Apply for Increased Cost of Compliance Within 60 Days of Substantial Damage Letter

BATON ROUGE, La. — Request funds to make your structure safer and stronger within 60 days after your community notifies you it is substantially damaged.

If you’re rebuilding or repairing a substantially damaged home or business, your community may require you to elevate or make other changes. Substantial damage applies when the cost of restoring a structure equals or exceeds 50 percent of its pre-damage market value, but some communities have more restrictive regulations.

Your National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy may provide up to $30,000 to update your structure so it meets local floodplain management regulations. You must first submit a signed Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) Proof of Loss form to your insurance company.

Provide a contractor’s estimate for the proposed ICC-eligible measures to your home or business and copies of construction permits. Your insurance company needs these to consider an ICC claim.

Structures that comply with floodplain management regulations have an enhanced ability to withstand storms and floods. Examples of ICC measures include elevation, relocation and floodproofing.

You have six years from the date of loss to complete the chosen and approved ICC measures.

Go online to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s website at www.8.dotd.la.gov/lafloods/community_contacts.aspx to find your community’s floodplain administrator or permitting official if you want to learn more about the substantial damage determination process.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) may be another source of funds to make your home or business safer and stronger.

If your loan application is approved, you may be eligible for additional funds to pay for improvements that will protect your property against future damage. The funds would be in addition to the amount of the approved loan.

For more information, call the SBA at 800-659-2955 or TTY 800-877-8339. You may also go online to sba.gov/disaster.

 

See the original post: 

Apply for Increased Cost of Compliance Within 60 Days of Substantial Damage Letter

Local Regulations May Prompt Extra Flood Insurance Help

BATON ROUGE, La. — If your home or business is damaged by a flood, you may be required to meet certain building requirements in your community to reduce future flood damage before you repair or rebuild. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Standard Flood Insurance Policy provides Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage, which may be available to help cover the costs of meeting those requirements, subject to eligibility.

If eligible, NFIP insurance policyholders may receive up to $30,000 of ICC coverage to help pay the costs to bring their building into compliance with their community’s floodplain ordinance. The coverage availability and payment limits are subject to the terms of the policy and maximum coverage limits, including all applicable NFIP rules and regulations.

Four options you can take to comply with your community’s floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood damage include:

  • Elevation. This raises your home or business to or above the flood elevation level adopted by your community.
  • Relocation. This moves your home or business out of harm’s way.
  • Demolition. This tears down and removes flood-damaged buildings.
  • Floodproofing. This option is available primarily for non-residential buildings. It involves making a building watertight through a combination of adjustments or additions of features to the building that reduces the potential for flood damage.

You may be eligible to file a claim for your ICC coverage in two instances:

  1. When your community determines that your building is “substantially damaged,” wherein the cost to repair or improve the structure exceeds its market value by a threshold amount adopted by law or ordinance. Community building officials are responsible for the issuance of substantial damage declarations.
  2. When your community has a “repetitive loss” provision in its floodplain management ordinance and determines that your building was damaged by a flood two times in the past 10 years, where the cost of repairing the flood damage, on average, equaled or exceeded 25 percent of its market value at the time of each flood.

If your community does determine that your building is substantially or repetitively damaged, a local official will explain the floodplain management ordinance provisions that you will have to meet. You may also want to consult with the local official before you make the final decision about which of the options to pursue.

Once your community has made its determination, contact your insurer or insurance agent to file an ICC claim. You should start getting estimates from contractors to take the necessary steps to FRED — floodproof, relocate, elevate or demolish.

When the work is completed, local officials will inspect it and issue a certificate of occupancy or a confirmation letter.

It’s important to remember that only policyholders with substantially or repetitively flood-damaged buildings may be eligible for ICC coverage. ICC helps pay for the costs of meeting the floodplain management requirements adopted by law or ordinance in your community. Any item paid for in the original flood damage claim cannot be duplicated in the ICC payment.

For more information on ICC coverage, call your insurance company or agent, or call the NFIP toll-free at 800-427-4661. TDD# 800-427-5593.

Read the article:  

Local Regulations May Prompt Extra Flood Insurance Help

Federal Disaster Aid to Illinois Residents Tops $144 Million

AURORA, Ill. – Federal assistance in Illinois has reached more than $144 million, distributed among more than 58,000 individuals and households, since a major disaster was declared for storms and flooding that occurred April 16 through May 5.

The latest summary of federal assistance includes:

  • More than $144 million in FEMA grants approved for individuals and households;
  • Of that amount, more than $124 million has been approved for housing assistance, including temporary rental assistance and home repair costs;
  • More than $20 million has been approved to cover other essential disaster-related needs, such as medical and dental expenses and damaged personal possessions;
  • More than 87,000 home inspections have been completed to confirm disaster damage;
  • More than $49 million in loans to homeowners, renters or business owners has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

FEMA has extended the registration deadline by 15 days to August 8, 2013. Affected residents of 35 counties covered in the Illinois disaster declaration for severe storms and flooding are encouraged to register with FEMA.

Counties designated for individual assistance for this disaster declaration are: Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Clark, Cook, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kane, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Peoria, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago, and Woodford.

Federal assistance is only available for individuals who incurred damage in a designated county as a result of storms and flooding that occurred during the period of April 16 to May 5. Registering for assistance for damages sustained as a result of a storm in any other period   could be considered fraudulent and claimants could face recoupment of grant money received and/or fraud charges.  

To register or to ask questions about your claim, call 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585. Residents can also register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services should call 800-621-3362. All phone lines are open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Those with storm damage who do not register are disqualifying themselves from any possible assistance if their insurance settlement is not enough. 

Those owning homes or businesses in areas that flood frequently may be required to elevate, relocate or demolish the structures to prevent future loss. The National Flood Insurance Program’s standard flood insurance policies will pay up to $30,000 of the eligible costs under the increased cost of compliance (ICC) coverage.

To qualify for ICC, the NFIP-insured structure must be located in a Special Flood Hazard Area and the cost to repair the structure must equal or exceed 50 percent of its market value prior to the flood damage.

Another way to qualify is if your community has a more restrictive floodplain management ordinance provision that requires damaged buildings to be brought into compliance when the cost exceeds a threshold lower than 50 percent, or by calculating the cost to repair cumulatively over a period of time, for buildings that are damaged repetitively.

The insurance agent that sold you flood insurance and your local building official can provide more information.

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.

Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only.  

Media Contact: 571-408-1835

###

From:

Federal Disaster Aid to Illinois Residents Tops $144 Million

Help is Available if Flooding Requires You to Elevate Your Home

AURORA, Ill. – If your home or business is in an area that floods frequently and the building received substantial damage from flooding during the spring storms, local officials may require you to elevate, relocate, or demolish your structure to prevent future losses. 

This can be quite costly, but NFIP standard flood insurance policies will pay up to $30,000 of the eligible costs under the increased cost of compliance (ICC) coverage.

To qualify for ICC, the NFIP-insured structure must be located in a Special Flood Hazard Area and the cost to repair the structure must equal or exceed 50 percent of its market value prior to the flood damage. 

You may also qualify if your community has a more restrictive floodplain management ordinance provision that requires damaged buildings to be brought into compliance when the cost exceeds a threshold lower than 50 percent, or by calculating the cost to repair cumulatively over a period of time, for buildings that are damaged repetitively.

Options other than elevating do exist. The home or business can be moved to a higher elevation on the property or it can be demolished. In some instances, primarily with businesses, the structure can be flood proofed.

Claims for ICC benefits are filed separately from your claim for contents or building loss.

You will learn if you are eligible after you file for a building permit to repair the structure. A local building official will determine if your home or business is substantially or repetitively damaged. If either determination is made, contact the insurance company or agent who wrote your flood policy.

You will be assigned to a claims representative who will help you prepare your ICC claim. You will need estimates from contractors for elevating, relocating, demolishing or flood proofing the structure to accompany the claim.

You may receive a partial payment once the claims representative has a copy of the signed contract for the work, a building permit and a signed ICC Proof of Loss form.

When the work is completed, local officials will inspect the structure and issue a certificate of occupancy or a confirmation letter. Submit this document to your claims representative and the insurer will pay either the final installment or the full payment.

Buildings deemed historic structures are handled separately. Contact your local floodplain manager or building official for more information.

If you received flood damage, between April 16 and May 5, be sure to register for FEMA disaster assistance. The deadline to register is Wednesday, July 24. Several ways to register are available: online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. People who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. For more information, visit the Illinois Disaster website www.fema.gov/disaster/4116.

Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

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.

Follow FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

###

Media Contact: 571-408-1835

 

 

Originally posted here:  

Help is Available if Flooding Requires You to Elevate Your Home

Survivors Can Take Steps Now to Rebuild

BATON ROUGE, La. – Hurricane Isaac survivors repairing their homes with an eye toward avoiding damage from future storms can take several steps now to rebuild stronger and safer.

Property owners who wish to speed up the rebuilding process do not have to wait for a complete Substantial Damage Inspection, say mitigation experts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Property owners can provide the local permitting official with a copy of an estimate from a licensed contractor to repair the structure, and a copy of a pre-disaster market value appraisal. With these documents, they can apply for a permit to make needed repairs.

“Storm survivors are anxious to get on with repairs, and we encourage them to do so,” said Patricia McArthur, Hazard Mitigation Branch Director for FEMA’s Hurricane Isaac mission in Louisiana. “The rebuilding phase of any disaster is an ideal time to plan ways to prevent or limit future damage.”    
     
One source of funds for eligible homeowners who have flood insurance and whose homes were determined to be substantially damaged may be Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage. ICC provides up to $30,000 of insurance coverage for the increased cost of compliance with their community’s floodplain management ordinance.

FEMA assistance for individuals may include grants to help pay for temporary housing and emergency home repairs to make a home habitable. Survivors could also be eligible for grants for serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

FEMA may also assist survivors whose insurance settlements have been delayed longer than 30 days from the time they filed their claims. Any help awarded by FEMA is considered an advance and must be repaid once an insurance settlement is received. The current maximum is $31,400.

To apply for an advance, people with delayed settlements should write a letter to FEMA explaining the situation. Homeowners should include documentation from their insurance companies proving their claim was filed. If they filed by telephone, they should include their claim number, the date they applied, and estimated time before they expect to receive the settlement.

For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, click www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. You can follow FEMA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA. Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.
 

Visit link: 

Survivors Can Take Steps Now to Rebuild