Mediation as means of cutting high litigation costs will be among the topics at an upcoming international conference on alternate dispute resolution, an executive said.
That is one of the items speakers will discuss at the upcoming CPR Institute's Third European Congress on May 10-11 in Paris, said Peter Phillips, senior vice president for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.
Nearly 100 representatives from corporations and law firms are signed up for the meeting that will include panels on Early Case Assessment systems, dissatisfaction with International Arbitration practices and pre-dispute pledge tools, CPR said.
Mr. Phillips said there will be a briefing on the recently developed International Reinsurance Industry Dispute Resolution Protocol.
The protocol developed with input from the London Market will be outlined by Paul Schwartz, a U.K. partner with Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, Mr. Phillips said.
Under the protocol, cedents and their insurers obtain each others documents and information about a problem within 30 days, Mr. Phillips explained. They assess their likelihood of exposure and meet promptly and try to negotiate a resolution.
"If they can't negotiate one, the protocol foresees they will bring in a mediator. The driving force is to solve the problem and move on and not spend substantial resources," Mr. Phillips related.
He said Paul Moss, head of claims for QBE European operations, would outline the benefits alternative dispute resolution and the differences in cost between mediation and arbitration.
Mr. Phillips said there is a concern in the insurance community about U.S. litigation trends that could affect the global property-casualty marketplace.
Liability insurance payouts to date, he said, have been flat or manageable, but "what is worrisome are the payouts with regard to legal representation. If you could manage that aspect of the business, that goes directly to the bottom line of the business."
Mr. Moss, according to Mr. Phillips, suggests that the challenge for claims operations "is to find better, quicker more efficient ways to handle disputes" between cedents and insurers."
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