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Disaster Assistance: Before You Apply
Disaster assistance is money or direct assistance to individuals, families and
businesses in an area whose property has been damaged or destroyed and whose
losses are not covered by insurance. It is meant to help you with critical expenses that
cannot be covered in other ways. This assistance is not intended to restore your
damaged property to its condition before the disaster.
While some housing assistance funds are available through our Individuals and
Households Program, most disaster assistance from the Federal government is in the
form of loans administered by the Small Business Administration.
Do I Qualify for Assistance?
First and foremost, to qualify for assistance, your losses must have occurred in an
area covered by a disaster declaration. (Check if your county is covered by a disaster
declaration.*) Secondly, if you have insurance, you must file a claim with your insurance company.
Is Disaster Help Available if I Have Insurance?
Possibly. If you have not already contacted your insurance agent to file a claim, please
do this as soon as possible. Failure to file a claim with your insurance company may
affect your eligibility for assistance. After filing a claim, if any of the following situations
occur Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may be able to provide some
assistance:
Your insurance settlement is delayed. Delayed means a decision on your
insurance settlement has been delayed longer than 30-days from the time you
filed the claim. If a decision on your insurance settlement has been delayed, you
will need to write a letter to FEMA explaining the circumstance. You should
include documentation from the insurance company proving that you filed the
claim. If you filed your claim over the telephone, you should include the claim
number, date when you applied, and the estimated time of how long it will take to
receive your settlement. Any help awarded to you by FEMA would be considered
an advance and must be repaid to FEMA once an insurance settlement is
received.
Your insurance settlement is insufficient to meet your disaster-related needs. If
you have received the maximum settlement from your insurance and still have an
unmet disaster-related need, you will need to write a letter to FEMA indicating the
unmet disaster-related need. You will also need to send in documentation from
your insurance company for review.
You have exhausted the Additional Living Expenses (ALE) provided by your
insurance company. If you have received the maximum settlement from your
insurance for Additional Living Expenses (Loss of Use) and still need help with
your disaster-related temporary housing need, write a letter to FEMA indicating
why you continue to have a temporary housing need. You will also need to
provide documentation to prove use of ALE from insurance, and a permanent
housing plan.
You are unable to locate rental resources in your area. The FEMA Helpline has a
list of rental resources in the disaster area. If no resources are available in your
county, then the Helpline agent can provide you with resources in an adjacent
county.
You have up to twelve (12) months from the date you registered with FEMA to submit
your insurance information for review. By law, we cannot provide money to individuals
or households for losses that are covered by insurance.
Two types of disaster assistance, "Housing Needs" and "Other than Housing Needs",
are available to individuals, families and businesses in an area whose property has
been damaged or destroyed and whose losses are not covered by insurance.
Do I qualify for "Housing Needs" assistance?
To receive money or help for "Housing Needs" that are the result of a disaster, all of
the following must be true:
You have losses in an area that has been declared a disaster by the president.
You have filed for insurance benefits and the damage to your property is not
covered by your insurance or your insurance settlement is insufficient to meet
your losses.
You or someone who lives with you is a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen
national, or a qualified alien.
The home in the disaster area is where you usually live and where you were
living at the time of the disaster.
You are not able to live in your home now, you cannot get to your home due to
the disaster, or your home requires repairs because of damage from the disaster.
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You may not be eligible for "Housing Needs" assistance if:
You have other, adequate rent-free housing that you can use (for example, rental
property that is not occupied).
Your home that was damaged is your secondary or vacation residence.
Your expenses resulted only from leaving your home as a precaution and you
were able to return to your home immediately after the incident.
You have refused assistance from your insurance provider(s).
Your only losses are business losses (including farm business other than the
farmhouse and self-employment) or items not covered by this program.
The damaged home where you live is located in a designated flood hazard area
and your community is not participating in the National Flood Insurance Program.
In this case, the flood damage to your home would not be covered, but you may
qualify for rental assistance or items not covered by flood insurance, such as
water wells, septic systems, medical, dental, or funeral expenses.
Do I qualify for "Other than Housing Needs" Assistance?
To receive money for "Other than Housing Needs" that are the result of a disaster, all
the following must be true:
You have losses in an area that has been declared a disaster area by the
President. You have filed for insurance benefits and the damage to your property
is not covered by your insurance or your insurance settlement is insufficient to
meet your losses.
You or someone who lives with you is a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen
national, or a qualified alien.
You have necessary expenses or serious needs because of the disaster. You
have accepted assistance from all other sources for which you are eligible, such
as insurance proceeds or Small Business Administration disaster loans.
What Information Do I Need to Apply?
Whether applying online OR over the phone, you should have a pen and paper and
the following information ready:
Your Social Security number. Current and pre-disaster address. A telephone
number where you can be contacted. Insurance information. Total household
annual income. A routing and account number from your bank (only necessary if
you want to have disaster assistance funds transferred directly into your bank
account) (Lookup your bank routing number.*) A description of your losses that
were caused by the disaster.
Note: FEMA verifies the name and social security number of those registering for
disaster assistance. If the name and social security number on file with the social
security administration does not match the information you provide you will be asked
to submit a copy of an original document, e.g. marriage license, military ID, tax
documents, etc., for proof of identity. A need to review and update identity
documentation may cause delays in delivery of assistance.
After you've completed your application for assistance, you will receive a FEMA
application number. Write down this number and keep it for future reference.
Apply for Assistance Online*
* Links to external sites are provided solely as a courtesy to our members.
Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency.
