The uses and abuses of mediation

Prior to the 1980s, very few reinsurance cases came before the Courts. Since that time, with billions of dollars at stake and a proliferation of insurance and reinsurance companies going into run off or in financial difficulties, more and more companies are entering into formal disputes. Litigation and arbitration have become big business and provide an excellent living to lawyers and retired insurance and reinsurance professionals, not to mention specialist companies providing inspection of records and dispute resolution services. What is surprising, however, is that so little effort is invested in trying to seek a commercial settlement before the parties and their legal advisors proceed to the litigation or arbitration stage. Mediation has been championed as the sensible alternative to arbitration and litigation, but is it the ideal model for resolving complex insurance and reinsurance disputes? According to Julian Ward , chief executive of JTW Reinsurance Consultants, not enough is done to manage the expectation of the disputing parties.