The Small Business Administration (SBA)
provides assistance to private and non-profit organizations who have
suffered physical damage as a result of a disaster.
Any business in a declared disaster area may be eligible to
apply for a physical disaster loan of up to $2 million.
The loan can be used for repair or replacement of real
property, machinery, equipment, fixtures, inventory and leasehold
improvements. The interest rate is determined by the applicant's
ability to obtain credit elsewhere.
If the applicant cannot obtain credit elsewhere, a maximum
interest rate of 4 percent per year is imposed.
Long term loans extend up to 30 years.
An Economic Injury Loan (EIDL) is available to
small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and certain
private, non-profit organizations of all sizes that have suffered
substantial economic injury resulting from a physical disaster or an
agricultural production disaster.
The EIDL can provide up to $2 million in disaster assistance.
The interest rate on EIDL's cannot exceed 4 percent per year, loans
cannot exceed 30 years and terms will be determined by the ability
to repay the loan. To obtain more information about the SBA's
disaster assistance loan program and other programs and services
available to businesses, please contact 305-536-5521 or visit
www.sba.gov.
U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Business Loan Application
Small Business Development Center
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
provides counseling and assistance to help businesses recover that
have temporarily closed or incurred damage due to a natural
disaster. The SBDC is
located at 111 E. Last Olas Blvd., Room
530, Fort Lauderdale,
FL 33301.
To contact the SBDC, please call 954-762-5201 or visit
www.floridasbdc.org.
Enterprise Florida Inc.
Enterprise
Florida offers no interest, short-term (bridge)
loans funded by the State of
Florida
to help businesses quickly recover from structural repairs and
replace lost or damaged inventory.
The short-term bridge loans will assist businesses in
bridging the gap between the time the damage occurred and when the
company can access insurance funds and SBA loans. The short term
bridge loan lasts from 90 to 180 days with a maximum loan amount of
$25,000 to be borrowed.
The short-term bridge loan is only offered on a first come first
serve. The loan
application will be considered within 48-72 hours.
To qualify for the short-term bridge loan, businesses must be
in existence for a year.
To download the application for the short-term bridge loan, please
visit
www.browardalliance.org.
WorkForce One
WorkForce One provides disaster unemployment
assistance and temporary employment (e.g. storm clean-up) for
individual snot working due to a natural disaster.
To contact Workforce One
please call the following:
- For jobs seekers call 954-611-jobs
- For Employers call 954-677-5555
For more information on WorkForce One programs
and services, please visit www.employflorida.com.
To apply to the
Florida unemployment assistance program, for
individuals who are still unemployed as a result of a natural
disaster, call 800-204-2418 or visit
www.fluidnow.com.
There is also a short time compensation program if
individuals have had working hours reduced as a result of a natural
disaster.
Florida Department of Financial Services
The Florida Department of Financial Services
provides information regarding filing insurance claims for damages
incurred due to a natural disaster.
A representative from financial services will provide
information regarding Florida law
affecting insurance claims and other insurance issues related to
Florida businesses directly impacted by a
natural disaster. The
phone number for homeowners to contact the Florida Department of
Financial Services is 1-800-22-STORM or by visiting
www.fldfs.com.
For business issues, businesses should fax business name,
mailing address, all insurance information, date of loss, and names
of all interested parties to 850-488-6372. Any repair work to limit
damages should commence immediately.
Businesses are encouraged to keep all photos, records,
invoices of all repairs completed after a natural disaster.
Depending on the scale of the damage, disaster adjusters may need
extra time to get in contact with claimants.
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