Bill Text: NJ SCR21 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Congress to investigate claims that insurance companies have used revised engineering reports to deny flood claims from Superstorm Sandy.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee [SCR21 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-SCR21-Introduced.html
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 21
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES W. HOLZAPFEL
District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Congress to investigate claims that insurance companies have used revised engineering reports to deny flood claims from Superstorm Sandy.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
A Concurrent Resolution urging Congress to investigate claims that insurance companies have used revised engineering reports to deny flood claims.
Whereas, Beginning on October 28, 2012, and continuing at least through October 30, 2012, the State of New Jersey experienced great devastation during the assault of Superstorm Sandy on the people and property of the State; and
Whereas, The tremendous damage caused by high winds, waves, storm surge and fire associated with Superstorm Sandy damaged homes and businesses in huge portions of the State and resulted in a widespread disruption of the economy in New Jersey; and
Whereas, The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a federal program overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provides flood insurance for many homes in flood-prone areas and insured many homes in New Jersey through private insurance companies participating in the NFIP's "Write Your Own" program; and
Whereas, Following Superstorm Sandy, some claims by homeowners under NFIP policies have been denied by insurance companies on the basis that the damage to their homes could not be attributed to the storm, but instead was caused by long-term deterioration or earth movement; and
Whereas, In the case of Raimey v. Wright National Flood Insurance Co., in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, a U.S. Magistrate Judge found that an engineer acting on behalf of a flood insurance company secretly rewrote an initial report which indicated that a property was damaged by flooding from the storm, to instead indicate that the damage was not caused by flooding, with the result that the insurance company denied the claim on the ground that it was caused by a peril that was not covered by the policy; and
Whereas, The Magistrate Judge noted that this practice by a professional engineering company, acting on behalf of the insurance company, "unjustly frustrated efforts by two homeowners to get fair consideration of their claims" by using a "peer review" process to revise engineering reports that otherwise would have substantiated claims for flood damage and resulted in payment to the homeowners; and
Whereas, The Magistrate Judge sanctioned the insurance company that provided the policy, ordered all flood insurance companies that are defendants in claim disputes in that district pertaining to the storm to turn over all documents pertaining to engineering inspections of plaintiff's homes, and cited evidence suggesting the "peer review" process used to change engineering reports in this case may be a widespread practice that acts to the detriment of many homeowners in similar situations; and
Whereas, It is uncertain as to how extensive the insurance company practice of using rewritten engineering reports through a peer review process has affected claims in New Jersey and other similarly situated states that sustained damage from Superstorm Sandy in a manner that has been detrimental to homeowners; and
Whereas, It is fitting and appropriate for the Legislature of the State of New Jersey to call upon Congress to conduct immediate investigations and hearings to determine the extent to which insurance companies providing flood insurance policies in New Jersey and similarly situated states have used revised engineering reports to deny legitimate claims from homeowners for damage to their properties from Superstorm Sandy; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):
1. Congress is urged to conduct immediate investigations and hearings to determine the extent to which insurance companies providing flood insurance policies in New Jersey and similarly situated states have used revised engineering reports to deny legitimate claims from homeowners for damage to their properties from Superstorm Sandy.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the presiding officers of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, and to each member of the United States Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges Congress to conduct immediate investigations and hearings to determine the extent to which insurance companies providing flood insurance policies in New Jersey and similarly situated states have used revised engineering reports to deny legitimate claims from homeowners for damage to their properties from Superstorm Sandy.
