The 21^st Century Magazine,
at South Florida's www.miami-dade-online.com.

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Your "Home Insurance" will not cover flood damage. Flood Insurance is a completely separate policy. The first advice, before there is a flood, is to get flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance program (NFIP). Purchase of NFIP policies, or further information, is usually available through a resident's existing insurance company. See article.

The second advice to do NOW is to keep every receipt you ever get for any purchase. And I mean ANY purchase and keep those receipts in a high, safe place for as long as you keep the item. Thirdly, take pictures of the flood as it is happening and all the damaged personnel property and be absolutely honest with all insurance and government agents.

Regardless of what any insurance agent says or does, you are the one responsible for an accurate claim. Some independent insurance agents are paid, based upon the amount of a claim. Do not let an agent attempt to drive up the insurance claim. You may live to regret their overly generous help. If questionable claims are made and it comes under review, you can find yourself waiting 4 months for an insurance check. If the claim is straight forward you should get a payment within 15 days.

1. WITH FLOOD INSURANCE (RENTERS & HOMEOWNERS): The very first thing to do is call your insurance company and report the problem. They will send out an inspector and submit a report to the National Flood Insurance Processing Center. It is the Federal Government that backs the flood insurances obtained through the insurance company handling your homeowners insurance. Approval of a claim cannot be made by the insurance agent - it must be made by the Flood Processing Center personnel. If you have any questions or problems call the Flood Processing Center directly 800-787-5677. If approved, a check will be mailed to you. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP ALL RECEIPTS FROM ALL REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENTS.

2. WITH OR WITHOUT FLOOD INSURANCE (RENTERS & HOMEOWNERS): Call FEMA and apply for assistance 800-462-9029. Depending upon how much damage, you can be eligible for FEMA emergency funding and grant, Red Cross assistance, a loan for your business or home from the Small Business Administration.

3. A FEMA inspector will be sent out to inspect your home, if you appear to be eligible for assistance. If approved, you may receive an advance against insurance coverage or for losses insurance will not cover. You may be required to repay this loan if insurance covers the losses. Keep accurate and detailed records of how you use the FEMA money.

4. The SBA might recommend filling out a low-interest loan application, which will be followed by an SBA inspector coming out to look at your home and/or business. These loans are low interest (under 5%) for home and business, normally paid back over a 5 year period for loans under $10,000 and unsecured. SBA's toll free numbers which operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week (1-800-462-9029, or 1-800-462-7585 (TDD) for the hearing and speech impaired).

We received a FEMA check electronically transferred to the checking account and we immediately began spending the funds. Three days later we got a letter detailing what the funds could be used for. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN SPEND FEMA MONEY ON, BEFORE SPENDING IT. YOU CAN BE AUDITED (ALTHOUGH, I RECOMMEND USING WHATEVER FUNDS YOU GET TO GET YOURSELF AND FAMILY SAFE. WORRY ABOUT AN AUDIT LATER.)

The FEMA funds are an advance against future insurance payments. If you have no insurance, you could qualify for Individual and Family Grants. But before being approved for a grant, you would apply for a loan from the Small Business Administration or the SBA.

INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY GRANT PROGRAM http://www.fema.gov/diz00/d1345n13.htm Through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Individual and Family Grant (IFG) program, a safety net is provided for people who have exhausted all other means of assistance and still have uninsured disaster-related expenses they can't meet. The program provides for needs beyond those involving emergency housing needs.Here are the most common questions and answers about the program. Q. Who can get an Individual and Family Grant? A. Individuals who incurred uninsured or underinsured losses in the storms may be required to fill out an application for a loan from the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA). If, for whatever reason, the person is ineligible for a loan, the SBA may refer the application to the IFG program for consideration. Even if qualified, a person is not required to accept the SBA loan. Applicants with medical, dental, funeral and certain other disaster-related expenses may be referred to the program immediately upon completing FEMA's initial toll-free registration process. Q. How much are the grant awards? A. Grant sizes vary depending on applicants' needs. The average grant nationally is about $2,500. The maximum IFG award is $14,400. Q. What are some specific items the grant program might help me pay for? A. A grant may help pay to fix or replace furniture, appliances and other essential goods. The grants may also help flood victims pay for moving and storage expenses, sandbagging and mobile home towing relating to the flood. Q. What won't the grants help me pay for? A. Grants won't help people pay for improvements or additions to real or personal property, recreational property, luxury or decorative items, or business/self-employment expenses. Q. Can the grants help me repair/buy a vehicle? A. Yes. The grant may provide money to repair or replace necessary vehicles that had no comprehensive insurance or were otherwise underinsured. Q. Who administers and pays for the program? A. The state of Florida administers the program and pays 25 percent of the cost. FEMA pays 75 percent of the cost. Q. What does the program require from applicants? A. The applicant may be asked to provide verification of expenditures for medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other disaster-related costs. Q. Are the casualty losses incurred in the disaster tax deductible? A. The Internal Revenue Service provides free federal income tax information and tax preparation for disaster victims. Certain casualty losses may be deductible. Q. How do you apply for any of these federal/state programs? A. You begin the process by calling the toll-free registration number that triggers your application for all federal and state disaster aid. The number is 1-800-462-9029. For the speech or hearing impaired, it is 1-800-462-7585.

The first response by FEMA is the telephone application process, followed by state/federal community relations teams canvassing communities throughout disaster-declared counties, going door-to-door to talk with individuals suffering damages and meeting with community leaders and government officials.

"The community relations teams keep us in touch with unmet needs throughout a disaster," said Shirley Collins, deputy state coordinating officer for the recovery. "They go directly into the neighborhoods to advise residents of programs available to them. They also provide eyewitness reports of the disaster to those of us at the field office so that we may deploy our resources to the people who need them."

The teams establish Disaster Recovery Centers at the local level. In the four counties flooded here, in Florida, the DRCs provided information to more than 7,850 individuals and business owners affected by the severe storms and flooding. Within the DRC are SBA representatives. Our closest DRC was at the North Miami Library.

Even after the DRC shut down, the SBA continued working SBA Workshops to help owners, renters, and local businesses complete low-interest loan applications.Pictured are the SBA representatives (including a lawyer) from Niagra Falls and Atlanta offices who worked in North Miami (Jerry Santiago, Ed Williams, Rosalie Gimenez, Maria Caiseda, Dailia Rodriquez,). The SBA can provide loans to cover losses not covered by insurance, such as loss of business revenue, loss of fencing, landscaping, personal losses and other costs that are both in the home and/or business.

The drawing of an eagle was made by a young man who accompanied his mother to the North Miami DRC. Appropriately, the drawing hangs on the wall behind the SBA workers. In addition to Federal support, legal aid is also being provided. See Legal Aid.

State and federal recovery officials in Florida are urging residents in flood-prone areas to consider the purchase of flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance program (NFIP). Purchase of NFIP policies, or further information, is usually available through a resident's existing insurance company. See article.

In addition, residents living in areas subject to recurring floods should consider implementing household risk-reduction measures including the elevation of all air-conditioning and hot-water systems, as well as washers and dryers on platforms at least 12 inches above the recent flood levels. Electrical panels and utilities also should be relocated to an area above the flood level.

According to the October 25, 2000 article published on FEMA's website http://www.fema.gov/diz00/d1345n16.htm the IRS offers the following: "People suffering casualty losses in a presidentially-declared disaster area, such as the four South Florida counties so-designated on Oct. 4th, may receive assistance from the IRS in the form of free income tax information and tax return preparation. And the bonus is that such losses, defined as damage, destruction, or loss of property resulting from a catastrophic event, may be deducted on the federal income tax return for the year in which the casualty occurred or, by amendment, on the return for the preceding tax period. "In other words, taxpayers who are also disaster victims in Broward, Collier, Miami-Dade, or Monroe Counties may amend their 1999 returns, filed in April of this year, to reflect all or part of their losses, or they may include the losses in their returns filed in 2001. Deductible items include homes and personal property, such as furnishings, appliances, vehicles, and clothing. Claiming casualty losses can provide money for home repair or replacing damaged goods. Inventories compiled by FEMA inspectors will serve to document losses and may be attached to your tax form or amendment without making a new list. "To receive Form 4684, the Casualties and Thefts Form and instructions, or for more information, taxpayer/disaster victims are urged to call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 or visit the IRS office in their community." Updated: October 25, 2000

See also http://www.disastercenter.com/florida/florida.htm

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