FEMA Grants Extension on Filing Superstorm Sandy Proof of Loss

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a bulletin Monday announcing that it will grant an additional extension to Superstorm Sandy victims for the “proof of loss” filing deadline for their flood insurance claims.

Under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), claimants must file a proof of loss form, a statement on the amount that policyholders are claiming under their policies.

In November 2012, FEMA extended the 60-day timeframe for filing Sandy-related proof of loss documents to Oct. 29, 2013, one year from the date Sandy struck the East Coast. In October 2013, the deadline was extended six months to April 28, 2014. And on Monday, FEMA announced its decision to extend the deadline another six months until Oct. 30, 2014.

“Because NFIP policyholders may have encountered difficulties filing a timely proof of loss, I am further extending the time period within which an insured must submit a signed and sworn-to proof of loss (with all documentation to fully support the claim attached) by an additional six months,” David Miller, FEMA’s associate administrator for the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA), wrote in the bulletin. “After this further extension, the time allowed to file a proof of loss is now 24 months after the date of loss.”

“We anticipate that this additional six months extension will enable policyholders to timely present their claims. FEMA does not anticipate issuing any further extensions of the deadline to submit a proof of loss,” Miller wrote in the bulletin.

The bulletin notes that the extension applies only to flood damage caused by “Meteorological Event Sandy” with the dates of loss beginning Oct. 25, 2012 and ending Nov. 6, 2012, in the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.

“It is great news that FEMA has heeded our call and extended the ‘proof of loss’ deadline by six months, allowing Sandy-victims more time to recover and more time to file their flood insurance claims,” said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) who has been calling on FEMA to give Sandy victims additional time.

“This critical extension is the right thing to do, and will provide Sandy-impacted homeowners who are still piecing their lives back together the necessary time to enable them to file flood insurance claims that fully reflect all of their losses,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.), who has also been urging FEMA to further extend the deadline. “I thank FEMA for heeding our call to assist New Yorkers through this process.”