Arbitration in the framework of B’noam, the Israel Center for Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Ltd.
The flagship project of B’noam, which is managed by Yehuda Tunik, Attorney at Law, is arbitration and subrogation claims in respect of property damage (vehicle) between insurance companies that are members of the Association of Insurance Companies in Israeland additional insurance companies that are not members of the Association.
The project includes management of subrogation cases for vehicle property (body damage) claims of up to NIS 100,000 per claim. Claims are handled by means of the B’noam system, which is a computerized system based on an internet computing platform.
The subrogation claims are deliberated by arbitrators (primarily attorneys, but also appraisers, traffic examiners and CPAs) who examine the parties’ claims and evidence and hand down an arbitration verdict accordingly. The arbitrators deliberate the subrogation cases in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Regulations, which constitute part of the arbitration agreement that was signed by the insurance companies, as aforesaidAn arbitrator is appointed by B’noam for each claim that is filed.The vast majority of cases are handled without a formal hearing being held, based on the evidentiary material included in the case.It should be stressed that the subrogation cases are handled from start to finish in a computerized manner without the need for paper and physical files, and all the information is stored in a computerized archive enabling easy access for users of the system, and easy online retrieval of the information.
In addition, the system includes a unique appeals mechanism that is also subject to the arbitration framework. Each party to the arbitration proceedings has the right to appeal the arbitration verdict that was handed down.A board of three arbitrators adjudicates in the appeal proceedings (generally headed by a retired judge).The appeals board has the power to change or even cancel the arbitration verdict that was given in the first instance.
Since the system began operating, around 25,000 claims and around 700 appeals have been handled, which were filed by around 350 active users of the system (insurance companies, arbitrators etc). The average handling time for a case is 3 to 4 months (which is a significantly shorter handling time than that of the court system), with the time allocated for handing down an arbitration verdict being 30 days from the date on which the case is ready for the handing down of an arbitration verdict. The average handling time of a case that culminates in a settlement between the parties is even shorter.
The B’noam system has been operating for over three years.
It should be noted that the entire project was warmly welcomed by the court system. Additionally, when the system had been operating for nearly two years, the court system expressed considerable satisfaction from the reduction in the number of subrogation claims submitted to the courts by the insurance companies and, as a direct result, the lessening of their workload. The court system also expressed its desire for other types of claims filed in court to find their way to a similar dispute resolution framework.
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