The Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) is the official way for individuals and businesses filing claims for damages related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The GCCF took over the claims process from BP in late August of 2010 and opened 35 offices in Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Texas, and Mississippi. A claim is considered "processed" when:
• the GCCF has made an offer of payment (to which the individual has 90 days to accept or reject)
• the GCCF has made a payment
• the GCCF has sent the claimant notice of insubstantial claim documentation or proof
• the GCCF has sent the claimant notice of claim denial
In the year since the spill the GCCF has received over 860,000 claims submitted by approximately 514, 263 claimants. Over 200,000 claimants have submitted claims in Louisiana alone.
• As of June 1st, 273,053 of 298,932 total Interim and Final Claimants had been reviewed. Of these, approximately 51% had been issued a final payment with the majority (82%) of final payments being "Quick Pay". In Louisiana, nearly 100,000 Interim and Final payment claimants had been reviewed with about half receiving final payments as of June 1st.
• Of the approximately 300,000 reviewed Interim and Final Claimants, more than 75,600 claimants have been denied as of June 1st with over 32,000 denied in Louisiana.
• Approximately 32,000 total claimants including about 12,000 Louisiana claimants were notified that additional claim documentation was required. Over 26,000 total claimants remain under review.
• Of 309,345 total claimants with filed claims under Quick Pay, Interim and Full Review, about 50% have been paid as of June 1st, 2011. In Louisiana, about 46% of claims filed under this category have been paid. These numbers include individuals and businesses but do not include claimants filing under Emergency Action Payment (EAP).
Payments by Industry
• Across the Gulf Coast the majority of individual payments made were related to the Food, Beverage, and Lodging industry (52%) or the Retail, Sales, and Service industry (32%). Less than 5% of claims paid to individuals in the region were in the seafood processing and distribution or fishing industries. For business claimants, the majority of claims paid are in the retail, sales, and service (37%), rental property (26.5%), and fishing (19%) industries.
• In Louisiana, the breakdown of individual claims paid by industry echo the overall Gulf Coast trends. However, the majority of business claims paid in the state are in the retail, sales, and service (42%), fishing (34.5%), and food, beverage, and hospitality (12%) industries.
Geographic Area and Claim Approval?
The GCCF has been criticized for the lack of transparent criteria used to determine if a claim is accepted or denied. A lack of information on the criteria for payment and what demonstrates an oil spill related loss has been a source of frustration for claimants. GCCF administrator Kenneth Feinberg has stated "physical proximity from the spill will not, in and of itself, bar the processing of legitimate claims," but lists geographic proximity to the spill among requirements for claim payments, creating wiggle room in the payment of claims not based along the coastline. A breakdown of claims paid to individuals and businesses by Louisiana parish is available online at http://www.gulfcoastclaimsfacility.com/GCCF_Louisiana_Status_Report.pdf.
Despite the June 1st closing of eight Gulf Coast claim facilities, the GCCF will continue to process claims through August 22, 2013.
For questions about your GCCF Claim, Contact BP Oil Spill Lawyer.
Further References
FAQ regarding types of payment and claim filing
Link to the June 1, 2011 overall and state by state GCFF reports
