Disagreement
When a dispute arises
Insurance companies' claims committee
The purpose of the committee is to provide a rapid means of determining how liability for damage caused by vehicles should be apportioned when a dispute arises regarding the circumstances of the case, fault or apportionment of blame in connection with a traffic accident. This only applies to cases in connection with the determination of liability under compulsory insurance, not comprehensive insurance. If a party requests that their case be referred to the committee, Verna will refer the case for consideration and notify the parties to the case of the committee's decision. The opinion of the claims committee is not binding on customers or victims, and they have the option of referring the dispute to the Insurance Arbitration Committee or, as the case may be, to the general courts.
The committee's proceedings usually take one week and appeals to the claims committee are free of charge. The committee operates under the auspices of the Icelandic Insurance Federation (SFF), and the insurance companies that are members of the organization bear all costs of its operation.
Insurance Appeals Committee
The Insurance Arbitration Committee handles disputes relating to criminal assessments, insurance company liability and termination of contracts. The committee does not usually deal with the amount of compensation unless both the injured party and the insurance company have requested it. Individuals may refer to the committee a dispute over amounts arising from an insurance contract between them and the company, if the dispute amounts to a minimum of ISK 25.000 and a maximum of ISK 5.000.000. The Arbitration Committee does not deal with cases involving disputes to which the authorities are parties, when damages cannot be assessed in monetary terms, disputes regarding changes in premiums, cases that are already before the courts or cases that are considered too vague to be handled by the Arbitration Committee.
Once a dispute has been referred to the committee, the parties – the customer and the insurance company – have two weeks to present their views to the committee. If a third party is involved in the dispute, the insurance company is responsible for informing the party concerned that a dispute exists. The committee emphasizes respecting the right of objection of all parties before issuing its ruling.
The decisions of the Appeals Committee are not binding on consumers, who may take the matter to court. The decisions of the Appeals Committee are binding on the insurance company unless it makes a comment within two weeks of receiving the decisions of the Committee.
The committee operates according to an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the Consumers' Association and the Association of Financial Institutions and requires individuals to pay ISK 10.000 to ISK 25.000 in legal costs. Parties must also fill out a specific form and send it to the committee along with other case documents. The committee is located at Guðrúnartún 1, 105 Reykjavík and the email address is [email protected] . You can call on Tuesdays between 10-11 am and Thursdays between 14-15 pm at 578-6500.