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SBA offers disaster loan assistance to hurricane victims

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers financial assistance to victims of natural disasters through its Disaster Recovery program. The program offers low-interest loans for up to 30 years for business owners, homeowners and renters who are victims of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.

Loans are available only to those who live or own businesses in regions that have been declared federal disaster areas. In addition, loans will be granted only to cover the verified uninsured disaster loss.

Homeowners are eligible to apply for home loans limited to $200,000 to repair or replace real estate. In addition, loans to repair or replace personal property are limited to $40,000 and are available to homeowners and renters.

Business loans are limited to $1.5 million to cover real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory and other physical losses. Businesses of any size are eligible to apply for assistance.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are available to small businesses that suffered economic injury because of a disaster and cannot afford to pay operating expenses. EIDLs are limited to $1.5 million and are available only to small businesses not compensated by business interruption insurance.

Homeowners and renters must register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at (800) 621-3362 or www.fema.gov/about/process to receive a FEMA registration ID number before applying for an SBA loan. Businesses can contact SBA directly to apply for a business loan.

For information about SBA's disaster recovery program, visit www.sba.gov/disaster_recov/index.html. For information about applying for an SBA disaster loan or to download an application, click here.

For general information or for a status update on disaster loan requests, call SBA's customer service line at (800) 659-2955 or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

9/20/2005  

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