Insurance consumer advocate group unveils state-by-state guide to insurance legal rights
Insurance consumer advocate group unveils state-by-state guide to insurance legal rights

For Immediate Release:  March 13, 2023 Contact: Amy Bach, Executive Director SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2023 – United Policyholders (UP), a national insurance consumer advocacy non-profit, today announced a major expansion of its services. Insurance company claim adjusters are required to know and follow the…
NJ residents face insurance challenges beyond grace periods during pandemic
NJ residents face insurance challenges beyond grace periods during pandemic

Among the many impacts of the coronavirus are those on insurance. Gov. Phil Murphy last week mandated a 90-day grace period for auto, homeowner’s and renter’s insurance payments and a 60-day grace period for health insurance payments. Murphy’s reprieve, however, doesn’t aid the uninsured and…
Flood Insurance Problems that Bedeviled Sandy Homeowners Still Remain: Who Will Fix Them?
Flood Insurance Problems that Bedeviled Sandy Homeowners Still Remain: Who Will Fix Them?

Menendez legislation that would reform federal program may be voted on this week, but it faces uphill battle When Superstorm Sandy came ashore near Denise Vaccaro’s bayfront home in the Ocean County community of Forked River back in October of 2012, it was just the…
Flooded by winter storm? 5 steps you must take
Flooded by winter storm? 5 steps you must take

Many Jersey Shore residents had to mop up from flooding after the weekend blizzard — despite what Gov. Chris Christie initially said — and experts offer these five tips to residents and business owners looking to maximize their flood insurance claims. There was nearly $3…
Thousands of homes damaged by Sandy remain uninsured
Thousands of homes damaged by Sandy remain uninsured

Thousands of Long Island homes damaged by superstorm Sandy are still not covered by flood insurance, leaving much of the region dependent on government aid if another catastrophe hits, a Newsday analysis of federal data has found. Since the 2012 storm, the number of properties…
FEMA’s Sandy Flood Insurance Review Taking Longer Than Expected
FEMA’s Sandy Flood Insurance Review Taking Longer Than Expected

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s review of Superstorm Sandy flood insurance claims is taking longer than expected, with fewer than 200 checks issued. FEMA announced in March the review for as many as 142,000 claims after homeowners complained they were shortchanged. A FEMA official expected…
How Hurricane Sandy created ‘the perfect storm’
How Hurricane Sandy created ‘the perfect storm’

Three years after Hurricane Sandy swept up the East Coast, homeowners are still working to collect money for the damage they sustained. It has been a long and frustrating fight for many. Media reports highlighted their efforts and some accused insurers and engineers of colluding…
FEMA re-opens claims, but some Sandy victims say ‘no thanks
FEMA re-opens claims, but some Sandy victims say ‘no thanks

A few weeks ago, FEMA sent out 146,000 letters to homeowners who were possible victims of Sandy-related flood insurance fraud, offering to reevaluate their damage awards and make them whole. That’s a lot of people with a lot of money at stake.FEMA is also offering…
Sandy insurance settlements won’t make homeowners whole
Sandy insurance settlements won’t make homeowners whole

The flood-insurance settlements being brokered for superstorm Sandy victims may be a victory for thousands of homeowners who have long waited for money to rebuild. Yet many, if not most, are still apt to come out behind. Federal law limits how much the National Flood…
The Storm after the Storm
The Storm after the Storm

The following is a script from “The Storm after the Storm” which aired on March 1, 2015. Sharyn Alfonsi is the correspondent. Oriana Zill de Granados and Michael Rey, producers.When Hurricane Sandy made its way towards the East Coast in the fall of 2012, residents…
Lawyers, FEMA in talks to settle Sandy insurance appeals
Lawyers, FEMA in talks to settle Sandy insurance appeals

By JOE RYAN joe.ryan@newsday.com After months of deadlock, lawyers for hundreds of homeowners suing over flood insurance claims from superstorm Sandy said they made significant progress in talks Tuesday with federal officials to design a broad framework to settle the cases.The attorneys spent more than…
Hurricane Sandy Victims Say Damage Reports Were Altered
Hurricane Sandy Victims Say Damage Reports Were Altered

When Frank Johnston’s insurance carrier rejected his claim that flooding from Hurricane Sandy had severely damaged the foundation of his Fire Island home, the company cited an engineering report that seemed to establish his problems were “unrelated” to the storm, and were caused instead by…
Insurers accused of rigging Sandy flood claims with slanted reports, but evidence is elusive
Insurers accused of rigging Sandy flood claims with slanted reports, but evidence is elusive

By DAVID B. CARUSO and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated PressNEW YORK (AP) — When Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, flood insurance companies working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency dispatched an army of structural engineers to do some detective work.Their assignment: Find out how much…
FEMA RESPONDS TO COMPLAINTS FROM SANDY VICTIMS, AGREEING TO CONSIDER REFORMS
FEMA RESPONDS TO COMPLAINTS FROM SANDY VICTIMS, AGREEING TO CONSIDER REFORMS

Agency announces plan of action, including new advocate, and will reopen nearly 300 closed claimsMonths of pressure from storm survivors and lawmakers in New Jersey and New York culminated Friday with the Federal Emergency Management Agency committing to reform key parts of the National Flood…
U.S. court panel: Why are Sandy flood claims still unpaid 2 years later?
U.S. court panel: Why are Sandy flood claims still unpaid 2 years later?

Thousands of property owners across the metropolitan area who thought their federally funded flood insurance would cover damage from superstorm Sandy were bitterly disappointed when it did not, and many sued for more money. So far, few of those cases have been settled or resolved,…
Nearly 1,000 NJ Sandy victims have sued flood insurance providers
Nearly 1,000 NJ Sandy victims have sued flood insurance providers

Nearly 1,000 Hurricane Sandy victims in New Jersey have filed lawsuits against their flood insurance providers since late 2013, and that number is expected to double in the next year, according to a report on NorthJersey.com.The U.S. District Court Clerk’s Office said there have been…
Short-changed by insurance, Sandy victims fight back
Short-changed by insurance, Sandy victims fight back

ASBURY PARK, N.J. — Since they bought their oceanfront home in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., 12 years ago, Carla and Vincent Vitale have spent almost $100,000 on insurance premiums. So when flood waters from Superstorm Sandy damaged the heating and electrical systems, they weren’t worried.…
For Some Sandy Victims, Insurance Falls Short
For Some Sandy Victims, Insurance Falls Short

NEW YORK — Many homeowners who got slammed by Superstorm Sandy are finding their flood insurance checks are nowhere near large enough to cover their repairs, and consumer advocates put some of the blame on errors by the multitude of adjusters who were hired in…