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Mark B
Curious to know what you learned on your trip to the Gulf states, per your earlier posting. I am wondering if Feinberg has selected a TPA to replace ESIS? My sources at ESIS about a month ago advised that they were not going to stay in the picture but I haven't been able to find out who replaced them. I am originally from the Miss. Gulf Coast and am anxious to participate in the loss adjusting process. My background includes heavy claims and risk management experience in virtually every aspect of the disaster. I spent many years in the energy insurance arena in Lafayette, LA. My background includes deep familiarity and experience in ocean marine, well control, cargo, contractual liability, general liability, business interruption, Jones Act, USL&H, etc. I hold the CPCU and ARM designations and am a former underwriting member of Lloyds. Although I live in Dallas, I am willing to relocate to the Gulf Coast. This disaster has triggered an emotional need for me to be involved. I want to be a part of the claims process; that is part of the recovery process. Please let me hear from you or others with ideas about how to become involved.
Thanks,
Barney Mercer

Read on the net Ken was going to hire more local adjusters who understood the region and it's people. Sounds like a lawyer to me.

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

by Sasha Chavkin
ProPublica, Aug. 5, 8:33 p.m.

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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.
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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.

Patricia Wright, a spokeswoman for BP, confirmed that ESIS would be replaced, and said that the decision was made by Feinberg without BP’s involvement. She said that BP was continuing to pay claims and that ESIS would stay on the job while BP retained control of the process. “Our contractors will continue to work until we transition,” Wright said.

The companies that will replace ESIS, Garden City Group and the law firm BrownGreer, both specialize in the resolution of mass claims. BrownGreer was previously hired by Feinberg [3] as a fee and expense analyst during his tenure as the executive pay czar overseeing compensation at banks that were bailed out by the federal government.

If you've filed a claim with BP, we want to hear about your experience [4]. For more information about the claims process, check out our Unofficial Guide to BP Spill Claims [5].

Amanda Michel contributed reporting to this piece, and is coordinating our BP claims project [6].

Crawford & Company has confirmed that GCG has been retained to assist Feinberg Rozen, LLP with Mr. Ken Feinberg’s role as the administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

"GCG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crawford & Company, has been engaged by Ken Feinberg of Feinberg Rozen, LLP, as a vendor to assist in the creation and management of the independent gulf coast claims facility," confirmed a spokesperson from Crawford, who said all further questions should be referred to Mr. Feinberg’s office.

Mr. Feinberg has been retained by President Obama and BP to administer the Fund. His selection received strong approval and support from the Obama Administration.

According to its web site, GCG — formerly known as Garden City Group — is a recognized leader in class-action, legal settlement administration. Crawford also offers other services, including property/casualty claim management and workers’ compensation claims and medical management. GCG has past experience handling large, complex cases, including the $6.2 billion WorldCom Securities litigation. It also handled General Motors’ bankruptcy efforts.

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://oascentral.nationalunderwriter.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/www.claims.com/catastropherestoration/News/2010/8/Pages/BREAKING-Crawford-Confirms-New-Role-in-Oil-Spill-Claims.aspx/1120108181245@!"></script>

According to Mr. Feinberg's spokesperson, Worley Catastrophe Response Company will continue to work with his office to assist with the administration of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, including the staffing of 36 claim office facilities throughout the affected Gulf region. ESIS continues to work with BP but will not be directly involved with the GCCF once the transition to the new facility has occurred..

 

More information to follow as it becomes available.

 

Posted by William S Cook

Florida Public Adjuster

Posted By William S Cook on 18 Aug 2010 09:46 PM

Ray

GCG is a subsidiary of Crawford.

I don't think the Garden City Group will be using the normal Crawford cat croud.

If they do they will be guilty of UPl.

Remember this is not an insurance claim and insurance claim adjusters have no greater authority to process a tortclaim than the postman or the poolboy.

Perhaps you are aware of something I may not have information on.  Please advise.

William S Cook

Florida Public Adjuster

 

 

 

Hot off the press. The law firm that Ken Feinberg hired, handled the claims administration on the vioxx class action settlement. They are able to handle all claims dumped into Ken's fund. So no new jobs for adjusters. Ken was quoted as saying today, "everything looked fine and back to normal to him on the AL and FL gulf coast. Be sure to check out the above link I posted. Pretty cool stuff. Hear you can buy a beach condo real cheap now. BP has already bought and paid for this guy.

Jungle drums say that Worley will cut existing staff, most likely those answering the telephone and keep on handling claims and Crawford will hire staff to answer telephones and talk to claimants. Just gossip, just gossip.

Mike Worley is full of it. I happen to personallhy know several people that are presently working there that are property adjusters and I know several that are certified for different carriers.
Mike needs to get his facts straight.

Posted By WILLIS on 21 Aug 2010 01:35 AM

Gotta love those Gulf business folks. The guy who owned a gift shop in Orange Beach claims BP is just not paying enough. He claims he lost at least $825K in July alone. Who makes that much in one month.   No one was in the store  and most of the stuff looked like tourist junk. BP first told him his claim was only worth $152,000.00  but after their accountants review  his business was losing money thus his claim was worth zero.  Nothing has changed since Katrina. Everyone claims big losses  one problem they have nothing to support their claim.  Very few had the lifestyle of someone making the "big bucks" they were claiming. Those ended in lawsuits; BP claims will suffer a similar fate.  With BP winding down the open claims will take time to conclude. Very few storm adjusters have the background to work these complicated claims.

The bulk of the adjusters deployed with Worley are rookies, not alot of skill required to push paper

Posted By BarbH on 23 Aug 2010 10:23 PM
Mike Worley is full of it. I happen to personallhy know several people that are presently working there that are property adjusters and I know several that are certified for different carriers.
Mike needs to get his facts straight.

That is pure comedy as over a dozen of my guys are working for Worley from the BP spill and every one of them ARE property adjusters and ALL are on other rosters for multiple firms.

My opine about the qualifications of any of the temp people working third party liability claims for BP, will be limited to history lessons and best practices learned by casualty insurers over the past 100 years in the USA.

Thousand,s of third party claimants claims were created by BP and possibly others. Hundreds of new short time temp job has to be filled in a very short time frame. Hire contractors who have a plan in place and START excepting claims ASAP. This has been done on 8/24/2010.Now today thousands of UNRESOLVED claims remain open.This phase will be more protracted.... BECAUSE the submitted claim DEMANDS are not DOCUMENTED by the court standards of evidence. This is now in the hands of GCCO

Good experienced adjusters are still needed. The USA has thousands and thousands. Borrow them,from the big liability insurers, ask retired third party adjusters to come back for three months work for the greater good. Roof thumpers are not needed.This could be triage adjusting, coming of age.

 

Mayor: Feinberg to change claims policy

 ORANGE BEACH, Alabama (WALA) - After a closed meeting with claims czar Ken Feinberg, Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said he felt that Feinberg was "humbled." Kennon attributed the new side of Feinberg to major pressure being brought by a Louisiana judge and an associate attorney general within the Department of Justice. Kennon said during an hour and half long meeting in Pensacola, he and other elected officials talked specifics with Feinberg."

• Kennon said the reconsideration of eligibility is finally being addressed by Feinberg.

• Kennon also said Feinberg promised to get more adjusters working on the ground.

  "He has promised he is going to have more people on the ground doing more one on one claims response which is what we've been asking for. If he'll do that, that will solve a lot of our problems because so many of our claims are falling into a black hole and we have too much fraud. We need to get those folks out of the system," Kennon said.

   

  The above comes from a WALA-TV article. Click here to read the full article.

Well lets play with a  contingency loss of income claim that the owner of the shopping center purchased from Lloyds. The news account is his tenants could not pay their rent as people did not visit the beach after the oil spill and THEY lost  their income stream and his loss was $125,000 per month, as forgave his tenants monthly non payments. Well does this sound like a policy that would have some small print . 

Do you think a very good adjuster is on the ground in Orange Beach, AL and can do a good investiagtion to submit to the coverage attorney for an opinion ?