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Press Release by femainfo in Opinion / Editorial
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Desperate Moms and Grand Moms From MD to FL Plead to Laura Bush, Oprah and Montel for Help as Homeland Security Failure Leaves Flood Victims High & Dry; “They have failed us and our children miserably.”
View all releases by femainfo
This press release is about: insurance, victims, flood, fema, settlements, security, homeland, claims, more, failure, help
2004-10-26, femainfo - A Homeland Security failure has left more than a thousand victims of last year’s Hurricane Isabel homeless, and thousands more short in some cases more than one hundred thousand dollars, as a result of FEMA’s failure to properly manage its National Flood Insurance Program. The program is a cooperative venture between FEMA and some of the largest insurance companies in the US such as State Farm, Allstate and Hartford. Senate transcripts show the companies used new construction pricing in lieu of more costly repair and renovation estimates for settling flood claims and has refused to follow Senate instructions to remedy the problem. Reports of similar problems are now emerging from Florida where victims contend a cataclysm is in the making.Shady Side, MD (PRWEB) October 26, 2004 -- Flood victims, many trapped in tiny FEMA campers - some for more than a year, are making a last ditch appeal to Laura Bush, Oprah Winfrey and Montel Williams for help. They hope the First Lady and TV hosts can do what the President and Congress have been unable to do – shine the light on wrongdoing within FEMA and help victims receive past due compensation.
FEMA reneged on its agreement to conduct an independent review of victims` flood insurance settlements written by FEMA`s business partners - private giants like Omaha, Nationwide, Travelers and nearly one hundred others. The Senate found the insurers as well as Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), the company that runs the privatized National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), approved low-ball settlements which resulted after the companies used artificially low numbers for settling the victims’ flood claims.
Some were shorted more than one hundred thousand dollars. The women say the settlements "have resulted in personal financial ruin, stress related problems and single parent households when couples were unable to survive having as many as six people crammed into campers that fit in a single car garage.
They wrote, “As you know, FEMA is now part of Homeland Security. They seem to have missed the point – the most fundamental aspect of their mission is securing our homes. They have failed us and our children miserably.”
In March, the Senate directed FEMA to “reach out” and conduct an independent review of more than 24,000 flood claims after it learned their insurance partners and CSC had used the wrong data and regulations in adjusting the claims. The insurance is sold as full replacement cost coverage and premiums are fully paid by the policyholders without government subsidy. FEMA responded by quietly assembling a team of reviewers comprised of many of the same adjusters and adjusting firms associated with the mishandled claims. Many victims say they were never notified, others were told their insurance was only “a form of assistance.”
In a recent report requested by Baltimore County, MD, fraud detection expert Steve Kanstoroom found conflicts of interest between the insurers, FEMA and the DHS Inspector General’s office. It also referred to missing FEMA funds and an abruptly terminated audit inside FEMA being conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers. Last week the Washington Post reported US Senators called for Attorney General John Ashcroft to “take every appropriate action” to address the allegations in the report and called on DHS Secretary Tom Ridge to personally intercede. President Bush signed into law a directive for the GAO to issue a report, well after the election. The report and underlying documents are available at www.femainfo.us .
The women asked Mrs. Bush for help overcoming FEMA’s refusal to comply with federal law and regulations and intervene on their behalf. They said, “We believe you may be our last hope. We desperately need your help. Winter is coming again. Please help us.”
Source: PR Web™
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