'There was so much money spent on Katrina, the insurance companies paid out so much that there was a noticeable sea change in the attitude of the insurance companies going forward,' he says. But after Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts in 2005 - and became the most costly storm in U.S. 'A Noticeable Sea Change' In Insurer Attitudesĭavid Charles, an insurance adjuster who represents homeowners, says he had always loved his job and never had any problems with insurance companies. Life in the neighborhood continues on around the empty lot where Doug Quinn's house used to stand in Toms River, N.J.Īnd yet in the months and years after Superstorm Sandy, hundreds of homeowners in New York and New Jersey filed lawsuits claiming that not only were they shortchanged by their flood insurance, but they were cheated. In theory, homeowners shouldn't be shortchanged because the insurance companies are only acting as a middleman between FEMA and the homeowners making claims, essentially contracting with the government to evaluate damage and assess compensation. When that money runs out, as it has during big disasters in recent years, taxpayers pay the rest.

They then pay homeowners using the pot from the program. After a disaster, the insurance companies that participate in the flood program decide how much a homeowner will receive. It goes into a pot of money to the flood program. When homeowners buy flood insurance, they pay a fee that doesn't actually stay with the insurance company. It pays private insurance companies fees to do that work. But it doesn't write the policies or manage the claims. Some got just a fraction of their policies.įEMA runs the government flood program. Thousands of homeowners across New York and New Jersey were underpaid. If it was a game, he wasn't the only player. 'I did not realize that the game was stacked against us and there really was no way to win.' 'I knew right off the bat that something was wrong,' he says. To understand the challenges homeowners are facing, we set out for Toms River, N.J., where Quinn's house used to be. That includes overhauling its contracts with private insurance companies and assigning a person to help policyholders through an appeals process. 'Because when I go back and look, while we were providing oversight, it was not enough.'Īnd after our reporting, FEMA announced Monday it will include more transparency in and oversight of the National Flood Insurance Program. He acknowledged that the program does not provide enough oversight of the firms. 'What I can tell you is that I am focused on those policyholders and insuring that they get the resources and the payouts they are entitled to,' said Roy Wright, who runs FEMA's flood program. Government auditors asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency seven years ago to impose stricter oversight of the program, including insurers' profit margins. Still, FEMA's top flood official acknowledged that the program needs fixing and told NPR and Frontline that he is pursuing reforms. 'The federal government determines what the appropriate payment is.' 'This is a fee-for-service operation,' said Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute. Excess flood coverage options to insure up to replacement cost.'It is always going to be the case - in the event of a major catastrophic loss where hundreds of thousands of people will have seen damage or complete destruction of their property - in some instances that they will believe they are due more than in fact the claim was ultimately adjusted for,' he said.Flood continuing education, flood webinars, eblast communications.Training, sales and marketing support to grow your business.Underwriting service team assigned to each agency.Customer service to meet your needs online via chat or by phone.In house policy processing-no third party vendors.Technology designed for ease of use, accuracy and NFIP compliance.Automated claims reporting-online or by phone or fax.Best and with a long standing relationship with FEMA.Īs the largest provider of federal flood insurance (NFIP) policies in the US, we take pride in offering flood insurance solutions, user-friendly technology, and exceptional claims service to independent agents across the nation.

We offer federal flood insurance, excess flood coverage and leading industry expertise, earning an A (Excellent) rating from A.M.

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