How To Prepare Your Home For FEMA Inspectors

Ned Berke -

The following is from an e-mail sent by Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz to constituents:

This following information is important for anyone who has applied (or is planning to apply) for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cover storm-related damages.

If you do not have insurance to cover your disaster-related damages, an inspection performed by a FEMA inspector is required to process your application.

To prepare for this inspection, FEMA recommends that you begin the clean-up process and get rid of as much trash from inside and outside your home as possible. This facilitates the inspection. According to FEMA, trash can be removed before your insurance company visits the property. Before disposing of damaged property, you should take an inventory of it and/or some photographs.

When the FEMA inspector arrives, he or she will request proof of residency. The address on the documents or identification must match the residence that was damaged. The following are accepted forms for proof of residency:

  • Owners:  Proof of ownership (deed, tax records, mortgage payment book, or a copy of your home’s insurance policy for the address, showing you as the owner).
  • Owners and renters:  Proof of occupancy (your driver’s license address, any first-class government mail sent to you within the last three months at that address, or recent utility bills in your name at that address) and insurance policies.
  • Renters only:  Lease agreement.

After registering, applicants will receive a pamphlet in the mail entitled, “Help After a Disaster, An Applicant’s Guide to the Individuals and Households Program.”  This pamphlet should answer most questions and provide information about other programs that may be able to help in recovery efforts.

For complete information about the inspection process, go to fema.gov and search for “Inspection Process.”

Please remember that I’m here to make the storm recovery process easier for you.

If you have any further questions, please call my district office phone number at (718) 743-4078. Although we have been displaced from our office, we can still be reached at this number and my staff is working to assist constituents. You may also email me at cymbros@assembly.state.ny.us.