North Carolina Wants Irene Claims Review

Two North Carolina state officials want flood insurance claims adjusters to return to areas pummeled by Hurricane Irene to ensure home and business inspections are performed adequately so damage claims can be resolved as winter approaches.

State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin and Bob Etheridge — Gov. Beverly Perdue’s adviser on the recovery from the late August hurricane — wrote to the National Flood Insurance Program.

Etheridge and Goodwin said they’ve received repeated complaints from citizens about the claims process. Adjusters from the program and private insurers haven’t done a sufficient job examining property “or worse have failed to follow up or show up to evaluate the claims,” they wrote.

Etheridge said the letter was sent as displeasure reached a boiling point during a Tyrrell County town hall meeting. But there have been similar complaints in other eastern counties, he said. Other areas hard hit by the storm include Dare, Pamlico and Hyde counties.

“It is incumbent (on them) to come back in here and take another look,” said Etheridge, a former North Carolina congressman.

In response, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said its flood insurance arm will reinspect more eastern North Carolina homes and businesses damaged during Hurricane Irene.

The agency already performs random reinspections as a quality control measure following a storm.FEMA said it also has an appeals process if a policyholder is unhappy that some portion or the entire claim was denied.

The storm’s recovery has cost governments in the state about $140 million so far, according to the state. Nearly 9,000 households have received payments for temporary housing and the replacement of personal property.

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