Countywide : Program Helps End Insurance Disputes

The California Department of Insurance has started an arbitration program to help settle consumer complaints against insurance companies--a program designed to be faster and cheaper than the court system.

The 2-month-old program, which is based in Orange and 11 other cities statewide, handles disputes involving traffic accidents, personal injury cases and other small insurance claims. The pilot program is operated jointly by the State Department of Insurance and the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, a private company.

“This is designed for persons who do not have attorneys and are in a case that is going to take a long time to resolve and will be expensive,” said Dave Stolls, chief of the claims services bureau for the state Department of Insurance. “This gives the consumer his day in court without tying up the courts . . . and insurance companies can save money in defense costs.”

The service is voluntary and cases are heard by retired judges.

Stolls said the judges handle insurance claims of $1,000 to $15,000, and that both parties must agree to the ground rules of the arbitration hearing. Each party--the consumer with a complaint and the insurance carrier--must represent themselves, and the judge’s decision is binding.

Jack Unroe, president of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, said that the service is for people who do not have attorneys and cannot afford to get bogged down in lengthy legal battles.

“Some people just want to get on with their lives,” Unroe said. “This is an alternative to going to court.”

The firm charges insurance companies $325 for each case and consumers $50, he said.