Deadline to Enter Hurricane Sandy Claims Review Is One Week Away

Roy Wright, Deputy Associate Administrator for Insurance and Mitigation for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), reminds policyholders that the deadline for requesting a review of their Hurricane Sandy claim is Sept. 15, 2015.

“If you feel your Sandy claim was underpaid, I encourage you to call us so we can take another look and we stand ready to take your calls,” Wright said. “FEMA has begun providing funds to policyholders who completed the review and were due additional payments on their claim,” Wright said.

More than 12,500 policyholders have entered the review process so far.

Getting started is as simple as making a telephone call. To be eligible for the review, policyholders must have experienced flood damage between Oct. 27, 2012 and Nov. 6, 2012 as a result of Hurricane Sandy and must have had an active NFIP flood policy at the time of the loss. Policyholders can call the NFIP’s Hurricane Sandy claims center at 866-337-4262 to request a review.  It is important to have your policy number and insurance company name when you call.

In advance of the approaching deadline, FEMA expanded its call center hours to make it easier for policyholders to request a review. The call center operates weekdays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. EDT to 6 p.m. EDT.

Policyholders can go online to www.fema.gov/hurricane-sandy-nfip-claims to download a form requesting a review. The downloaded form can be filled out and emailed to FEMA-sandyclaimsreview@fema.dhs.gov or faxed to 202-646-7970 to begin the review process. For individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and use 711 or VRS, please call 866-337-4262.  For individuals using a TTY, please call 800-462-7585 to begin the review process.

When policyholders call, it is helpful if they have available as much information as possible, including the name(s) on the policy, the address of the damaged property and the ten-digit NFIP policy number that was in effect at the time of the loss. Policyholders will be asked a series of questions to determine whether they qualify for the review. If qualified, they will be called by an adjuster to begin the review. The timing of this call may be affected by the volume of requests. Most reviews can be concluded within 90 days.

Policyholders who have already requested a review of their claim do not have to call again. They are in the system and an adjuster will continue to work with them after the Sept. 15 deadline.

The Sandy Claims Review is intended to be simple for the policyholder and does not require paid legal assistance. Several nonprofit service providers are ready to offer free advice and answer questions policyholders may have. A list of these advocacy groups can be found on the claims review website at www.fema.gov/sandyclaims.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

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