Hurricane Helene National Flood Insurance Claims—What to Expect

National Flood Insurance claims are notoriously complex and exacting. Most policyholders are unaware that National Flood claims are among the most difficult property insurance claims to handle correctly, and that the National Flood Insurance adjuster has limited authority. The field flood adjuster primarily serves to assist policyholders in making claims rather than having decision-making power. National Flood claims are particularly challenging due to numerous technicalities that are difficult to overcome.

Hurricane Helene national flood claimants and public adjusters handling flood claims should read Navigating Flood Insurance Claims from Hurricane Helene.

Recent federal court rulings highlight the strict nature of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements. In Knight v. American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, 1 the court emphasized that the one-year statute of limitations for filing suit begins on the date the denial letter is mailed, not when the policyholder receives it. This underscores the importance of policyholders promptly reviewing and responding to any correspondence from their flood insurer.

Similarly, in Williams v. Ameris Bank, 2 the court ruled that state law claims regarding policy formation, renewal, and administration are preempted by federal law governing the NFIP. This limits policyholders’ ability to bring certain types of claims against their flood insurer under state law.

These rulings demonstrate the draconian nature of National Flood claims due to technicalities that are very difficult to challenge. As evidence of the need for reform, there is pending Congressional legislation seeking to improve the National Flood claims handling process. A press release on the “Menendez, Cassidy Introduce Bicameral, Bipartisan Bill To Reform National Flood Insurance Program” noted:

Claims and Appeals Process Reforms Based on Lessons from Sandy. Fundamentally reforms the claims process based on lessons learned in Superstorm Sandy and other disasters, to level the playing field for policyholders during appeal or litigation, bans aggressive legal tactics preventing homeowners from filing legitimate claims, holds FEMA to strict deadlines so that homeowners get quick and fair payments, and ends FEMA’s reliance on outside legal counsel from expensive for-profit entities.

Unfortunately, Senator Menendez’s criminal proceedings have resulted in delays in obtaining reform.

The National Flood Program desperately needs an anti-technical claims provision that favors citizens purchasing the product rather than technical loopholes for bureaucrats to avoid paying otherwise legitimate claims. The hundreds of technical requirements governing claims handling allow claims executives and their outside counsel to hide behind the “letter of the federal law” even when it produces harsh results for policyholders.

Hurricane Helene flood victims should be prepared for a potentially challenging claims process. It is crucial to carefully document all damage, promptly report claims, and pay close attention to all deadlines and correspondence from the insurer. Given the strict interpretation of NFIP rules by federal courts, policyholders may want to consider seeking competent legal counsel early in the process to ensure their rights are protected. The challenge is to find “competent” legal counsel and not an attorney learning for the first time how to navigate intricate flood requirements with your case.

For my public adjuster friends bravely being retained to prepare these national flood insurance claims, Ashley Harris and yours truly will be teaching a flood claims seminar at the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (FAPIA) Fall Conference next Tuesday in Miami. You should not miss our seminar. The number one area of public adjuster malpractice is the preparation of national flood insurance proofs of loss. If you are going to prepare these claims, please read my prior blog posts on the topic and make certain you have adequate malpractice insurance. The claims are time-sensitive and very technical to comply with properly.

For my part, I will continue to advocate for changes to laws and reforms to the National Flood Program to prevent national flood regulators from potentially harming Hurricane Helene flood victims under the guise of “following the law.” Policyholders deserve a fair and transparent claims process that prioritizes their needs over bureaucratic technicalities.

Thought For The Day

If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
—Louis D. Brandeis

1 Knight v. American Bankers Ins. Co. of Florida, No. 23-4834, 2024 WL 3990927 (E.D. La. Aug. 29, 2024).
1 Williams v. Ameris Bank, No. 2:24-cv-04068, 2024 WL 4286215 (D.S.C. Fla. Sept. 24, 2024).