Urges Congress to investigate claims that insurance companies have used revised engineering reports to deny flood claims from Superstorm Sandy.

SCR91

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 91

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JAMES W. HOLZAPFEL

District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)

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

���� As introduced.

��

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.