Banks Trying to Expedite New York Storm Insurance Checks

The New York Department of Financial Services says five of the state’s largest banks and mortgage services will have representatives available this week to help homeowners cash insurance settlement checks from Superstorm Sandy.

Lender representatives will be at Disaster Assistance Centers on Long Island and New York City this Monday through Saturday to help owners complete steps for their banks endorse the settlement checks that are often written jointly.

Lenders are JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, CitiMortgage and Ocwen Loan Servicing.

Representatives from Assurant will be on hand on behalf of dozens of smaller banks and mortgage servicers.

The centers are in Long Beach, Seaford, Copiague, Averne and Staten Island.

The department says it recently found banks holding more than $200 million in insurance funds from Sandy victims.