1999 - 2000 Broadcast Season
Broadcast Program Transcripts
Episode #1502
11/5/99

Holloway: Good evening and welcome to another live addition of Black Issues Forum. I am your host, Jay Holloway. It has been many weeks since Hurricane Floyd hit North Carolina, but its impact lingers and will remain for many months and years to come. And it is still an issue of great concern, not only for the people in the eastern part of our state, but for all of us here in North Carolina. For that reason, UNC-TV's Black Issues Forum continues with this special series of live programming, to respond to the needs and issues as a result of the floods.

One issue that has come to the forefront is insurance coverage and how to go about getting assistance. In response to these questions and others, we have with us tonight, Starla McKenney, special assistant to the Commission of North Carolina Department of Insurance. Also, Diana Van Horne, Public Information Officer, with the American Red Cross, and joining us via telephone this evening form Princeville, Theresa Williams. And I want to say thank to all of you for being with us this evening live on Black Issues Forum. In just a moment, we will be hearing more from our guests and taking your calls, but first, UNC-TV had our production crews working out in eastern North Carolina, and we'd like to share with you some of the people that they met, and the questions that they had.

Male: My name is Michael Peaden. I am from the Belleville area, in Northern Pitt County, and one of the questions I would like to ask is I had a lot of tobacco in the warehouses in the Greenville area that went underwater through the floods, and I would like to know why those people were not bonded or not made to have flood insurance, so the farmer can get paid for his tobacco that he has put over there to be marketed. I have always heard that when you carry tobacco through the warehouse and got a pink copy, that it was fully insured. Now, we are finding out that we had lots of pounds of tobacco in the warehouse, and we've got no insurance and don't look to get any money from the crop.

Female: My name is Patricia Anderson and we've just recently moved here about a year or so ago. And we live on Church Street in Tarboro, North Carolina. And my question is if there was a potential, you know we live close enough to the river to have been in potential danger. And we've experienced that danger. And I need to know what is going to be done from this point on to prevent this. Something should be done. The warning systems were absolutely terrible, we depended on neighbors. We depended on friends, people just coming through the neighborhood warning us, and we need to know about the warning systems and about flood insurance. We were not able to get flood insurance, and we need to know what is going to be done from this point on.

Male: In a situation of this nature, what can be done to keep people from not going in and getting things that do not qualify for it. Because in a turmoil like this, the people running the shelters don't know who has been flooded, they don't know the situations, but I know of many cases that people that were not flooded, they had no damage, were taking advantage of the system, going to the Civic Center, living in the Civic Center, eating out of the Civic Center and everything for two weeks that had not had any damage in their homes. And it seems to me that I know that it is chaos at that time, but there seems to be, or there should be a system where these people who could be identified as losers and be qualified, and the non-losers not take advantage of the system.

Male: When they go to these relief agencies, who is supposed to help you? Instead of them helping you, why do they go in your life history about what you have got in your pocket, how much money you've got in the bank, and how much property you owned when the storm washed your house out. You ain't got no property. You ain't got no land. Now why they want to ask all of them kind of questions. That isn't necessary in my opinion.

Holloway: That is a good question. You are watching Black Issues Forum and we are back live and ready to take your calls relating to recovering from disaster. The number to call with your questions or comments is on the screen. It is 1-800-555-3120. It's on your screen now. Please make sure your question or comment is brief. This will allow for more callers and more time for our guests to respond. Now let's here from our guests regarding these questions we just heard. Starla, can I go to you first? There were a series of questions, and maybe you all can pick up on either one of them, can we start with the first gentleman's questions about the tobacco warehouse, and why aren't they bonded and fully insured?

McKinney: The Department of Insurance does regulate insurance companies and homeowner's is a little but easier to explain when it relates to flood insurance, because that is covered under the national flood insurance program. However, with commercial policies, those are going to be a little bit different. And with those type of policies, we usually recommend going back looking at the policy, talking to that agent. If that gentleman feels that he did have an understanding that he had flood insurance, then the first thing he needs to do is go back and look at the policy. And if he needs some assistance doing that, then our office will be happy to help him go through that policy.

Holloway: What about, let me ask Diane one of the other questions relating to preventing the problems from the warning, or what about, I am sorry.

Van Horne: The fraud.

Holloway: The fraud. Yeah, that's a question I wanted to ask you.

Van Horne: That's a concern, and unfortunately, you are always going to have individuals who are going to take advantage of the system, but the gentleman who followed that almost answered the question, because a lot of people don't have any kind of identification with them, and what we try to do is identify where they are at, what their pre-disaster address was, and in the shelters we don't ask questions like that. We just help anyone who needs it. When we start giving relief after that, we try to identify their address and make sure that it is in one of the affected areas, but it is a catch -22 situation. If you ask too many questions, and they don't have any identification, or information, they are going to get upset, and there you have the other side. So, we have to trust people a lot on this one. We try not to duplicate services.

Holloway: Is Theresa on the telephone? Theresa, are you there?

Williams: Yes, I am here.

Holloway: Theresa, did you get a chance to hear some of the questions some of your neighbors in the east asked? And were they some of your same concerns?

Williams: Yes, and as the Red Cross, can y'all have like maps to indicate where the flood areas are, or how the people, when they come in with their identification, which you have to have, some kind of mail or something about the address or anything. Do you have a map to identify that?

Van Horne: We don't have a map. We typically will have our disaster people will have gone out and they will have indicated areas on the map where they have actually gone out and seen damage. And then if your address is within that, they actually go to visit residents, so they are where the damage is. As to identification and proof of where you live, if you have a bill or something like that, that's wonderful. If it gets down to the point that you don't have that and don't have anything, we can actually take a notarized statement. And a lot of people, that is what you are going to have to have. And you are going to have to have some proof of your residence for everybody, so you might as well go ahead and get it.

Holloway: Now, neither of you may be able to answer this question. But the second person asked something about the family that was in front with the mask on about preventing the problem of not being warned properly in advance and that kind of thing. Do you have any insight into that? And I think Theresa, when we visited your area, I think some of the people in your area had the same concerns about not being warned early enough in advance and it didn't seem to be coordinated as well as it could have been.

Williams: Very true. It wasn't. Like the policemen and everything like that, they didn't come around enough times to give the people warning to get out. There was several people that they couldn't even get to and called in to get help, and they did not assist them like they should have. So, it was a very poor concern about trying to get the people out in time.

Holloway: I want to remind our viewers that we are live tonight in terms of a call in show. We are talking about the flood relief of Hurricane Floyd as result of that. The number to call is on your screen, 1-800-555-3120. Theresa, thank you for that comment. Let me go back to Starla and let me ask you about one of the other questions. I think a gentlemen mentioned those unable to get flood insurance. Someone mentioned about that.

McKinney: Well, I don't know if people are unable to get flood insurance. You qualify for flood insurance if your community is participating in the programs that the national agency has set forth. Planning and zoning. Those types of things. Then your community as a whole is eligible for the flood insurance program. Anyone is eligible for the flood insurance program. Anyone is as long as your community is participating in that. I think people just hadn't seen a flood in their lifetime or their mother's lifetime or their grandmother's lifetime, and it was just a decision that they could not afford to pay the $300 yearly premium, which is about the average cost of a flood insurance policy. So, it just wasn't something that had been done, it wasn't one of those things that they had seen happen that they thought they need coverage for, but it is available for most communities in the state.

Holloway: Theresa, people there in Princeville, do you know many people that had flood insurance? Are you familiar with any of those issues? Theresa, are you still there? Theresa, we are asking about flood insurance. Are you aware of any people there in Princeville that have had problems with flood insurance. Obtaining it? She must have stepped away for a moment? Let me ask you, Diane, now, about the volunteerism. This is an opportunity for people to see their United Way dollars really going to good use.

Van Horne: Their dollars, whether they are United Way or.because not all communities are United Way.

Holloway: That's right. Yeah. I understand that you have not had a lot of volunteers. This has not been a good time, has it?

Van Horne: No, actually we have.

Holloway: I guess what I meant was before this disaster that people weren't volunteering as much. Did this help volunteerism?

Van Horne: Typically, a disaster like this, particularly one of this magnitude, is going to make people realize that it is good to help and they can do a lot for other people. And we've had a lot of spontaneous volunteers because of this. At some points, we've even had to say, thank you but at this point we don't have anything right now for you to do. But it is good to think about volunteering in advance and maybe planning for the next time, because we know it is going to come again.

Holloway: I want to encourage our viewers all across the state to call in now and let us hear your opinion. Even though you are not directly affected by this, we like to hear from you if you are in the western part or central part of the state. Speaking of that, let's go to Wake County right now. Wake County, you're alive. You have a question or comment, please?

Male: Yes, Jay. My name is Henry Henson Jr., I am in Wake County. I would like to ask a question, and I am making this on a broad statement cause I am trying to find out an answer. The difference between flood damage and water damage. Now, the insurance company says that if it is during a hurricane, they will not pay for flood damage, but they will pay for some types of water damage. They will not pay for the cause, whatever accident took, but they will pay to fix the damage. Can I get a little help with that?

Holloway: Starla, can you answer that for Henry?

McKinney: Well, I think I can try. Flood insurance specifically is not covered under homeowners insurance. It is administered and furnished by the national flood insurance program. So, if it is an actual flood caused by a hurricane, then that is not going to be covered under your homeowner's policy within North Caroline and actually across the country. So, North Carolina is not exclusive to flood insurance not being covered under homeowner's And just to give you a little bit of background, that was done because back in the late sixties, our federal government saw that insurance companies were not able to cover possible catastrophes that might have happened and the premiums would have been higher, so they started the Federal Flood insurance program, and that is why we have it now If you have water damage that could be attributed to something other than a flood, then that is going to be covered, like other things, in your insurance policy for your home.

Holloway: We have another call, this time from Pender County. Pender County, are you there? If so, go right ahead please with your question or comment.

Female: My question is, why is it that people that weren't flooded are getting, you know, they can go to Red Cross and everywhere and get help and I got flooded out, I had all my stuff in a storage, and I didn't get anything. They won't even help me.

Holloway: Diane, you want to try to address that? Caller stay on the line there, because she may have some questions for you.

Van Horne: Typically not, I am assuming, in fact I have heard that FEMA does pretty much the same thing. What we do is that we have damage assessment teams that go out into the communities and they identify specific areas and they will actually identify individual houses as so they see actual evidence that shows that there was damage there. Now if your goods were in storage. They shouldn't be able to necessarily go to a storage locations were probably severely damaged and totally destroyed. But that wouldn't be a normal thing and that would have to be on a case by case basis.

Holloway: Is the caller still there?

Female: Yes.

Holloway: Are you saying that you did not receive any help from FEMA or Red Cross?

Female: No, because I went back home to live with my Mom and my clothes everything I own and she had no where to put it. And FEMA sent me to some kind of family grant thing, but you know, they wouldn't help me in general.

Holloway: And what was their response? What was their reasoning for that?

Female: because I was staying with my mother. That's the reason that I get form everybody.

Van Horne: I would suggest. I know in our .everything we do is individual. And if you do have a problem for a specific case decision, you can ask for appeal. And I know you can with FEMA also. You can ask that your individual case be reviewed by someone else. And that is not a bad idea.

Holloway: Thank you for calling from Pender County. Is Theresa back on the line?

Williams: I am back on the line. Sorry.

Holloway: Have you had the same problems, because you are still staying with your sister or your family in Tarboro now. Right?

Williams: Right.

Holloway: Did you hear the last caller form Pender County's comments.

Williams: Yes. And that is going on a lot. I had that same problem at first. I had to go to.they have a FEMA recovery center here. And I had to go there. I had to do the application three times to get it corrected until they had even done anything, you know try to get any assistance or anything. So, she may have to go through a recovery center to try to do an application to have them look over her application again.

Holloway: Okay. Thank you. Let me ask another insurance question here for our department of insurance. How do we deal with the unregulated mortgage companies that are not submitted to federal authorities. That seemed to be an issue as well.

McKinney: Well, tell me a little bit more about what..

Holloway: Well, home buying circumstances. If someone is buying a home, and they are dealing with trying to get a mortgage, and it appears to be not as regulated and they don't have to deal with these flood issue problems, I guess.

McKinney: Actually, it is a banking issue for the insurance department so.. it relates to mortgages and flood insurance again from our perspective, it's more of a federal issue that it is an issue for the state and the Department of Insurance. So, it is kind of hard to follow up with that.

Holloway: Okay. Theresa, in your situation, now, there in Tarboro, have things changed much since you moved in with your other family. Is she still there?

Williams: I am still here? They are picking up, I mean, they are still working on trying to get the travel trailers here in Tarboro so they can start putting the people in them. You know, that have been in shelters or either in homes with families and everything like that. They are working on that now. Setting them up in Tarboro.

Holloway: Okay. Let's go to New Bern. We have a caller from New Bern. Please go right ahead with your comment and question please.

Male: HI. I am here on business for the flood damage and I just would like to educate some of the residents of the area that not only is the Red Cross and FEMA available for their assistance, but the SBA and I'd like to encourage black business owners to come out and apply for these loans or these disaster relief loans, because I have not seen any black business owners come out. And another thing, I'd like to encourage the residents to do is to have proof of their damage, because the burden is basically upon the person with the damage. And any feedback or suggestions or anything that other callers might have to say about this issue would be very helpful. And I'd just like to get the word out that the SBA is available and out there helping people, because FEMA only gives around $13,000. So, I thank you for your time.

Holloway: So, sir, are you with the SBA?

Male: Yes.

Holloway: We had FEMA last week, and I learned last week, which I did not know, was that the SBA not only services businesses but individuals as well. Is that true?

Male: Yes sir.

Holloway: So we want to encourage those of you individuals who still need assistance, in addition to the black business owners and others, to go by and see SBA.

Male: Right. Because we are in the Twin Rivers Mall.

Holloway: Okay, there in New Bern. And I would imagine in other counties as well.

Male: Yes.

Holloway: Thank you so much for your call. All right, we are running out of time very quickly. Just about five more minutes. Are there other points that you think are very important that people around the state need to understand about why this is such a major problem for our state and why it is consuming so many resources and why people need to be understanding around the state. Would any of you like to generally address that?

Van Horne: Well, some issues I know are the inspections of the different homes or buildings that are going on. And I think people, and likely so, are getting a little impatient with making sure they can get back in and see what the damage is, or it was an issue a couple of weeks ago. I just wanted to let them know that our department, through the office of the state fire marshal, which the Commissioner Jim Long is also, we coordinate those efforts. And we have been bringing in staff and encouraging other counties from the west and all around the state to contribute staff, time and personnel to the affected counties so that those inspections can be done as quickly as possible. The same thing with the fire and rescue squads. So of those personnel have had to go to their own homes and have not been able to staff those different rescue squads and fire stations, so we have been coordinating that effort as well. So as those need sarise, they can know that additional help is coming form other counties.

Holloway: Okay. Diane, we just had a caller that we just lost, but that caller wanted to know why some of the relief agencies aren't being pro-active to go door to door to see if people need help.

Van Horne: I don't know about others, but we definitely are. We have an outreach team, we have the service centers in many communities, five at this point, and we have outreach teams that do go out into the communities and we have gone door to door trying to find people who need help. And that is a problem that we are finding as we go into the community meetings. People are still not, at this point, aware of the services that are available to them. And that is a problem that we are having. Because, like I said, we offer assistance with housing and clothes and tools that they need if they have lost them or eye glasses. And people are just not aware, so I don't know how else the message can get out. Because we go door to door and I believe FEMA and SBA do too. That's just a matter of maybe we need to do more. But we do try as hard as we can to get the information out.

McKinney: And Jay, one more thing I would like to add is that Commissioner Long has asked insurance companies to offer deferrals on premium payments to individuals that were in the affected counties, so that is something that we want them to know, as well if they participate in a managed care organization, that we've reminded those companies that the issues regarding having reasonable network availability, so if their doctor's offices are unavailable for whatever reason, they can seek health care possibly outside of the network at the same benefit level. So, those are some of the pro-active issues that they nee dot know about.

Holloway: Okay, we've got just a couple minutes left. Theresa, are you still there?

Williams: Still here.

Holloway: Okay, we've got another neighbor of yours form Edgecomb County on the line too, and we are going to try to get them in very quickly. Edgecomb County, go right ahead.

Male: Yes.Yes..

Holloway: Question or comment, quickly, please.

Male: Yeah, my question is about putting a trailer on your property that FEMA has given you. You know, and you have to get your own light and stuff hook-up.

Holloway: Yes, if I am not mistaken, you have to get your own lights and the town will turn the water on, but you have to get your own light hook up.

Male: Okay, I understand that in Rocky Mount, they actually set up a park where the trailers were, but you are talking about FEMA will actually.

Holloway: Uh-huh. They will put your trailer on your lot if you have land, they will put it on your lot, and you will have to have your lights turned on.

Male: Okay, that's why I want one put on my lot. Hey do you know what is taking them so long?

Holloway: No, I don't know what is taking them so long.

Male: they was telling me about the first of November and.

Holloway: Okay, well, sir, that you so much for your call. We have run completely out of time here just about. Theresa, any last quick comments you would like to make your recovery process so far before we conclude?

Williams: Well, I just wanted to say to everybody that has been flooded, just stay encouraged and just have patience, they will get to you.

Holloway: All righty. We have about a minute left here. Any final comments from our studio guests?

Van Horne: Theresa had got a good example. You need to be persistent and you need to pro-active, don't just call once and assume that it is going to be handled. You may have to call repeatedly. Because there are thousands of people taking assistance. And the help is there, you just have to go after it.

Holloway: Theresa, what about the other people living there in your sister's house? Are they in the same situation, very quickly, with you in terms of getting assistance. She still there? Starla, okay, let's get your concluding comments.

McKinney: Okay, just that, if nothing else, this reminds us that at least on an annual basis, we need to talk with our insurance agents to reassess our properties, all of our insurance policies. That is one thing that Commissioner Long encourages citizens to do -

Holloway: No matter where you live.

McKinney: No mater where you live. Look at those policies, understand them, the market is constantly changing and your needs may be changing too. So look to your agent for that advice, and if ever in need of additional assistance, we can always be reached at 1-888 JIM LONG for consumer issues regarding issues.

Holloway: Well thank you so much Starla, Diane, and thank you, Theresa, and thank you to the callers for calling in. We appreciate that. That is all the time we have for tonight. Get a pen and paper now if you need any important number related to tonight's subject, or if you would like to contact us, we will have that information coming up next. Right now, though, I would like to thank you for your calls again, and thank you for watching. Join us again next Friday night at 11:00 on UNC-TV as we continue with more discussions and your calls when recovering from disaster in our state. For Black Issues Forum, I am Jay Holloway. You have a blessed evening and a good night.

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