BY ADELE SAMMARCO
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Governor Chris Christie blasted the National Flood Insurance program on Tuesday before a crowd of Union Beach residents still recovering from the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, more than three months after the hurricane devastated the quaint seashore town.
?We are very unhappy with how the federal government has handled the national flood insurance program. It?s a disgrace,? said Christie to residents and volunteers packed inside the Union Beach Fire House garage on Florence Avenue.
?To date, 430,000 claims have been made in the state. Only 78 percent have been resolved,? said Christie.
The Governor said the National Flood Insurance Program is moving too slowly to process payments for homeowners with damages sustained from Sandy's wrath.
He did give high marks, however, to private insurers saying 85 percent of Sandy-related homeowner claims have been settled, but added only 30 percent of federal flood insurance claims have been resolved since Sandy.
Christie is asking N.J.?s congressional delegation to pressure the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to get the ball rolling and wants private insurers to respond to consumer complaints within 5 days. Insurance companies currently have 15 business days to respond.
The Governor told the crowd that with 70 percent of cases still unresolved three months after the disaster, "excessive paperwork, inadequate staffing, cumbersome audits and the threat of financial penalties to carriers and adjusters is interfering with the timely issuance of payments, prolonging the suffering of the thousands of New Jerseyans hurt by Sandy."
"I've been as patient as I'm going to be with the National Flood Insurance Program," Christie said. "They need to get more people into N.J., they need to get to work, they need to get to processing these things. People need to know how much money they're going to have."
Christie said Sandy destroyed nearly 346,000 houses in the Garden State resulting in an estimated cost of $37 billion in damages.
In the meantime, the state is still waiting for federal settlements so they will know how much to award in grants to help people rebuild. Christie told reporters that he does not care if government officials are too busy, he wants FEMA to do its job and improve the performance of the flood insurance program.
Christie?s Mobile Cabinet consists of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Ken Kobylowski, Office of Recovery and Rebuilding Executive Director Marc Ferzan, Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin, and Community Affairs Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III. ?Christie said it?s time the government gets moving on closing these claims?to assist N.J. residents in resolving storm-related insurance disputes more quickly and efficiently.
Union Beach was one of the hardest hit shore towns along the N.J. coastline in Monmouth County where more than 200 homes were wiped out in the storm. Now, homeowners can interface with the Governor?s Mobile Cabinet all day Tuesday to help answer any questions and resolve any issues they may have.
Source: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/nj-governor-calls-national-flood-insurance-program-a-disgrace
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