FEMA Sets Deadline for Requesting Sandy Claims Review

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that Sept. 15 would be the last day for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders who filed Superstorm Sandy flood claims to sign up for the review process.

“While extensions may be granted on a case by case basis, FEMA set a Sept. 15, 2015 deadline for policyholders to begin the intake process by either phoning the call center and speaking to a claims review specialist or downloading the claims review request form from the website and submitting it via email or by fax,” FEMA announced on June 25.

The NFIP paid out more than $3.5 billion in claims to policyholders whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Sandy. But the program has drawn scrutiny in recent months after allegations of fraud involving how some insurance companies assessed damage after the October 2012 storm. Insurers have denied wrongdoing.

FEMA began mailing letters on May 18 to some 142,000 Sandy flood claimants, offering them an opportunity to have their files reviewed. FEMA said that in the coming weeks, it will use a number of communications channels to remind policyholders of the Sept. 15 deadline.

A FEMA spokesperson said all letters have been mailed out and that as of June 12, 5,866 policyholders — or approximately 4 percent of the 142,000 Sandy flood claimants — have made requests to have their claims reviewed. Among them, 4,427 policyholders were found to be eligible for the review, and 4,300 cases are currently in the review process.

“We are telling everybody in our groups and flood policyholders to open up their claims,” said George Kasimos, a Toms River, New Jersey, resident who founded Stop FEMA Now, a grassroots advocacy group for Sandy victims. “Those who were underpaid or denied have nothing to lose by seeking additional funds.”

Policyholders can call the NFIP’s Sandy claims center at 1-866-337-4262 or go online to www.fema.gov/sandyclaims to download a form requesting a review.