Plan ahead for conflicts.

• Position: CAMICO Insurance: tip of the Month

When used properly and in the right situations, mediation and arbitration are cost-effective and efficient options to litigation. Claims experience has shown that mediation has a high success rate when used as a first step to resolve all disputes, regardless of the engagement. CAMICO therefore recommends mediation for all disputes and engagements, except when the anticipated cost of a mediator exceeds the fees owed.

Claims experience also has shown that arbitration is successful in resolving basic disputes over fees or simple individual tax return preparation engagements, but it is not as successful in consistently achieving fair resolutions to high-dollar disputes involving complex engagements. Decisions over whether to...