STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Hurricane Sandy victims will have another six months to file FEMA flood insurance claims, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer announced Tuesday.
But while FEMA’s disaster recovery operations will remain up and running during the government shutdown, their Risk-Mapping Program won’t — which could lead to delays in getting the final new flood maps that will determine new base flood elevations and flood insurance premiums.
During the shutdown, FEMA will “cease providing high quality data that is used for public planning which ultimately is used to make insurance determinations for homeowners,” according to White House contingency plans for the shutdown.
But Sandy victims still filing claims won’t need to worry.
The National Flood Insurance Program, managed by FEMA, originally required Sandy victims to file a proof of loss form, which is a statement on the amount of damage they are claiming, by Oct. 29 — a year after he storm hit. But many families haven’t been able to meet the deadline as they wait for repair work, or become aware of new expenses as repairs continue.
Schumer and Gillibrand led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in calling for the extension, and Gililbrand personally lobbied FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate for an extension.
“Sandy-impacted homeowners who suffered damages from the storm should not be denied claims due to the timing of their paperwork,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “This critical extension will give struggling families more time to apply for the resources they deserve to repair and rebuild their homes.”
Said Schumer: “A six month extension will help ensure that families aren’t denied the insurance money they deserved because of missing paperwork they didn’t know they needed to file. Sandy was a storm unlike any we’ve ever seen and the rebuilding process is incredibly complex – this extension takes that complexity into account.”
A letter to FEMA about the issue was co-signed by a slew of New York and New Jersey lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn).
