It Figures
Gulf Oil Spill Claims
BP, which transitioned its individual and business claims program to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) and Kenneth Feinberg on Aug. 23, reported that it has made claim payments of nearly $400 million during the 16 weeks it managed claims related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP noted the following claims activity since May 3 when it paid its first claim:
Amount Paid: $399 million
Claims Filed: 154,000
Checks Written: 127,000
Calls Received: 166,000
The GCCF assumed responsibility for individual and business claims for individuals or businesses contacting. BP’s claims team will continue to handle government claims and funding requests.
During the first three weeks of August, BP said it made claims payments of $133 million. Payments to claimants in past months were $134 million in July, $93 million in June, and $39 million in May, making it one of the largest claim payment programs conducted in 16-week period.
Total Amounts Paid By Category
10.3%
The average workers’ compensation loss cost reduction for industrial classes in Kentucky approved by state regulators. This is the fifth consecutive year rates have dropped. For coal classes, underground mining costs are increasing 7.1 percent while surface mining costs remain unchanged.
5
The number of years’ prison sentence imposed on a former South Carolina firefighter for setting a series of fires that caused about $1.5 million in damage. The Island Packet of Hilton Head reported that 24-year-old Bryan Yeager of Beaufort pleaded no contest to arson and other charges in court. Yeager was accused of setting fires in 2007 and 2008 while he was a firefighter with the Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District. He had been charged with setting five fires and could have been sentenced to 27 years in prison if he had been convicted on all charges.