Superstorm Sandy Coverage Action Barred Under NFIP’s One-Year Limitations Period, Judge Rules

TRENTON, N.J. — An insurer cannot be held liable for refusing to pay Superstorm Sandy-related damages under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy because the policyholder failed to sue the insurer within the one-year statute of limitations imposed by the National Flood Insurance Act, a New Jersey federal judge has ruled.

In a July 14 order, Judge Jerome B. Simandle of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey found the limitations period began to run on the day the insurer partially denied the policyholder’s claim.

John Cholankeril Jr.’s Lavallete, N.J., ocean front property sustained severe flood damage during …