Letters explaining the claims review process will start going out May 18 to policyholders who believe they were stiffed by their flood insurance companies after superstorm Sandy.a

According to a news release from Congressman Chris Smith's office, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which underwrites nearly all flood insurance coverage in the U.S., will begin sending these letters in batches by ZIP code within two weeks, . The recipients will have 90 days from the date of the notice to contact FEMA by phone or email to begin the review process.

This is the first tangible step in a an unprecedented reexamination of as many as 142,000 flood claims filed by homeowners after Sandy.

The review was ordered by FEMA after evidence emerged of a potentially widespread scheme to fundamentally change the engineering reports that insurance companies rely on to determine if a structural damage claim is paid out. Reports that blamed the post-Sandy damage on earth movement or house settling were often used to deny coverage.

Possible fraud aside, homeowners on the Shore and elsewhere have complained that they were lowballed by their insurers.

How this process will actually unfold began filtering out Wednesday evening after a meeting between FEMA leadership and members of New Jersey's U.S. House contingent. FEMA updated nonprofits and policyholder advocates during a conference call Thursday morning.

FEMA's Monty LeMaire, speaking to the nonprofit community, explained the steps:

"That's worst-case scenario," he said. "I actually anticipate us handling these much quicker."