In what seems to be a hastily written press release, BP informs that the Claims for Damages it is receiving are fraudulent. Mr. Kenneth Feinberg has added quotes to the story, which has been reported widely. See, e.g., John Schwartz, "Claims to BP Fund Attract Scrutiny/Missing Documents, Questionable Losses and Suspected Fraud" p. 21, col. 1 (New York Times Nat'l ed., Sunday, October 3, 2010).
On a note related to the investigation of Claims, Mr. Feinberg's earlier tentative limitation on Claims to those close to the Deepwater Horizon Disaster site, see Sara K. Clarke and Jason Garcia, "BP Claims Czar Drops in on Orlando" p. 9, col. 2 (Orlando Sentinel, "Central Florida Business Section," Monday, September 20, 2010), runs afoul of experienced advice presented at the 2010 CPCU Society Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida last week. The advice was that the Risk of Catastrophic Damage is made by factors other than simple measurements such as how far the Damage is from the Gulf Coast. Reliance on such measurements of Hazard and Risk can mislead.
Sometimes the Model used in one area is just not a good fit when it is used in another area.
These and similar Insurance Questions including how to handle Catastrophe Claims including Claims Investigation and Evaluation, have in general terms been addressed by many Courts, Insurance Companies, and Insureds, in many decided Cases. Dennis Wall is Co-Author of the leading book on Insurance Coverage for Catastrophe Claims, "CATClaims: Insurance Coverage for Natural and Man-Made Disasters" (West Publishing Company 2008; 2010 Supplement in process). An experienced Expert Witness in Insurance Cases himself, Mr. Wall will speak on Business Interruption Insurance Coverage Issues including those arising out of the BP Oil Spill Catastrophe, on November 17, 2010, at a Seminar of the Insurance Law Committee sponsored by the Orange County Bar Association in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Wall will also speak on a panel at the American Conference Institute's Bad Faith Litigation Conference in Orlando, Florida on November 30, 2010 on "Dealing With Catastrophic Disasters: How to Properly Investigate and Handle Overwhelming Claims". The author has been advised by the American Conference Institute that the ACI is continuing to offer its discount to readers of this Blog: Download ACI Advises Readers of the Insurance Claims and Issues and Insurance Claims and Bad Faith Law Blog are entitled to a discount.
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