Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are offering advice on how persons affected by recent severe weather can apply for disaster assistance, while also having insurance. Many people have received letters in the mail from FEMA saying that they could not move forward with the process because FEMA is waiting on an insurance claim letter from your insurance company. FEMA officials say while they cannot duplicate benefits, if you find that your insurance claim is not covering all your expenses, then you can bring that letter to FEMA (at a Disaster Recovery Center, or DRC) and possibly be eligible for further disaster assistance.

Applicants are encouraged to “Not give up and throw the letter away. It’s not a finality, it just states that FEMA needs more information from you in order to continue the application process.”

FEMA Fact Sheet: Help for Survivors with Insurance
June 2024

FEMA may provide assistance to underinsured survivors to help pay for disaster-related costs that insurance doesn’t cover.

What should I know about FEMA assistance if I have insurance?
You need to tell FEMA about all the insurance coverage you have (e.g., flood, homeowners, renters, vehicle, mobile home, medical, burial, etc.) when you apply for FEMA assistance. By law, FEMA can’t pay for costs that your insurance covers, so it’s important to contact your insurance company right away to file a claim.

What if I still need help after getting money from my insurance?
In some cases, FEMA may help pay for costs your insurance didn’t cover, up to FEMA’s maximum award amounts.
So, if you still need help, you can send FEMA a copy of the documents from your insurance company that show the damage or expenses your insurance covers. The types of documents survivors can send include:

• Insurance settlement information.
• Insurance denial letter, including a denial because damage did not exceed the policy deductible.
• Proof of lack of insurance, such as a policy with an exclusion for specific causes of damage, or a lack of coverage for temporary housing.

How does my insurance affect my FEMA assistance amount?
FEMA may be able to help with costs that your insurance doesn’t cover. For each type of assistance, FEMA will look at your insurance payout and compare it to your verified loss or damage.

HOME REPAIR EXAMPLE
If your net payout (the amount your insurance paid for your claim after deductibles) is less than the loss amount recorded during your FEMA inspection, you can get Home Repair Assistance for the difference, up to the maximum award amount between FEMA verified loss and your net insurance payout. FOR EXAMPLE: If you received $2,000 from your insurance company for home repairs and a FEMA inspection determines you need $8,000 of basic repairs to make your home safe to live in, you would be awarded $6,000.

Will FEMA help pay insurance deductibles?
It depends. FEMA doesn’t directly pay deductibles, but your FEMA award may be able to cover some or all of it.

What about things insurance doesn’t cover?
Yes, FEMA may cover things that insurance doesn’t cover, like damage to wells and septic systems.

How can FEMA help when my insurance claim is delayed?
In some cases, FEMA may be able to provide some help while you are waiting for your insurance settlement. If it has been 30 days or more since you filed your insurance claim and you have received no funds, please contact the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362. FEMA may be able to provide you some initial funds to rent somewhere to stay while you wait for your insurance settlement.

I don’t agree with FEMA’s decision. How can I appeal?
If you don’t agree with FEMA’s decision, you can appeal by showing why you need FEMA assistance. The decision letter you get from FEMA will have more information about the types of documents you should send.

You may use an optional Appeal Request form, which is included in the decision letter you receive from FEMA. You can also choose to write and sign a letter to send with your documents to help FEMA understand why you need help.

How can I send documents?
You can send supporting documents to FEMA by:

• Uploading to your disaster assistance account at DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Mailing to:
  FEMA
  P.O. Box 10055
  Hyattsville, MD 20782-8055.
• Faxing to 1-800-827-8112.
• Visiting a Disaster Recovery Center, where recovery specialists from FEMA provide information on available services, explain assistance programs and help survivors complete or check on their application.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCi/National Weather Service] — Strong storms that blew across Iowa Tuesday produced heavy rainfall and large hail in some areas. The heavy rainfall led to an extended flash flood warning in the Algona area, where reports say between 3-to 5-inches fell, and led to street flooding in Des Moines, including portions of Merle Hay Road and East University.  In Dallas County, rainfall near Waukee measured fell at at rate of more than 3-inches per hour over a two-hour period, with a total of anywhere from 3-to nearly 3.3-inches,

The National Weather Service reminded drivers: “Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.” The Weather Service says funnel clouds were reported in Poweshiek and Tama Counties. One-inch diameter hail was reported in Greene County, near Dana. Thunderstorm wind damage was reported near Boone, where a flag pole was slightly bent over by storm winds, and tree limbs or branches had fallen, taking down some power lines.

MidAmerican Energy had reported more than 1,500 customers without power around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday after storms blew through Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa) –  The state’s first-ever Iowa History Conference is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) at the State Historical Society headquarters in Des Moines. It’s a free event that’s open to everyone. University of Iowa Professor Kristy Nabhan-Warren says the agenda includes three sessions with four subjects per session, on topics ranging from the environment to education and from religion to warfare. A total of 46 panelists will present talks during the day. “We’ve got some tenure-track faculty. We’ve got some instructional track. We’ve got grad students, undergrads, museum curators, some retired authors, independent scholars,” Nabhan-Warren says, “and then we also have tribal members, Jonathan and Suzanne Buffalo, so we’re really excited about that.”

Organizers are hoping a wide range of people will to attend, including parents, teachers, students, retirees — anyone with an interest in Iowa’s history. “We’re really wanting to make Iowa history accessible, to get beyond any jargon that academics sometimes tend to use,” she says. “Let’s tell our stories, whether it’s Iowa’s Civil War history, or African Americans in Iowa, or telling the story of Danish Americans. We want to make this exciting for Iowans and we want Iowans to feel good about their history.” There’s an old adage about how those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it, and Nabhan-Warren agrees. She says one of the goals is to learn about our state’s history in order to pave the way for a better future.

“Sometimes we just don’t talk to each other. We talk past each other and we get behind our computer screens,” Nabhan-Warren says. “I think one of the ways that we can start improving our civil discourse and actually have conversations is having in-person events like this.” While a dozen main topics are on the agenda, she notes there will be discussions about the more difficult times in Iowa’s past, including subjects like slavery and immigration. “We’re not talking about that to make people feel badly, but this is an actual part of our history. How do we deal with it? How do we learn from the past? How do we make Iowa’s future better for everyone?” she says. “How can we show care and concern for everyone who lives here and how can we learn from past mistakes — without feeling like white shame and guilt, but literally learning lessons.”

Nabhan-Warren says the conference is “one small way that we can show Iowans that we care about Iowa’s stories…bringing together a variety people who care deeply about telling Iowa’s stories in authentic and compelling ways.” The conference opens at 9 A-M Thursday at the State Historical Society of Iowa at 600 East Locust Street in Des Moines. Registration is not required and there is no admission fee.