NEWARK, NJ – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez today applauded the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for issuing revised guidelines late Friday at the Senator’s urging to allow Sandy survivors in the Claims Review facing financial hardship to be paid their undisputed supplemental insurance checks while they appeal to the third party neutral.

“It’s time to end the unnecessary delays for Sandy survivors who have been waiting years for what they rightfully deserved immediately after the storm,” said Sen. Menendez. “When I pushed FEMA to give every homeowner who was lowballed a second chance through the Sandy Claims Review, I had hoped it would be a quick and non-onerous process. Sadly, it’s been anything but for far too many. By withholding payments for undisputed claims amounts for those who felt they deserved more, FEMA discouraged those struggling to rebuild their lives from appealing to the third party neutral. This should not be a game of ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ where Sandy victims are forced to choose between their initial offer and what’s behind door number two. I am pleased that FEMA has fixed this injustice and I will continue to hold their feet to the fire until every Sandy survivor recovers.”

FEMA’s Sandy Claims Review has paid out more than $58 million to Sandy survivors who were lowballed by their flood insurance carrier. However, homeowners who remain dissatisfied with the results of the Claims Review would prefer to have the money they are owed from the initial review paid to them while they appeal to the third party neutral for additional insurance funds. Sen. Menendez and his staff had been advocating and actively negotiating with FEMA for this policy change.

Sen. Menendez, who chaired the Sandy Task Force with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (both D-N.Y.), first exposed the problem of widespread lowballing of flood insurance claims during Congressional hearings he chaired in 2014, and last year successfully pushed FEMA to reopen every Sandy flood insurance claim for review.

Sen. Menendez authored the Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster Loan Program Improvement Act, signed into law last November, which extended and expanded access to federal disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). His Homeowner’s Flood Insurance Affordability Act was signed into law in 2014 to address skyrocketing rates many Sandy survivors were encountering. In 2013, he shepherded the original $60 billion federal Sandy aid package through Congress.

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