In Case You Missed It: From the Department of Financial Services

On October 2, 2022, in News Releases, by Staff

Florida Receives Approval for National Flood Insurance Program Waiver

~ Allows Policyholders in NFIP to Access Funding, Bypassing Claims Process ~

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — Today, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to approve Florida’s request for a waiver allowing policyholders within the program to access a portion of their claims without going through the full claims process. This waiver was issued following a joint request by the offices of Governor Ron DeSantis and CFO Jimmy Patronis.

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “Today, FEMA granted a waiver that will allow National Flood Insurance Program policyholders to access tens-of-thousands of dollars upfront without having to go through a normal claims process or involving an adjuster. This process cuts through a lot of red tape, and provides critical funding to policyholders who can provide FEMA with basic information of out-of-pocket expenses related to repair or replacement of NFIP-insured property. These advance payments are going to be essential to help Florida families get started on the difficult work of rebuilding. Make no mistake, Governor DeSantis deserves a lot of credit in getting the federal government to issue this waiver. This means a lot to Floridians who are having to rebuild their lives.”

This program provides NFIP Standard Flood Insurance Policy Holders $5,000 for combined building and contents losses, or up to $20,000 for policy holders who can provide FEMA with photographic evidence of claims and demonstrate proof incurred out-of-pocket expenses related to repair or replacement of property insured under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy.

For more information, please visit www.fema.gov/flood-insurance.

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