When an insurance company wrongfully denies a claim, policyholders should consider all options, including alternative dispute resolution. As an insurance recovery law firm with decades of experience helping corporate policyholders recover on insurance claims, we know that litigation is not always the best option.

In today’s video, Clarissa Cerda continues her contribution to the Miller Friel Insurance Coverage Blog by discussing her experience, as a policyholder client, with this very question of when it is appropriate to litigate, and when it is appropriate to mediate or arbitrate. If you have missed any of Clarissa’s previous videos, please take a look at some of her prior posts, including:

Not every client has the willingness to litigate. Litigation brings a level of risk and exposure that many companies prefer to avoid. We offer clients viable alternatives to litigation derived from our experience practicing exclusively in this one area of specialty for years. We understand that all insurance situations are different. Some situations are best resolved through mediation. Others may require arbitration or litigation. In the end, we offer our clients viable choices and plans to succeed, so they can decide on what approach works best for them.

At Miller Friel we have a team of highly accomplished litigators who routinely take insurance cases to trial. We also have decades of experience dealing with the nuances of mediation and arbitration. But, most importantly, we have the wisdom to know when to use any given approach to resolution. .

Again we thank Clarissa for sharing her client centered exertise on insurance. If you have any questions after watching the video please don’t hesitate to reach out.

A transcript of today’s video has been included below:

Litigation or Mediation: Which is the best way to pursue insurance recovery claims?

One of the nice things about Miller Friel, as much as I hate to use the word litigation, because as a chief legal officer of a company litigation is a fact of doing business, it’s there but it’s never a favorite word, and it’s something we try to avoid at all cost.

What I liked about Miller Friel and working with their team is that they understood that. And even though they’re phenomenal litigators, they didn’t push us to litigate. They worked with us through mediation, through complex and extensive arbitration. Sometimes you want the benefit of a confidential mediation or arbitration in some of these situations, and you just don’t want to be in litigation.

They worked with us through the twist and turns. I liked the fact that they not only looked at alternative dispute resolution methods and techniques, but I liked the fact that they were open to suggestions. They are the experts, they do know this area. But they also were very receptive to feedback, because of the end of the day the company and its legal department knows the business, or should know the business, as I tell all my younger lawyers.

You should know the business. And so your partner in alternative dispute resolution, or litigation, if that’s where it needs to go, has to be someone that’s not afraid to hear some feedback about the appetite your company has for the different methods of resolving an issue. It has to be somebody that is willing to take into account some of the business realities as a landscape that you are playing in, in order to get to the best solution for the company.