Babylon, NY – December 01, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — After Superstorm Sandy victims faced an extensive, burdensome and fraud-ridden flood insurance claims process, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Representative Kathleen rice today announced their push for new bipartisan legislation to require more transparency and accountability from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) so that home and property owners who carry flood insurance policies are better protected in the event of another storm.
According to court records and extensive news reports, including a devastating months-long investigation by 60 Minutes, private insurance companies appeared to have denied flood insurance claims of countless homeowners affected by Superstorm Sandy based on fraudulently altered engineering reports. Gillibrand, with Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), demanded an oversight hearing to examine how FEMA handled the claims process and how FEMA managed the private insurance companies that facilitate the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on its behalf.
1. Make documents related to the basis for deciding flood insurance claims transparent for homeowners.
There have been reports that individuals working for engineering companies hired by insurance companies to document the structural damage to homes following Superstorm Sandy fraudulently altered the engineering reports. The homeowners had no way of knowing that the reports were altered from the original engineer’s draft to the final fraudulent report.
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