Insurance Court of Arbitration (Kindlustuse vaidluskomisjon) is an independent institution for the resolution of insurance disputes, which operates at Eesti Liikluskindlustuse Fond (the Estonian Traffic Insurance Fund) and is not specifically designed for consumer-to-business disputes. The activity of the Insurance Court of Arbitration in Estonia is regulated by The Law of Motor Third Liability Insurance.
Insurance Court of Arbitration was created in 2004 and it made 127 decisions that year.
The Insurance Court of Arbitration resolves disputes:
- about the activities of the insurer or the Estonian Traffic Insurance Foundation;
- between insurance companies operating in Estonia.
Actions against the activities of an insurer or the Guarantee Fund may be filed with the arbitral tribunal. The arbitral tribunal shall hear an action only if the person against whom the action is filed grants written consent to the hearing of the action by way of arbitration procedure.
The consent provided for in the section above is not necessary for the hearing of a claim filed against an insurer providing obligatory insurance and such insurer is required to participate in the arbitration proceeding. If the insurer fails to appoint an arbitrator within seven days after the receipt of the action by the insurer, the chairman of the board of the arbitral tribunal shall appoint the arbitrator.
An arbitral tribunal consisting of three arbitrators will hear an action. The person filing an action and the person against whose activities the action is filed shall both select one arbitrator from the list of arbitrators and the two arbitrators selected shall select the chairman of the arbitral tribunal from among the members of the board of the arbitral tribunal. The list of arbitrators (hereinafter list) is approved by the Minister of Finance for one calendar year. The list shall consist of up to forty persons. Proposals to enter a person in the list of arbitrators may be submitted by all persons and state agencies. After approval of the list of arbitrators, the arbitrators shall elect the board of the arbitral tribunal consisting of up to ten members from among the arbitrators entered in the list. The members of the board of the arbitral tribunal shall elect from among themselves the chairman of the board of the arbitral tribunal, who shall organise the work of the arbitral tribunal.
More detailed information: http://www.lkf.ee/index.php