During a speech in southern Louisiana following Hurricane Ida, President Joe Biden pressured insurance companies to cover living expenses for policy holders even if their parish was not under a mandatory evacuation order.
The president warned insurance companies not to “hide behind the fine print.”
Allstate and USAA have already reportedly agreed cover additional living expenses for policyholders in the state who evacuated their homes, according to an anonymous White House official quoted in CNBC.
Local officials in Louisiana told federal partners they were receiving complaints from survivors, said a report in the Advocate. Many claimed FEMA would not grant them assistance because they have insurance, but their insurance carriers would not support them because they weren’t in a mandatory evacuation zone.
“They’re getting caught between the switches,” said Walter Leger Jr., a prominent New Orleans lawyer who has been tasked by Biden’s senior advisor Cedric Richmond to help address the issue, according to the Advocate.
When people register for individual assistance through FEMA, applicants are asked whether they have insurance coverage, explained the outlet.
If they do have insurance, FEMA asks for an explanation of benefits. By law, FEMA is not allowed to duplicate insurance payments.
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So, many have been left stranded with neither support from their insurance nor the $500 in immediate relief offered by FEMA. So far, FEMA is dealing with the issue on a case-by-case basis. Survivors can submit written documentation of that denial in coverage from their insurance providers, the Advocate said.
“Don’t take a verbal denial,” said John Mills, a FEMA spokesperson. “If your insurance company denies your claim, get it in writing.
FEMA will then consider you for individual assistance grant money to help with you critical needs and for expedited rental assistance if you need to relocate because of this prolonged, life-threatening power outage.”
Leger said it might be unrealistic to ask survivors without power, water or internet connectivity to provide that documentation, according to the Advocate.
“If we can recognize in certain areas where there was no mandatory evacuation that ABC insurance company is going to deny coverage, then that should be enough,” he said.
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Though residents in Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Charles and portions of Orleans and Jefferson parishes faced mandatory evacuations. Hurricane Ida’s rapid approach left little time for other parishes to issue evacuation orders, the Advocate said.
St. John the Baptist Parish was one of them. Even though there was no mandatory evacuation order for the parish, it was “walloped by Ida,” said the outlet.
“No one fled this killer storm because they were looking for a vacation or a road trip,” Biden said of Hurricane Ida survivors. “I’m calling on the private insurance companies — right now, at this critical moment — don’t hide behind the fine print. Do your job. Keep your commitments to the communities you insure … Pay your policy holders what you owe them.”
Assistance from FEMA is available through disasterassistance.gov and 1-800-621-3362.
