Florida officials complain BP claims process is too slow
While BP has pledged to spend $20 billion compensating victims everywhere, the vast majority of Florida claims remain unresolved. Floridians have received less than $40 million so far.
At a state Cabinet meeting Tuesday, state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Gov. Charlie Crist criticized the claims process, saying that BP’s compensation fund has been slow to pay struggling Florida businesses along the Gulf Coast.
Sink said Ken Feinberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama to oversee the compensation fund, had promised people were going to be made whole and this is not happening. is just not right, said Sink, a Democratic candidate for governor. Senate, agreed.
think it would be more than appropriate for us (the governor and Cabinet) to co sign a letter encouraging increased urgency, Crist said. becoming increasingly difficult for (some businesses) to be able to hang [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] on. Twenty billion is no small sum of change, but it’s no good unless it’s utilized. of Monday, Feinberg’s compensation fund had paid out $37.5 million in claims to Floridians, settling 5,134 claims out of the 18,465 that had been submitted, according to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.
The claims fall into two categories. claims, which represent up to six months of lost income, have to be submitted within 90 days of Aug. 23. The second category are claims, which represent long term losses and are expected to take more time to process.
One of the major differences between the claims is that [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] businesses and individuals who submit claims retain the right to seek more damages in court. If they opt for final claims, they waive their right to litigation.
The bulk of the [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] Florida claims fall into the emergency category totaling 17,105 claims, with 5,134 of those being paid. Some 1,360 claims have been submitted, although none have been paid so far. In addition to the $37.5 million paid to Floridians from the compensation fund, Feinberg has also reached an agreement with the Florida Realtors for $16 million to compensate agents for lost sales and broken contracts stemming from the Gulf oil spill.
In Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Agriculture Secretary Charlie Bronson said he was OK with pushing Feinberg to make sure legitimate Florida claims are paid quickly, but urged caution because of the concern for fraud.
Sink said she shared Bronson’s concerns about fraud, but argued that fraudulent claims were likely to make up 5 percent or so of the applications, and that it didn’t make sense to punish the 95 percent of claimants who were legitimately facing business problems. Sink cited a letter from a Pensacola businessman who has been representing area business owners dealing with Feinberg and said he knew of no Pensacola area business that has been fully compensated for lost business.
Feinberg, meanwhile, told the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association’s fall board meeting in Orlando on Tuesday that he would consider claims in Florida even if they were not close in to the Gulf oil spill.
State officials complain BP claims process is too slowFrom staff and wire reportsGulf Coast Claims Facility Administrator Ken Feinberg speaks at the fall board meeting of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association in.
While BP has pledged to spend $20 billion compensating victims everywhere, the vast majority of Florida claims remain unresolved. Floridians have received less than $40 million so far.
At a state Cabinet meeting Tuesday, state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Gov. Charlie Crist criticized the claims process, saying that BP’s compensation fund has been slow to pay struggling Florida businesses along the Gulf Coast.
Sink said Ken Feinberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama to oversee the compensation fund, had promised people were going to be made whole and this is not happening. is just not right, said Sink, a Democratic candidate for governor. Senate, agreed.
think it would be more than appropriate for us (the governor and Cabinet) to co sign a letter encouraging increased urgency, Crist said. becoming increasingly difficult for (some businesses) to be able to hang on. Twenty billion is no small sum of change, but it’s no good unless it’s utilized. of Monday, Feinberg’s compensation fund had paid out $37.5 million in claims to Floridians, settling 5,134 claims out of the 18,465 that had been submitted, according to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.
The claims fall into two categories. claims, which represent up to six months of lost income, have to be submitted within 90 days [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] of Aug. 23. The second category are claims, which represent long term losses and are expected to take more time to process.
One of the major differences between the claims is that businesses and individuals who submit claims retain the right to seek more damages in court. If they opt for final claims, they waive their right to litigation.
The bulk of the Florida claims fall into the emergency category totaling 17,105 claims, with 5,134 of those being paid. Some 1,360 claims have been submitted, although none have been paid so far. In addition to the $37.5 million paid to Floridians from the compensation fund, Feinberg has also reached an agreement with the Florida Realtors for $16 million to compensate agents for lost sales and broken contracts stemming from the Gulf oil spill.
In Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Agriculture Secretary Charlie Bronson said he was OK with pushing Feinberg to make sure legitimate Florida claims are paid quickly, but urged caution because of the concern for fraud.
Sink said she shared Bronson’s concerns about fraud, but argued that fraudulent claims were likely to make up [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] 5 percent or so of the applications, and that it didn’t make sense to punish the 95 percent of claimants who were legitimately facing business problems. Sink cited a letter from a Pensacola businessman who has been representing area business owners dealing with Feinberg and said he knew of no Pensacola area business that has been fully compensated for lost business.
Feinberg, meanwhile, told the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association’s fall board meeting in Orlando on Tuesday that he would consider claims in Florida even if they were not close in to the Gulf oil spill.
[عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا]