The Gulf Coast Claims Facility or GCCF is the governing body authorized to process claims for property, livelihood, and environmental damage. The GCCF spill response fund amounts to $20 billion and is going to be distributed to claimants as compensation for damages due to this catastrophe. The Gulf Coast Claims Facility began accepting claims on August 23, 2010 and have so far distributed an estimated total of $2 billion dollars, with more allocated over the next couple of months.

Dealing with a catastrophe such as this is by no means a walk-in-the-park. Residents of the affected areas claim that the damage caused by the spill is almost irreversible. There were minor issues with early claims as Kenneth Feinberg, the man and the law firm in charge of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, promised to enhance the process of distributing checks by improving the claims process. The plan was to allocate each business and claim according to industry to speed up the distribution of compensation. Residents of Florida and Louisiana were initially unsatisfied with the claims process as thousands of qualified claims were allegedly denied by Feinberg.

It is important to note that the Emergency Payments phase of the claims facility ended last November 23, 2010. Final and Interim payment protocols are as follows:

• To be eligible in filing for a Final or Interim Payment claim, individuals or businesses may make a claim provided that the incurred costs of cleaning up or removal of the oil spill should be presented according to the GCCF guidelines.
• Full documentation of the costs incurred during the removal, prevention and clean-up process should be presented together with information on how preventive measures were taken to clean and remove the oil spill on a particular area.
• The Gulf Coast Claims Facility will also process claims for damage to real estate or property provided that information and documentation regarding the extent of the damage is presented accordingly.
• An individual or business that managed to incur loss in profits or potential earnings as a result of the spill need to present supporting documentation or evidence in filing such a claim.

Residents and business owners should contact the Gulf Coast Claims Facility and file for an online form to better facilitate the claims for damage of property.

In making an oil spill claim, you will have to go through British Petroleum’s claims department first to try and resolve a potential claim.

The following information will help you in determining if you have a possible oil spill claim. In making an oil spill claim, these are the following types that you can submit:

• Removal Costs
• Real or Personal Property Damage
• Loss of Profits and Earning Capacity
• Loss of Government Revenue
• Cost of Increased Public Services
• Natural Resource Damage

It is suggested you contact an Oil spill Attorney here on these pages to make sure that you don’t settle for less than what your are entitle to.