Negotiation, Mediation, and Arbitration for the Insurance Professional

A joint presentation by ADR Institute of Canada, ADR Institute of Alberta, and Canadian Bar Association Alberta Branch

Approved by the Alberta Insurance Council for 6.5 hours credits for the insurance categories of life, accident and sickness, general, and adjuster. ADRIC approved for 13 CEE points

November 6, 2018, The Ranchmen’s Club, 710 – 13 Ave SW, Calgary
Registration: 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM

This presentation is for adjusters, claims handlers, brokers, and underwriters. Participants will:

• Understand principled negation
• Look for the win-win in all negotiations
• Know how to overcome roadblocks to agreement
• Practice negotiation skills with help from the instructors/coaches
• Understand mediation and judicial dispute resolution (JDR), and their differences
• Know when to seek either mediation or JDR during a dispute
• Know how to prepare for and maximize the benefits of mediation and JDR
• Understand the fundamentals of arbitration and umpire proceedings
• Know how to maximize efficiencies in arbitration and umpire proceedings
• Know how to choose or appoint an arbitrator or umpire
• Know how to enforce arbitration results

Negotiation

9:00 – 12:15, includes 15-minute break
Everyone negotiates something every day. Negotiation is the process of communication intended to reach an agreement where parties have some shared interests and some that are opposed. Many negotiations proceed based solely on intuition, but they could be more strategic. Far better to negotiate based on the merits rather than on what parties say they will or won’t do.

• Interest-based negotiation
• ‘Getting to Yes’ model
• How to prepare for negotiation
• Creating a collaborative process
• Gathering all the needed information
• Generating and evaluating options for agreement
• Role-play

Length: 3 hours

Lunch

Provided on-site, 12:15 – 1:00 PM

Mediation

1:00 – 3:00
Mediation is a timely and economical way for parties to resolve conflict with the assistance of a trained independent neutral facilitator. It is a process based on promoting cooperation and communication for the resolution of disputes and the preservation of relationships. The involvement of an unbiased and neutral third party helps parties focus on the real issues, use principled negotiation, and avoid positional bargaining. A mediator can help multi-party disputes by being a repository of confidential information and offers to avoid relational bargaining.

• What is it?
  • Different styles of mediation (from facilitative to evaluative)
  • Caucusing with parties
  • Combine with arbitration (med/arb)
    
    
• Why use it?
  • Helps break impasse
  • Focuses everyone on resolution
  • Utilizes interest-based fundamentals
  • Shortens the length of disputes
  • In litigation, stops the cost

• When to use it?
  • How much information is enough?
  • Before positions become hardened
  • When deadlines approach
    
    
• Maximize the benefit
  • Be prepared
  • Be a principled negotiator
  • Express empathy, regret, explain constraints
  • Make full use of the mediator
  • Pros and cons of offer strategies: extreme start positions, small or large movements
• Pitfalls and recovery strategies
• Examples of cases resolved through mediation
• Comparison with JDR

Length: 2.0 hours

Break

Arbitration (and Umpire Proceedings)

3:15 – 4:45

Arbitration is a private process for having a neutral third party or parties decide the outcome of a
dispute. The parties can choose the arbitrator(s) and set their own process and rules. The result is
binding and can become a court judgment.

• What is it?
• Why use it?
  • Fast
  • Cheap
  • Custom/Comprehensive
  • Performance/Compliance
  • Secret and confidential
  • Enforceable

• When to use it?
  • Coverage issues
  • Interpretation of contracts: commission
  • Costs after a settlement
  • Performance/breach of contracts
  • Damage assessments/valuations
  • Uninsured motorist claims (shall)
  • Anything!
• How to use it?
  • Maximize the flexibility
  • Do not replicate litigation
  • Evidence-first process

Length: 1.5 hours

Reception

4:45 – 5:30 on-site

Download Brochure

Registration Fee: $350.00

The organizers reserve the right to cancel the event if less than the minimum required participants have registered. Liability is limited to the registration fee.