AF recently facilitated its latest filer/responder workshops on July 21 and 23, with 169 member company representatives in attendance. The purpose of these workshops is to drive decision quality by:     

• Sharing information to improve filing and responding effectiveness.   
• Answering questions attendees have regarding filing and responding workflows and procedures.     

The following are key takeaways from the July workshop:   

Deferments with Pending Salvage:

• When claiming a pending salvage in a multi-party case, TRS offers a notice to consider requesting a deferment until the salvage is resolved.
• A deferment in such a case can prevent the matter from being placed out of jurisdiction, making it more effective for the parties to collect damages once the salvage amount is known.

Additional Exposures and Double Dips:

• Double-dip arguments should be raised in the damages and prior payments sections (AF Reference Guide, Rule 2-5)
• Double-dip payment amounts should be declared both as exposures and as a prior payment.

Refile Requests:

• Two-party cases may qualify when:
  • The responder’s coverage position has changed.
  • The correct liability carrier has been found and Rule 1-4’s requirements are not applicable.
  • The case was ruled out of jurisdiction and conditions have changed in a way that may restore jurisdiction.
  • The filing company agrees to accept policy limits more than 60 days after the decision and none of the disqualifiers below are true.
• Refile disqualifiers include:
  • Multi-company/multi-feature cases 
  • When a company forgot to support their damages in the original filing
  • When not all companies were named in the original filing (Rule 1-4)
  • Cases with a final and binding decision
  • Cases where the responding company is requesting the refile

A refile request must be submitted at least 120 days before the statute of limitations expires. AF retains the sole discretion in determining whether a case qualifies for a refile.

Quick Tips
No liability policy in effect:

• When filing or responding that there is no liability policy in effect, be sure to advise of the correct liability carrier, if known.

Embedded evidence:

• AF recommends a maximum of three embedded evidence items.
  • Arbitrators have provided AF with feedback that embedded evidence is being overused.

When damages are not argued (Rule 2-5):

• Damages are not at issue.
• The arbitrator will not review appropriateness, reasonableness, etc.
• The arbitrator will compare the itemized amounts and the damage evidence.

Rule 2-8, consider the costs:

• "The responding company will reimburse the recovering company for all legal expenses and court costs resulting from the improper objection to jurisdiction, as well as the additional arbitration filing fee." 
• Make sure your objection to jurisdiction does not end up costing your company.

Rule 2-10:

• When requesting a deferment, a responder must also plead any jurisdictional exclusions available to them at that time.
• If the exclusion is not pleaded at the time that the deferment is requested, it is waived.
• This does not prohibit a responder from asserting a jurisdictional exclusion at the time it becomes available.

Our next filer/responder workshop will be held on September 22 and 24 at 2 p.m. ET. We hope to see you there!