Do I Need Louisiana Flood Insurance?

The devastation caused the by the Louisiana August 2016 Floods is catastrophic. As the waters continued to rise even five days after the flood waters began, many people are left wondering how they will rebuild their lives. With about 31 inches of rain falling in under 15 hours, the Red Cross has deemed the Louisiana August 2016 floods the worse disaster since Hurricane Sandy. The financial loss caused by the Louisiana floods is estimated at $30 million. Many businesses and individuals have flood insurance, however many more do not have the flood insurance needed to recover from this disaster. Moreover, those that have flood insurance may be faced with insurance companies that will try to deny claims. In either case, the task of getting federal assistance or filing a claim on existing flood insurance can be very taxing and arduous. J. Price McNamara ERISA Insurance Claim Attorney are prepared to help you with either filing a claim or if you have been denied on by your Louisiana flood insurance company. In the even that you do not carry flood insurance for your home or business, other financial help is available through FEMA, the Red Cross, and other efforts to help flood victims. FEMA has designated many parishes as federal disaster areas including, but not limited to Acadia Parish, Ascension Parish, Avoyelles Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, East Feliciana Parish, Evangeline Parish, Iberia Parish, Iberville Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Livingston Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, St. Helena Parish, St. Landry Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Vermilion Parish, Washington Parish and West Feliciana Parish. The online resource for federal assistance can be found here: www.disasterassistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 (TTY 1-800-462-7585). For a precise location of a disaster recover center, you can visit the Disaster Recovery Center Locator at https://egateway.fema.gov/ESF6/DRCLocator. The following instructions are from the Disaster Center Website: For disaster assistance information you may want to read the Applicant Guide (requires Adobe Reader), view information about Federally Declared Disasters by Calendar Year, or review support from other available Agencies.

• If you have been affected by a disaster, you may be eligible for federal assistance. Review the instructions below to ensure you are ready to complete the application process.
• If you are applying for multiple disasters, you will need to complete an Online registration for each disaster.
• If you are filing for both home and business disaster assistance, you will complete a single registration for the combined losses.

The application process will take 18 – 20 minutes and is authorized by the Office of Management and Budget under Control number 1660-0002 with an expiration date of July 31, 2017. For technical problems with this site, please contact FEMA’s Technical Helpdesk at 1-800-745-0243 or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. You will need the following information to complete the registration: Social Security Number You will be asked to provide your social security number; if you do not have a social security number, your household may still be eligible to receive assistance if there is a minor child in the household who is a U.S. Citizen, Non-Citizen National, or Qualified Alien with a social security number. (NOTE: If you, your co-applicant or a minor child in the household are a U.S. Citizen, Non-Citizen National, or a Qualified Alien and do not have a social security number, FEMA will not be able to complete a registration. The Social Security number is required for Identity Verification purposes.) If you are registering for a business, enter the social security number of the responsible party for the business, the social security number will be used for an identifier only. If you are in need of further explanation/information call FEMA Helpline at (1-800-621-3362). Insurance information  You will be asked to identify the type(s) of insurance coverage you have. Financial information You will be asked to enter your family’s gross total household income at the time of the disaster. Contact information Along with the address and phone number where the damages occurred, you will be asked for information on how FEMA can contact you. It is very important that you provide FEMA with your current mailing address and phone numbers where you can be contacted. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Direct Deposit Information (optional) If you are determined to be eligible for assistance and would prefer that funds be transferred to your account, you will be asked for your banking information, which includes; the institution name, type of account, routing and account number. Please have pen and paper available to record information during the registration process.