Who Has Received BP's Claims' Payments

Amy Schoenfeld, in a "Metrics" column in Sunday's New York Times, analyzes BP's payments as of July 2:

BP has now begun reimbursing businesses that rely on the gulf for their revenue. Since May, it has paid just under a third of the more than 90,000 claims it has received, with the checks totaling more than $144 million.

About 80 percent of the payments have gone to self-employed workers — including shrimpers, charter boat captains and beachfront condo owners — who can clearly show that the spill has affected their ability to make a profit. Fewer large businesses have been compensated because their claims are more complex and take longer to process.

So far, payments have been fairly small, averaging about $2,500 a month for a deckhand or $5,000 for a fisherman. BP estimates that about 13,000 people are receiving prepayments, often 30 days in advance.

The total bill is sure to grow exponentially, with more than 2,000 applications coming in each day. After negotiations with President Obama last month, BP promised to set aside $20 billion to continue to pay business claims and handle requests from local governments to cover cleanup and administrative costs.

Included in her article is the following graphic: