
According to Lemaitre, FEMA’s goals through the review process are two-fold: paying policyholders what they were originally owed; and restoring trust in the NFIP.
In addition, Lemaitre said FEMA has worked with advocacy groups, some of which are critical of the federal agency, in order to establish a “neutral process” for homeowners who feel their insurance review was unfair.
Lemaitre described it as a “mediation” process, in which a third party would review the homeowner’s flood insurance claims once more.
“We want to make sure every policyholder gets every single dollar owed to them under their policy,” Lemaitre said. “And, we want to restore trust in the [National Flood Insurance Program.]
“That’s why we’re reforming the program in a way that puts survivors first.”
The state Department of Community Affairs addressed concerns over whether homeowners would be required to return grant money received through a federally funded state recovery program if their insurance claims are revised upward through the NFIP review process when the DCA announced it would not seek to claw back those funds in August.
FEMA has pledged the same thing, but federal officials with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have said they remain uncertain if declining to recoup the funds, which originated with U.S. HUD community development block grants, is legal.