4 Homeowners Insurance Class Actions Filed Over Hurricane Sandy

Four separate Hurricane Sandy class action lawsuits have been filed in New York and New Jersey, alleging that the federal government and insurers have put up roadblocks making it harder to claim homeowners insurance payouts.

The homeowners insurance class action lawsuits allege that many insurance claims were underpaid by excluding sales tax when calculating the damage, the International Business Times reported .

In New Jersey, there is a state sales tax of 7%. This means that for every $100,000 in damages, homeowners were shortchanged by $7,000, IBT explained. This could add up to hundreds of millions in damages if the alleged shortchanging is as prevalent as reported.

Systemic homeowners insurance issues are a major concern, since there are so many homeowners insurance claims allegedly in a situation like this.

On a related note, it has been alleged that some of the homeowners insurance policy reports actually stated that tax was included in their calculations when it was not.

Three of these homeowners insurance class action lawsuits name various insurance companies as defendants, while the fourth names the National Flood Insurance Program, a unit of FEMA itself.

FEMA has already faced repercussions for its handling of emergencies. Two senior FEMA officials left the agency, and the Senate has appointed a task force to supervise structural changes to FEMA. Charges similar to those discussed in the homeowners insurance class action lawsuits against insurance companies have been made against FEMA.

Another problem reported with some homeowners insurance claims is that these claims typically require a bank to sign off on the payout check, and in some cases, the banks that hold these mortgages have made it difficult to release these homeowner’s insurance payouts so that homeowner’s can make repairs. Some homeowners have reported that it takes hours on the phone, only to have the banks refuse to release these funds.

Hurricane Sandy did massive damage in 2012. According to reports from the National Weather Service, Hurricane Sandy produced widespread flooding and storm damage.

In a disaster of this magnitude, any systemic homeowners insurance problems could be multiplied. If a large bank has a policy or protocols that make it harder to release homeowners insurance settlements, the repercussions could be widespread.

Homeowners insurance policy holders often need to access this settlement money in order to begin to get their lives back together, and begin to make home repairs.

Without this settlement money, many homeowners insurance policyholders are stuck in limbo, unable to start to rebuilding their lives.

Without access to their insurance settlement money, homeowners are left with few options, stuck living in damaged or possibly even condemned homes while their bank holds onto their insurance settlement money.

Homeowners insurance class action lawsuits may seek to recoup or release settlement money so that they can repair and rebuild their homes. Such homeowners insurance lawsuits may allege that mortgage companies are legally obligated to sign off on settlement money and provide homeowners with their portion of funds for repairs.

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If you have experienced difficulty recovering insurance property claim money from your mortgage company, you may have a legal claim. Submit your information now for a free case evaluation. If you qualify, a lawyer will contact you to discuss the details of your case.

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