If you have applied for FEMA assistance after suffering damage or loss directly from Hurricane Ida, you may have received a loan application from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
You don’t have to accept an SBA loan. However, you could be leaving money on the table if you are asked to apply, and you don’t complete and submit the application.
Certain Other Needs Assistance (ONA) awards from FEMA may help pay for uninsured losses for furniture, appliances and other personal property, primary vehicles, and group flood insurance for eligible applicants but you will not be considered for ONA if you don’t return the SBA loan application.
Some types of ONA — uninsured out-of-pocket expenses for medical, dental, funeral, moving and storage, childcare — are not SBA dependent and completing the loan application is not required. However, it’s always a good idea.
Additional details on the loan-application process can be obtained by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339) for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. For more SBA disaster assistance information visit go.usa.gov/xM8UQ.
For official information on the recovery effort, please visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4626. Follow us on twitter at twitter.com/femaregion4 and www.facebook.com/fema.