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Be Ready For Your New Career With Online Mediation Training

By Joanna Walsh


With the increase of lawsuits being filed, there has occurred a sort of marriage between the fields of law and insurance. Both lawyers and adjusters are expected to stay current on any applicable case law, with adjusters being required to show that they have a working knowledge of their jobs by renewing a professional license each year. Another excellent way for them to stay on the ball is to seek online mediation training.

Most mediations involve a civil court judge meeting with all the parties involved in a lawsuit. Only parties with a legally vested interest in the outcome are allowed to attend these mediations. The purpose of such a meeting is to negotiate a settlement on the claim/lawsuit before the matter can go to trial where it becomes more complicated and expensive for all involved.

When dealing with a member of the Lloyds Underwriting syndicate, the adjusters and attorneys are well aware that their job is basically disaster management, as Lloyds rarely fights an insurance claim. Their specialty is to cover risks that most insurance companies would regard as uninsurable, or too special or specific to place a value on. It is not uncommon for policy limits to be expended rather quickly.

When the adjuster or litigation specialist is handling litigated insurance claims out of known liberal venues, they are most often the parties who negotiate the settlement as quickly as possible. The West Coast is just one of these venues, and the large companies rarely win a case when it appears that a small voice has filed the complaint. In the more conservative venues; however, such as the Southeastern United States, the lawyers and adjusters have a greater chance of aggressively pushing a settlement on the Plaintiff.

Once litigation is filed in most instances, it is then illegal to communicate directly with the Plaintiff, and everything must go through their attorney. That restriction does not apply in cases where the adjusters are working for a third party administrator rather than the insurance company directly. In such cases, the adjuster is able to freely communicate with all parties to a case.

In such mediations, the control and authority held by the adjuster is equaled by the judge alone. These adjusters are able to lead the meeting, negotiate the best possible compromised settlement, and sometimes they even have the authority to issue the settlement check then and there. The whole premise behind mediations rather than hearings is to empower the parties involved to settle the matter immediately; thus avoiding additional fees and expenditures on expensive litigation.

Additional coursework and instruction is a great idea for both the insurance adjuster and the attorney. For the adjusters who are required to maintain a license while attorneys are not, a forty-hour course and passage of an examination is all that is required to land such a job. Seeking some additional instruction from professionals online can help prepare anyone who is new to the process.

Lawyers as well as adjusters are encouraged to take these additional education opportunities so that everyone involved knows what to expect when attending mediations. Being an attorney who provides a defense for an Insured has very different requirements than the practice of any other form of law. These lawyers must learn to think like insurance adjusters.




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