Milestone for BP Fund: Half of claims to date have been processed

The link to this press release by BP Gulf Claims Facility Administrator Kenneth Feinberg is HERE

Gulf Coast Claims Facility Announces an Important Milestone: Over Half of All Interim and Final Claims Submitted to the GCCF Have Been Processed

March 14, 2011  

Kenneth R. Feinberg, Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) created to process claims of victims of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Explosion, announced today that over 54% of all claims submitted to the GCCF since the end of the Emergency Payment period have been processed.

Feinberg stated that: “Since the end of the Emergency Payment period on November 23, 2010, the GCCF has received approximately 256,000 individual and business claims seeking Final Payments, Interim Payments or Quick Payments.” The GCCF has processed 138,874 (54.2%) of these claims. Some of the key statistics are as follows:

1. 99,905 Quick Payments ($5,000 for an individual; $25,000 for business). Total payments to date approximately $1 billion.
2. In less than one month since the February 18, 2011 formal announcement of the GCCF Final Rules, the GCCF has made Final Payment offers to 18,562 claimants totaling $174,018,282.00; 6,632 claimants have accepted these Final Payment offers totaling $66,612,269.00. The remaining claimants have 90 days from the date of their Final Payment offer to make a decision.
3. In less than one month since the announcement of the Final Rules, 2,763 claimants were paid Interim Payments totaling $36,976,875.00.
4. In less than one month since the announcement of the Final Rules, 19,413 claimants have received a deficiency letter requesting additional information, informing the claimant that the submission of inadequate documentation prevents the accelerated processing of their claims.
5. 2,277 claimants received notification that their reviewed claim resulted in a “0” loss determination.
6. 3,100 claims have been officially denied.
7. 117,889 claims (46%) remain to be processed by the GCCF (hundreds of claims continue to be filed on a daily basis).

Feinberg added: “We are determined to continue to accelerate the processing of all individual and business claims submitted to the GCCF. I remain concerned about the number of claims which lack proof and remain unsubstantiated.”

Feinberg concluded by stating: “We have taken important steps to increase the presence of GCCF personnel at our local claims offices. We have also added GCCF accountants in these offices to help claimants file their claims and learn more about the status of their claims. We are determined to make the GCCF claims process more transparent.”