Louisiana’s First Premium Insurance to Process Oil Worker Fund Claims

A Covington, La., company has been hired to process applications for money from a $100 million fund set up by BP to help oil rig workers idled by a federal moratorium on new deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Louisiana charity running the program, the Gulf Coast Restoration and Protection Foundation, has contracted with First Premium Insurance Group to do the processing. First Premium is a Covington-based insurance company with a call center and a background in claims processing.

Grants will be limited to those who worked on the 33 rigs affected by the moratorium. Applications will be taken from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30.

The applications will be graded against each other. Grant checks ranging from $3,000 to $30,000 – depending on financial hardship – will be mailed in October.