The severe weather that has battered Texas and Oklahoma over the last several days has been front page news nationwide. The unprecedented rainfall has created large-scale flooding and damage in the region. On Thursday, FEMA responded by issuing a memorandum extending the time to file a proof of loss for an additional 180 days.1
Typically, a flood insurance policyholder is required to file a proof of loss within 60 days of the flood. For the Texas and Oklahoma storms, a flood loss that occurred on May 15, 2015, would have put the deadline at July 15, 2015. The new deadline is January 11, 2016. It is important to note that the Proof of Loss is what we call a jurisdictional requirement, so a failure to file the document will forever bar the policyholder from seeking additional funds.
When filling out a proof of loss form, one of the trickiest areas is calculating the actual cash value of the covered property and contents. Take a look at this video we prepared about this exact issue:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=BIPteRKPRrk%3Frel%3D0
Also, check out Chip Merlin‘s blog post about making sure your Proof of Loss is filled out properly: National Flood Proof of Loss Deadline on Monday – Are You Sure the Proof is Right?
1 WYO Bulletin W-15022, issued May 28, 2015 (available at http://nfipiservice.com/Stakeholder/pdf/bulletin/w-15022.pdf).
