CGMA and You : Disaster Assistance
Story by PA2 Bobby Nash, PADET Jacksonville, Fla.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In the time of a major disaster, like a hurricane, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance's (CGMA) initial objective is to rapidly provide emergency assistance for evacuation and the cash needed to meet basic living expenses such as food, shelter, clothing and other essential items.
In these instances CGMA normally uses appropriate modified procedures to provide rapid emergency assistance, including reducing normal paperwork and approval procedures to a minimum. In the initial stages of a crisis it is impossible to adequately asses each individual's financial need.
Active duty members and civilian employees may be eligible to receive reimbursement from the federal government for evacuation expenses and assistance in the form of per diem payments under "safe haven" orders. Other expenses and losses sustained by members of the Coast Guard family may qualify for reimbursement from government agencies or from commercial sources such as insurance.
It is CGMA's policy during these extraordinary times to meet the client's immediate financial needs with an "interest-free" loan and then at a later date when more specific data and information is available, determine whether the financial assistance should be a grant, loan or a combination of both.
"Last year we provided 18 loans totaling over $25,000 in assistance in the Sector Key West, Fla., area as a result of Hurricane Wilma," said Capt. E.G. Faux, CGMA regional director for the Seventh district, excluding Puerto Rico. "CGMA is there in your time of need. We'll be there this year if you need us."
In these situations, the start of any "interest-free" loan repayment is deferred until some point in the future. In the past repayments have been deferred by as much as eight months. This provides time for the situation to stabilize and for reimbursements entitlements to be determined, which allows CGMA to objectively assist what an individual's true out-of-pocket losses and financial needs may be.
It must be recognized that CGMA is not in a position to cover losses due to the lack of adequate insurance coverage, the failure of an insurance company to settle claims, or to bridge the gap between pre-disaster property value and insurance re-coupment. While CGMA would like to see those affected made whole, even agencies of the federal government and major charities do not have sufficient funds to cover every individual's actual losses.
CGMA's disaster assistance priority for losses and expenses not reimbursed by other sources is as follows.
Priority 1 - Emergency disaster assistance for basic living expenses to prevent privation and temporary home repairs to prevent further damage.
Priority 2 - Basic household setup or re-establishment and personal property items and other emergency needs.
Disaster assistance will be provided in the order or priority indicated and is subject to the availability of funds and financial need. Normally, CGMA does not provide assistance for major structural loss.
In the event of a disaster, a CGMA representative will be available to augment the hurricane assistance team if needed.
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