Donovan Targets FEMA In First Bill

Congressman Dan Donovan is taking FEMA to task in his first bill since he was elected to the 11th Congressional District in May’s special election.

The congressman introduced his Flood Insurance Mitigation and Policyholder Protection Act (FIMPPA) last week — following through on calls for FEMA reform he made during his campaign.

“I’ve met too many homeowners trying in vain to navigate a flawed bureaucracy,” said Donovan. “This bill addresses three of the most egregious issues with FEMA’s recovery process: engineering reports, claims appeals, and options to reduce insurance premiums for homeowners. Piece by piece, we can work to lessen the burden for those still going through this nightmare and to apply lessons learned to future disasters.”

The bill first addresses the post-Sandy engineering reports, which were found to have been fraudulently altered to minimize damage claims. Engineering reports typically pass through multiple reviewers before final approval or rejection during the claims adjustment process, and policy holders have no visibility into this process or into any of the changes that might be made to the original report. The proposed law would require engineers and adjustors to provide copies of their reports to the policyholder before providing copies to anybody else.

The second section focuses on the process through which flood insurance policyholders may appeal claim decisions. At the moment, those who wish to contest a claim denial may appeal to FEMA or file a lawsuit within one year of the original denial. Once a lawsuit is filed, though, the FEMA appeal ends without decision, which forces policyholders to file lawsuits if FEMA does not resolve the appeal within a year, placing added burdens on flood victims. FIMPPA would extend the deadline to allow claimants more time to pursue a FEMA appeal.

Finally, the bill institutes a 60-day deadline for FEMA to produce its overdue report on alternate flood mitigation options for homes. Currently, homeowners looking to protect their properties from flood risk and lower their flood insurance premiums can only elevate the structure — which is costly and, in some cases, not possible. The proposed legislation requires FEMA to finish a report offering options other than elevation to protect a home from flood risk and to reduce insurance premiums.

“There are countless other problems plaguing FEMA, and it will take time to untangle them. FIMPPA is a productive first step, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue focusing on this costly problem,” said Donovan.