Large membership organizations, such as American Arbitration Association, have established rules and procedures, and can provide a list of neutrals who can serve as arbitrators. How it Works By James H. Keil Settlement of insurance claims is often a difficult matter. One reason for this difficulty is that appraisal teams brought in to help advocate one position or another, while extremely knowledgeable in gathering details, may not be as knowledgeable in process detail. Getting a claim on the table is one thing, getting movement toward resolution is another. Using insurance neutrals to help develop a process that gets issues resolved and that establishes deadlines for performance can save time and money for participants.
Mediation is one avenue that can be used.
Parties to almost any contractual arrangement can agree to attempt mediation of their disputes. The mediator is selected by the parties and has no powers of settlement. Rather, the mediator brings process skills, industry knowledge, and the know how to keep people focused on the issues, and not the personalities. Mediation provides a great deal of process flexibility, and, indeed, requires the direct participation of the parties involved in a dispute in formulating and designing their own settlement, and for them to ultimately agree on a solution. Parties are not as restricted as to terms of settlement, and there is opportunity for some bargaining that would be denied in many other settlement formats.