SBA Approves Loans for Indiana Disaster Victims

Officials of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that $1,394,900 in loan monies have been approved for home and business owners in Indiana who incurred damage and loss in the severe storms and flooding that occurred between Sept. 12 and Oct. 6.

To date, 10,602 SBA loan application packets have been sent out - 9,269 to homeowners and 1,332 to business owners. These SBA packets were sent out in response to those people having applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster assistance.

To begin the process of being considered for various types of federal, state or other assistance, residents in disaster-declared counties need to call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the speech or hearing impaired. Phone lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and multilingual operators are available at all times. Disaster victims also may apply online at www.fema.gov.

Disaster recovery officials from FEMA and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) urge disaster victims who have applied for assistance and received an SBA disaster loan application to complete and return it as soon as possible. Even if they do not want a loan or assume they don't qualify, anyone who receives an SBA loan application must complete that application in order to be considered for other grant programs.

SBA loan amounts are based on the actual cost of repairing or rebuilding a damaged home or business and replacing damaged personal property, minus any insurance reimbursements or benefits from other agencies or organizations for the same loss. However, disaster victims do not have to wait for their insurance settlement before applying for an SBA loan.

Businesses of any size and private non-profit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of making improvements that protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

And, for small businesses, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. This assistance is available even if the business suffered no property damage.