{"id":714243,"date":"2015-04-29T06:10:01","date_gmt":"2015-04-29T12:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=714243"},"modified":"2015-04-27T09:10:42","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T15:10:42","slug":"settlements-for-rejected-superstorm-sandy-insurance-claims-hit-roadblock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/settlements-for-rejected-superstorm-sandy-insurance-claims-hit-roadblock\/","title":{"rendered":"Settlements for Rejected Superstorm Sandy Insurance Claims Hit Roadblock"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Caitlin Bronson | Insurance Business America | April 16, 2015<\/p>\n<p>Legal action taken against several insurance companies in the wake of Superstorm Sandy stalled this week after government officials declined to pay the plaintiffs\u2019 legal fees, citing federal law.<\/p>\n<p>According to a Newsday report, attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security \u2013 which oversees FEMA \u2013 concluded the government was prohibited from covering legal fees for roughly 2,000 home and business owners involved in the lawsuit. The ruling means plaintiffs will now owe their lawyers as much as one-third of any settlement from the National Flood Insurance Program and affiliated private insurance companies.<\/p>\n<p>Talks, however, are still ongoing and attorneys working on the lawsuits say they are optimistic about reaching a deal. So, too, are government regulators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe remain committed to reaching a settlement with policyholders,\u201d FEMA spokesman Rafael Lemaitre told Newsday.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuits were filed after flood insurance claims from the 2012 storm were rejected with engineering companies associated with private NFIP-backed carriers filed bogus reports eliminating flooding as the cause of property damage. Policyholders allege insurance companies and engineering firms were engaging in a racketeering scheme, driving up claims handling costs and exploiting the storm\u2019s damages for their own financial benefit.<\/p>\n<p>The accusations have led to a criminal probe by the New York attorney general\u2019s office, as well as a federal order for insurance companies to turn over to home and business owners all copies of claims reports made after Sandy.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most significantly, reforms to the flood insurance program were made shortly after the lawsuits were filed. As of December 2014, FEMA is authorized to penalize insurers just as much when they underpay a legitimate flood insurance claim as when they overpay a claim. Additionally, a flood insurance advocate\u2019s office will be installed within FEMA to protect consumer rights.<\/p>\n<p>The news comes at an already difficult time for NFIP, as the program faces backlash following significant premium spikes for flood insurance policyholders.<\/p>\n<p>As part of a renegotiation of the Biggert-Waters Act, gradually higher premiums and new surcharges are asking home and business owners to pay an average 15% to 18% on their flood policies. Premiums will increase 25% per year, reducing the number of NFIP policies receiving premium subsidies, until they reflect the building\u2019s actual flood risk.<\/p>\n<p>via <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibamag.com\/news\/settlements-for-rejected-superstorm-sandy-insurance-claims-hit-roadblock-22123.aspx\">Settlements for rejected Superstorm Sandy insurance claims hit roadblock<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Caitlin Bronson | Insurance Business America | April 16, 2015 Legal action taken against several insurance companies in the wake of Superstorm Sandy stalled this week after government officials declined to pay the plaintiffs\u2019 legal fees, citing federal law. According to a Newsday report, attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security \u2013 which oversees FEMA&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/settlements-for-rejected-superstorm-sandy-insurance-claims-hit-roadblock\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Settlements for Rejected Superstorm Sandy Insurance Claims Hit Roadblock<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[3,330,56,259],"class_list":["post-714243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance-estimates","tag-insurance-claims","tag-insurance-dispute","tag-property-damage","tag-superstorm-sandy","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Settlements for Rejected Superstorm Sandy Insurance Claims Hit Roadblock - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/settlements-for-rejected-superstorm-sandy-insurance-claims-hit-roadblock\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Settlements for Rejected Superstorm Sandy Insurance Claims Hit Roadblock - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Caitlin Bronson | Insurance Business America | April 16, 2015 Legal action taken against several insurance companies in the wake of Superstorm Sandy stalled this week after government officials declined to pay the plaintiffs\u2019 legal fees, citing federal law. 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