Sandy-hit Shore homeowners ask: "Where is the money?"
Philly.com ^ | 4/1/2013 | Amy S. Rosenberg
Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2013 9:22:05 AM by dirtboy
Underwater doesn't even begin to get at the heart of Maurice Corkery's predicament.
"This was my summer home," the Delaware County plant manager said of his little rancher on Third Street in Ocean City, N.J., flooded with its foundation cracked - totalled, really - by Sandy.
"I was trying to think of a time line," he said. "It's been so long. I'm so screwed up. I haven't seen any money. Where is the money? All they do is talk about it."
[snip]
"It seems like people who are responsible and have paid for coverage are the losers," he said. "The storm was bad enough. The red tape is a joke."
The stories seem to be everywhere about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) - a month ago, Gov. Christie called its response awful - but FEMA spokesman Dan Watson released statistics last week that showed 94 percent of the state's 73,778 claims had been settled.
The FEMA statistics have at times been at odds with state statistics released previously. In February, Christie said just 30 percent of the flood claims had been settled; FEMA said 50 percent.
The state has since washed its hands of any attempt to run interference with the federally regulated program, state Banking and Insurance Department spokesman Marshall McKnight said. Any complaints the state receives regarding flood insurance now are referred to a hotline FEMA set up after the governor's criticism, 1-800-427-4661
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