'California Democrat Chu hits FEMA over assistance claim denials'

 Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), whose district has been damaged by the Eaton Fire, criticized FEMA for reportedly rejecting disaster assistance claims because of a lack of insurance information.

“I am hearing about frustrations with FEMA because they have done what we asked, which is to sign up on the disasterassistance.gov site, and then some of them have gotten denied approvals or non-approvals,” Chu said about her constituents in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill” on Tuesday.

In the interview, Chu sought to reassure her constituents that FEMA does, in fact, have the resources to help them, and she encouraged residents to continue trying to get the help they need.

“What we want to say to them is that FEMA does have the resources to help them and that sometimes they may not have all the insurance information, and so they’ll get that message, but to keep on going,” Chu said.

Chu encouraged constituents to call FEMA directly if their claims get denied or to go to the newly opened disaster resource center at Pasadena City College to “ask what is going on with their application.”

Constituents can also go to the center to get their documents, she added, “because so many people just ran out of the house with only their clothes and lost all their documents, which were then all burned up.”

Asked why FEMA is rejecting claims over a lack of information, Chu said she thinks “there’s some kind of conclusion that they reached that it is better to proactively say not approved, rather than to say pending.”

“I am actually urging them to change it,” Chu said, noting that she discussed the issue with the FEMA administrator Monday night.

“I think they should change it because, you know, there’s nothing worse, after your life has been devastated, you’re not at your home, you’re trying to recover, and then you get a non-approval message in error,” Chu said. “That’s not right.”

A FEMA spokesperson told The Hill that FEMA sends a letter to everyone who applies for assistance but that “FEMA may need your insurance determination to be finalized in order to continue processing your FEMA application to make sure you are not receiving funding for the same damage twice.”

“By law, FEMA cannot pay for costs related to the wildfires that your insurance already covers,” the spokesperson said, adding that “FEMA may be able to provide some initial funds while you wait for your insurance payout.”

The spokesperson said those who have not received their settlements within 30 days of filing their insurance claims should contact the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5086146-feema-denies-claims-insurance-information/