President Joe Biden delivered a national update Thursday on his administration’s efforts to help the millions of people affected by Hurricane Ida along the Gulf Coast and in the Northeast, during which he “called on” insurance companies to put business aside and provide assistance to those in need.
Biden, who is scheduled to visit Louisiana to survey hurricane damage on Friday, remarked that “right now” insurers are denying living expenses for victims “for additional living assistance expenses unless the homeowner was under a mandatory evacuation order.”
“We can all understand why folks felt safest leaving their homes and going elsewhere,” the president stated. “No one fled this killer storm because they were looking for a vacation or a road trip or to be able to stay in a hotel. They left their homes because they felt it was flee or risk death. There’s nothing voluntary about that.”
“I’m calling on the insurance companies at this critical moment. Don’t hide behind the fine print and technicality. Do your job. Keep your commitment to your communities you insure,” he continued. “Do the right thing. Pay your policyholders what you owe them to cover the cost of temporary housing in the midst of a natural disaster. Help those in need. That’s what all of us need to do.”
Biden also expressed that, throughout the week, he’d expressed that same message to local officials and utility and energy company representatives in virtual meetings.
“We’re reminded that this isn’t about politics. Hurricane Ida didn’t care if you were a Democrat or Republican, rural or urban,” Biden said in closing. “It’s a matter of life and death, and we’re all in this together.”
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You can watch the president’s entire remarks below.
