In Shakeup, Incoming Spill Claims Czar Will Drop BP’s Contractor

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In Shakeup, Incoming Spill Claims Czar Will Drop BP’s Contractor

by Sasha Chavkin
ProPublica, Yesterday, 8:33 p.m.


Kenneth Feinberg, the independent paymaster chosen by President Obama to administer damage claims from the Gulf oil spill, will drop the contractor that BP has been using to manage the claims process and hire two new companies to replace it.

Feinberg is expected to take over the claims system from BP in mid-August. He will replace BP’s primary contractor for claims, ESIS Inc. <1>, with two other firms when he assumes control of the process, said Feinberg’s spokeswoman Amy Weiss. She did not say why ESIS was being replaced.

BP’s compensation system has been criticized by many applicants and so far made payments on only 28 percent% of claims. Applicants have described delays, unreturned phone calls and bureaucratic obstacles. Roughly $300 million has been disbursed to date; BP has agreed to set aside $20 billion to cover claims and other expenses.

Earlier this week, BP confirmed our report that the company has deferred decisions on thousands of claims <2> until Feinberg takes over the process. Many of those claimants had not been informed why their cases had been placed on hold.

A spokeswoman for ESIS’s parent company, ACE Group, has not responded to a request for comment on Feinberg’s decision.

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http://www.propublica.org/article/incoming-spill-claims-czar-will-drop-bps-contractor