Stop your cleanup from cleaning you out!
A petroleum leak can break the bank, but with our LUST Fund claims management and advisory services, we’ll help you reduce the impact of cleanup on your bottom line.
Environmental Claims Management
Having managed tens of thousands of sites participating in various state fund programs over the past 25 years, we’ve developed strategies and tools that allow us to streamline the claims process and produce a maximally reimbursable claim, quickly and accurately.
The best tools
Our powerful and proprietary data tools provide insight into your reimbursement success, forecast when you will receive your money, and identify where you might stand to recover more or mitigate costs.
Expertise you can count on
Our experienced professionals understand the distinct and ever-changing Fund reimbursement requirements of each state program and are a strategic cost-recovery resource.
A winning process
After managing hundreds of applicants on tens of thousands of properties impacted by UST cleanup, our process expedites claims payment and increases your available capital.
The benefits of a Centralized Approach
While other solutions exist to reduce the administrative and financial burden of private and state administrated leaking UST claims reimbursement, the 25 years of industry experience and established process offered by Pinnacle Environmental Management Support (EMS) results in a low net cost solution—all while paying dividends across your company. Our centralized approach to claims management drives five key areas of value.
1. Maximize Reimbursement Potential
Our process and proprietary tools ensure deadlines are not missed, appeals are quickly filed on denied costs, and all eligible costs are claimed—quickly and efficiently. Whether your cleanup is ongoing, your claim was previously denied, or you’re unsure of your opportunity to be reimbursed on cleanup that occurred in the past, we have the technical expertise to provide visibility and increase your ability to recover.
2. Streamline Project Management
With your claims process managed by the only independent claims management firm, you have the peace of mind that your reimbursement will be centralized throughout any transition of remediation contracts, allowing for accountability and comparison between your environmental consultants and key performance indicators on your reimbursement portfolio.
3. Cashflow Forecasting
As a part of our efficient claims management process, key information about your reimbursement picture is collected and presented in powerful reporting to give you the information needed to make decisions for your business. Our reporting answers the question of when you should expect your money, how much you may recover, and where improvement can be made to drive higher recovery and shorter turn around on your remediation costs.
4. Up to Date Fund information
Our 25 years of experience and established relationships with regulators and key industry players translates to important information regarding changing regulations and requirements that may affect your ability to seek reimbursement. Our fund balance tracking allows for a complete picture of reimbursement prospects when making decisions to pursue reimbursement or acquire or divest fund eligible properties nationwide.
5. Support Acquisition/Divestment Activities
Our trained staff of industry leading experts have the expertise to support your acquisition and divestment departments, including but not limited to providing important historical context to your environmental liability decisions, track compliance with remediation contract terms, or advising on the best way to structure claim transfers during acquisition or divestment transfers during a sale.
Get Answers Where You Need Them
Address the risks to your bottom line
After addressing the risks associated with UST leak remediation, many overlook the additional risk posed by a suboptimal reimbursement process for recovering eligible costs associated with cleanup. For companies looking to recoup every eligible dollar spent, the environmental claims management services of Pinnacle EMS address the three areas that threaten a company’s bottom-line.
Avoid denials of eligible costs: Whether losses are the result of missed deadlines or not adhering to cost preapproval/budgeting requirements, our fail-proof system of electronic tracking, detailed reporting on costs being denied, and training programs for environmental consultants with respect to various state fund program requirements, assure claimants of the best chance of receiving maximum reimbursement.
Ensure expedited recovery of money: There is the risk and cost associated with the time value of money. If costs are incurred and not billed timely, submitted timely, and followed up on timely, interest and carrying charges may be incurred unnecessarily.
Advocate for favorable outcomes: Professional advocacy services and a dedicated and experienced team of regulatory experts ensure that both the owner/operator and the remediation consultant stay abreast of the impact of ever-changing regulations and policies associated with state cleanup funds. In addition, as financially stressed state governments seek to balance competing revenue needs, Pinnacle EMS will keep you apprised of the risk of balance “raiding” whereas revenue is reallocated in the state budget for other uses as well as work with local stakeholder representatives to make the case for ensuring funding remains dedicated to cleanup purposes.
Aspects of Service
State Fund Outlook
Due to the changing regulatory and legislative environment, coupled with the financial ups and downs of the State Cleanup Funds, Pinnacle EMS will provide timely updates as legislation, regulations, and policies are considered or implemented that may impact your ability to recover from these Funds. This will allow you and your team to make the best decisions possible to continue to meet your objective of ensuring maximum recovery of costs.
Advocacy & Process Improvement: Advocacy and process improvement are what sets us apart. Our clients constantly tell us that our efforts in the form of advocacy and process improvement have made their claims reimbursement programs more successful than they ever had been. Having senior claims staff in tune with state regulators and stakeholder groups ensures you will have a front seat to changes being considered in terms of new legislation, regulations, or policy changes.
Claims Management
Our service offering starts with ensuring your professional staff and environmental consultants are always aware of the requirements of each State Cleanup Fund. While some sites may have cleanup work conducted under a Direct Pay program to your consultant, Pinnacle EMS’s approach is customized so that you can still maintain knowledge and control over all related claim information:
Reporting & Reimbursement Analysis: Real-time reporting is key to driving high performance and actionable insights. As a byproduct of our claim preparation and tracking process, the information you need is captured and summarized to help support decision-making across your business unit. Exhibit A highlights just a few of the reports we have available to provide valuable insights into reimbursement and recovery activity.
Claim status tracking to support follow-up and identify opportunities for action
Performance reports to track unreimbursed amounts, detailed by consultant and category
Cash flow forecasting to project when you’ll receive payment and how much to expect
Claim Transfer Support
As your portfolio changes through acquisitions or divestments, Pinnacle EMS can provide answers regarding how to gain access to or transfer claim rights. We’ll ensure you begin recovering immediately and act as your guide to establishing or transferring eligibility and navigating questions of required documentation.
Electronic claims management platform
As a byproduct of our efficient claims process, powerful reporting is produced to give you the information you need to increase profitability by reducing the net impact of cleanup. ECMS is the largest database of its kind, with the capability to produce instant analytical reporting such as claim status, claim performance, and cash flow projections.
Our independence is your competitive edge.
Our only priority is raising your reimbursement potential.
We are one of the largest nationwide providers that are independent and separate from the UST cleanup process, benefiting tank owners and environmental consultants alike.
Station owners recognize our unique position to confirm that all costs expended are contractually authorized and then recovered promptly from State Cleanup Funds or insurance policies.
Environmental consultants benefit from our centralized claims management process that boosts accountability, reduces time spent waiting on invoice payment, and ultimately drives more to their bottom line.
That’s why we’re trusted by the largest names in petroleum retail and environmental engineering. If you want to learn more about how we can help you and your business, please contact us today!
Let’s get results together.
Over a two-year period, Pinnacle EMS was able to produce outstanding results for one such client by improving their recovery rate by close to 14% and reducing the turnaround time on cost recovery by almost 3 weeks.