Joplin area: check in...

[UAPachyderm]

Originally Posted by au_ee

We are in Harvest, AL and our home was destroyed by the F5 that went across North Alabama. Forget FEMA if you have insurance and a job. After being told by media, etc. to make sure we registered with FEMA, we got a form letter saying we didn't qualify. Was a total waste of time at a time when we were extremely busy dealing with the insurance companies, etc. For that matter, we're still wrestling with the insurance company. We got the primary structure paid for but still trying to get outside structures and contents settled.

I am very sorry about your home and cannot imagine how I'd handle the situation if I were in your position. I'm not a fan of big government but there are reasons to suffer through the process. Working through Ivan, Katrina, Gulf Oil Spill and now this situation ... I have seen benefit from enduring the painful process. First you file with FEMA. Next FEMA tells you no. You then must complete an SBA application (don't dismiss yourself). The SBA application might give you immediate funds to proceed (with your home) and then be offset by your insurance company (an entirely different bureaucracy). If the SBA awards funds, you don't have to take them. If they reject you ... it re-triggers FEMA. Moreover, there will be Federal funds issued to the State to address "gap filler" expenses. The State will distribute those funds almost exclusively based off of information gathered from the SBA application. Here me now, believe me later ... don't dismiss yourself. There is little harm in filling out the short SBA application.

Lastly, please know that I'm genuinely trying to help. I don't have an agenda. I'm not political. I don't work for government. I have seen friends and family lose their homes and businesses ... I've seen them cuss FEMA and SBA and the Mayor and the President. I've also seen those same organizations cause insurance companies to be accountable and have seen those same organizations fill gaps that might have bankrupted them otherwise.

I genuinely wish you well.

[UAPachyderm]

Also, if you unjustly hit a dead end with insurance, I've found a letter to the State Insurance Commission to be the most immediate and compelling way to get your situation reconsidered.