Attendees:
Insurer Representatives FSCO - DRB
Cassandra Phillips AXA Barbara Dudzinski FSCO
Iain Convery Allianz Asfaw Seife FSCO
Scott McDonald Co-Operators Shonna Neil FSCO
Adam Fox Belair John Lobo FSCO
Deirdre Martin IBC Willie Handler FSCO
Margaret Morrison CGU
Brenda Fung CGU
Mike Dela Haye Wawanesa
Martine Sliva ING
Mary Wright Royal&SunAlliance
Ann Shewchuk Economical
The Dispute Resolution Group – Companies Forum includes representatives from auto insurance companies dealing with disputes before the Commission involving motor vehicle accident claims and Statutory Accident Benefits. It consults with the Dispute Resolution Group of Financial Services Commission of Ontario on issues relating to the dispute resolution system.
Opening
The meeting was called to order at 10.00 a.m. on April 17, 2003
Automobile Insurance Reform Update
- Willie Handler addressed the Forum and provided a brief update with respect to the status of the changes to the Insurance Act respecting automobile insurance
- He advised that the Ministry of Finance released draft regulations in late February, 2003
- He advised that the government committee working on the regulations had received about 75 written submissions and all of these submissions had been carefully reviewed
- Some of the proposed automobile insurance changes have proved to be contentious
- Some of the contentious items dealt with the Pre-Approved Framework ("PAF"), Designated Assessment Centre ("DAC"), Insurer examinations, Paralegal representation and anti-fraud measures
- The government is working hard to finalize the regulations as soon as possible
- Willie confirmed the intention of reverting back to Industry Assessment for Mediation/ Arbitration cost recovery. The final decision has not been made but will apply retroactively
- Mediation Application Filing Fee not being considered at this time
Elections of New Chair and Co-Chair
- Adam Fox was elected Chair, Scott McDonald, Co-Chair
Review and Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting - December 5, 2002
- Minutes were reviewed and approved.
Matters Arising From the Minutes
- Smart Forms and E-filing - the initial release will only include the Mediation Application. The recent pilot testing provided some useful feedback
- The target date for implementing the e-filing of Mediation Applications is December 31, 2003
- "Smart forms"once completed will be posted on the FSCO web site.
- These forms will allow the user to complete the Application for Mediation on their own computer by retrieving it from the FSCO web site. The "Save" feature will not be available, so parties will be required to complete the application, print it and mail it to FSCO.
- A communication package and web site notification will be prepared prior to launch
- A subsequent phase will convert the Mediation Response, Arbitration Application and Response to this format
- E-mailing of the Response Form to Mediators - - based on discussions, it was agreed that all Response forms should be mailed in for now
Mediation
- 16,049 applications were received for the last fiscal year
- Approximately 9% of all mediations are held face-to-face
- Additional date is being collected on the number of files closed "Mediation Did Not Occur" and "Combined Applications" and will be reported on as part of the DR Statistics Report
- Settlement rates have remained fairly consistent
- There was a general discussion on :
- whether applicants could proceed to Mediation if they had not attended a DAC
- potential reason for the increase of Applications for Mediation
Arbitration
- The number of applications was down slightly over the third quarter, but up slightly over the past year
- Most arbitration decisions (87%) are issued within 85 days of the completion of the hearing
- Arbitration Services continues to make pre-hearing and hearing dates available within the published times
Appeals
- There are approximately 40-45 appeals launched each year
- There are still 7 appeal decisions pending that would be considered "older"
- The appeals unit continues to work to try to reduce the number of older decisions in the system
- Judicial Review category will be taken out of the statistics report due to zero activity
Operational Update
- Combining of Mediation Applications - has curbed abuse with minimal combining activity to date. Data is being collected and will be reported on DR Statistics Report
- Practice Code Updates - the present practice code is now two years old. Once the proposed automobile insurance reforms are passed into law the dispute resolution group is going to review the practice code to determine what changes need to be made. Changes and information will be provided in an electronic version which is more efficient rather than issuing a new document
- Outreach Program - Education events planned for the Fall due to Auto Reform
- Face to Face Mediation - FSCO has prepared draft written criteria, to be used by the mediation group, in order to assist in a determination of which mediations should be held on a face-to-face basis and which should be held by telephone conference call. Guideline was distributed and discussed
- Assignment of Mediation Applications - there was a general discussion on the assignment process of applications received and a confirmation from FSCO that there were not batched on an Insurer or Representative basis
- Duplication Actions - there was a general discussion on recent trends where Applications for Mediation are being filed, at the same time as Court, action and the approaches being taken by insurers to ensure consistency
- $500.00 Mediation Fee - discussion on this issue was deferred
Other Business
-Barbara Dudzinski advised that the current Statement of Priorities has been released for consultation and is on the website till June 6, 2003
- There is also an extensive section on Automobile Insurance Highlights.
Adjournment : Meeting was adjourned at 12.15 p.m. by the Chair
Next meetings are set for: June 18, 2003 at FSCO
October 2, 2003 at FSCO
Minutes submitted by: John Lobo, FSCO
Financial Services Commission of Ontario