Am I Eligible for FEMA Assistance?

Before you apply for these FEMA programs, you should check to make sure that you meet the following requirements:

The FEMA Housing Portal (http://asd.fema.gov/inter/hportal/home.htm) helps individuals and families who have been displaced by a disaster identify a place to live.

FEMA requires that you meet all of the following criteria in order to be eligible for Housing Needs Assistance:

• You have losses in an area that has been declared a disaster area by the President.
• You have filed for insurance benefits and the damage to your property is not covered by your insurance, or your insurance settlement is insufficient to meet your losses.
• You or someone who lives with you is a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen national, or a qualified alien.
• You have a valid Social Security number.
• The home in the disaster area is where you usually live and where you were living at the time of the disaster.
• You are not able to live in your home now; you cannot get to your home due to the disaster; or your home requires repairs because of damage from the disaster.
• You may not be eligible for Housing Needs assistance if:
• You have other rent-free housing that is adequate for your needs and that you can use (for example, rental property you own that is not occupied).
• Your damaged home is your secondary or vacation residence.
• Your expenses resulted only from leaving your home as a precaution, and you were able to return to your home immediately after the incident.
• You have refused assistance from your insurance provider(s).
• Your only losses are business related (including self-employment losses and farm business losses other than the farmhouse) or items not covered by this program.
• The damaged home where you live is located in a designated flood hazard area and your community is not participating in the National Flood Insurance Program. In this case, the flood damage to your home would not be covered. However, you may qualify for rental assistance for items not covered by flood insurance, such as water wells, septic systems, etc. (For more details, see www.fema.gov/do-I-qualify-assistance.)

• You have losses in an area that has been declared a disaster area by the President.
• You filed for insurance benefits, but the damage to your property is not covered by your insurance or your insurance settlement is not adequate to cover your losses.
• You or someone who lives with you is a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen national, or a qualified alien.
• You have necessary expenses or serious needs because of the disaster.

You have accepted assistance from all other sources for which you are eligible, such as insurance proceeds or Small Business Administration disaster loans.

Alert: Bypass to Insurance? -You may want to fast forward to the Insurance Section, which provides detailed information about how to file an insurance claim.

Alert: Have Insurance? Help from FEMA - If any of the scenarios above describe your particular situation, you can contact FEMA for additional help. You will have up to 12 months from the date you register with FEMA to submit your insurance information for review. Remember that any funds issued to you from FEMA that are eventually paid through your insurance company will have to be repaid to FEMA. According to federal law, FEMA cannot provide money to individuals or households for losses that are covered by insurance.