BP's oil spill claims firm has boasted of paying as little as possible

[highplainsdem]

Source: NOLA.com

BP's oil spill claims firm has boasted of paying as little as possible
Published: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 9:26 PM Updated: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 10:01 PM
Jonathan Tilove


Even as BP was promising to improve its claims process Thursday under prodding from Adm. Thad Allen, a New Orleans public interest law firm was prodding Allen to take a closer look at the firm that BP relies on to handle the Gulf oil spill claims.

In a letter to Allen, Monique Harden and Nathalie Walker, co-directors of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, said BP's choice of ESIS to handle its claim process suggests that "BP's goal is to minimize the amount of money it pays to claimants."

In their letter to Allen, AEHR, which has been working to help fishers, shrimpers, oyster farmers and others put out of work by the BP oil spill navigate the claims process, noted that "the 'Recovery Services Fact Sheet' on the ESIS website, states that the goal of its services is 'reducing our client's loss dollar pay-outs.'"

"It's like the Road Home all over again, but in this case it's even worse," Harden said. She said that when BP promised to pay every "legitimate claim" the public didn't realize it was depending on a company to handle that process that boasts of its skill in paying as little as possible.

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Read more: http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/firm_bp_is_using_to_handle_oil.html

[yurbud]

1. they shouldn't get to decide how much to pay out.

[aquart]

2. BP delenda est.

[JDPriestly]

3. Those who have big claims should talk to a lawyer.

I wouldn't sign any documents regarding claim settlement without having my own lawyer explain to me what the document might mean.

[Nihil]

4. Well, well ...

... a loss adjuster who has a goal of "reducing our client's loss
dollar pay-outs"? Isn't that a surprise? Whoever thought that
loss-adjusters for insurance claims try to minimise their outgoings?

Gosh, aren't BP so evil that they used an American company operating
normal American business practices to process the claims from Americans?

BFD.

[fasttense]

5. BP is NOT using an American Corporation

"ESIS is part of the ACE Group, headed by ACE Limited. The ESIS claims team assisting BP was developed in 1995 and has extensive experience... ACE is an international insurance group based in Switzerland.."

It's the constant laying by BP that is worrying everyone. They say one thing and do another. When they hide the truth it makes you wonder what and why they are hiding and lying. It's certainly NOT being done to mitigate the damage they have caused.

[JoshieR]

6. This is the goal of any claims processor..

including medical insurance claims processors, dental, vision, auto, etc. An insurance company's job is not to pay your claims, it's to try to NOT pay your claims. This company operates under the same principle. Insurance companies are disgusting.

[madmom]

7. When they claim they will expedite the process, that just means they will

say "NO" faster.