Frequently Asked Questions
You may need to pay part of your insurance benefit to the County of Maui, depending on what it says in your policy. See below for each situation:
a. My policy has an item that lists debris removal or cleanup with a specified dollar amount.
Specified or Separate Amount:
You will be required to pay the County any amount that you did not use for other debris removal work. The County encourages you to use your insurance funds for additional debris removal where possible. You may be required to provide documentation indicating that work was performed. See question #7
b. My policy does not list debris removal or cleanup:
You are not required to pay anything to the County for the CDRP.
c. My policy includes debris removal, but it does not have a specified dollar amount (i.e. it is included into a lump sum or general payout that includes other items like rebuild, etc.)
No Specified Amount:
You are only required to pay back what you do not use for other work like rebuilding. You may be required to provide documentation to the County indicating that you used the funds from your insurance policy in their entirety. If you spend your entire policy on rebuild, then you will not owe the County anything. See question #7.
How will I know what part of my insurance coverage is available for debris removal?
You should work with your insurance company to determine the available insurance funds that are designated for debris removal coverage in your policy. These funds are referred to as “debris removal designated insurance.” If you need additional assistance, you can contact the Hawaii Insurance Division (808-586-2790; https://cca.hawaii.gov/ins/fire-claim-information/), United Policyholders (415-393-9990; http://uphelp.org) or The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, (800-499-4302; https://www.legalaidhawaii.org) for assistance.
The County of Maui Department of Finance will start collection once FEMA releases the final per-parcel cost information for the CDRP. The County has hired a firm to handle outreach and collections for insurance. Please continue to check MauiRecovers.org/insurance for additional information.
a. In the case of a Specified or Separate Amount:
You do not owe anything until you have completed your property’s debris removal (including trees) and/or completed any repairs to your property caused by the CDRP. For many folks this is already done, so just hold on to your insurance proceeds until the County receives official data from FEMA and invoicing can begin.
b. In the case of No Specified Amount:
You do not owe anything until you have completed your property’s rebuild.
You will owe only as much money as is left over in your policy after any additional debris removal work or other eligible work is completed. See question #7.
FEMA regulation (Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, P.L. 93-288) prohibits duplication of benefits. This means that FEMA can only pay debris removal work for costs that your insurance would not cover. Based on FEMA’s most recent estimates, CDRP debris removal cost on average over $700,000 per residential parcel. If you think your policy coverage for debris removal exceeds this amount, please contact the County of Maui Office of Recovery. In almost all circumstances, the total cost for CDRP will be more than your insurance policy covers. If you have additional debris removal work to perform after CDRP, you should do so using your insurance money and save all documentation (see question #7).
No. The only money the County will collect on behalf of the State and Federal government is insurance proceeds designated for debris removal, less any offsetting expenses (see question #7).
After the County collects unused debris removal insurance money, the County will pay this to the State of Hawai‘i, who in turn must pay it to FEMA to avoid duplication of benefits.
Yes. The County strongly encourages any homeowner with debris removal insurance to use it for their property’s additional debris removal expenses. Any remaining proceeds will need to be turned over to the County. Below is a sample list of some debris you may be able to remove using your insurance policy:
- Driveways
- Fencing or walls made of concrete, wood, or other materials
- Swimming pools
- Concrete surfaces left from a porch, lanai, or stairs
- Hazard or non-hazard trees and other green waste
- Small structures or outbuildings damaged by the fire or winds but not eligible for CDRP
- Gravel or other erosion control measures left behind by the CDRP
You may also be able to use your insurance to pay for work related to debris removal, such as:
- Remediation of smoke damaged structures or personal property
- Repair of damage from extended service outages because of the fire
- Re-filling of holes or repair of damages caused by the CDRP
Remember to check with your insurance provider which of these items are eligible under your policy before starting any work. Keep any documentation for work performed.
Only if you have remaining debris removal insurance proceeds after the additional debris removal will be required to be submitted to the County. Refer to question 7 for more details.
The County or their contractor may contact insurance providers to obtain information on individual policies, including whether the provider has already given insurance money to the homeowner or is withholding it. Based on this information, the County will know if it needs to invoice the homeowner or the insurance provider.
Once you receive a copy of the invoice, the County will include additional instructions on what information the County will need from you. At that time, you will be prompted to indicate whether you have completed all debris removal, or if you expect additional debris removal expenses. Please continue to check for updates here on MauiRecovers.org/insurance.
Maintain all documentation for work performed. The County will work with your insurance provider to make sure that only remaining debris removal funds are collected. The County will refund any eligible work.
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