Pursuit's Take
After Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, National Flood Insurance Program policyholders filed 144,540 claims and were paid a total of $8.2 billion for their losses. Then, in 2015, FEMA faced heavy scrutiny for underpaying claims. So, begain reviewing all Sandy Claims. FEMA Mailed “approximately 142,000 eligible policyholders who had filed claims due to Hurricane Sandy that they could resubmit their claims to FEMA for review.”
“FEMA received 19,464 eligible requests for re-review through the SCRP process and, as of December 1, 2017, offered policyholders an additional $270 million for these claims.”
Further, “Initial estimates were that the review, not including the payment for claims, would cost $37 million and be completed by the end of 2015. Currently the SCRP is in its third year of operation, at a cost in excess of $196 million to the Federal Government.”
However, according to the report, “FEMA did not rely on legislatively mandated internal controls designed to ensure appropriate payments for flood victims,” and “failed to establish contractor expectations or provide consistent guidance and oversight related to Hurricane Sandy claims. These omissions resulted in policyholders receiving unsupported additional payments, excessive costs to operate the SCRP, and time delays in processing the claims.”
Cost of Hurricane Sandy Review Process