Mediation Centre

The Mediation Centre at the Croatian Insurance Bureau was founded by decision of the Management Board of the Croatian Insurance Bureau of 29th March 2007.

The Mediation Centre at the Croatian Insurance Bureau enables mediation processes arising out of insurance and reinsurance relations under insurance contracts i.e. the Law, based on the rights of the damaged parties, insured and insurance companies.
The Director of the Croatian Insurance Bureau coordinates the activities of the Mediation Centre, and the Secretary of the Mediation Centre provides information on the mediation process to the interested parties, mediates in the organisation of the mediation process between the interested parties and the mediator and the Director of the Mediation Centre, keeps records of past processes, produces annual reports on the activities of the Mediation Centre and submits them to the Management Board of the Croatian Insurance Bureau etc.

By Decision of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts of 11 May 2017, the Mediation Centre at the Croatian Insurance Bureau has become the notified Alternative Dispute Resolution Entity for consumer disputes, based on the provisions of Article 27 Paragraph 2 of the Law on Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (OJ Narodne Novine Nr. 121/2016) implementing the Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes.
The Decision was published on 16 May 2017 on the website of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts.
As in compliance with the aforementioned Decision of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, the Mediation Centre at the Croatian Insurance Bureau shall be competent for resolving all domestic and cross-border online and offline consumer disputes in a simple, efficient, fast and, for the consumer, low-cost way, which arise from insurance contracts and claims settlement relations between consumers with residence in the European Union and insurance undertakings with their seat in the Republic of Croatia.
The European Commission website – ODR Platform offers data on all national notified Alternative Dispute Resolution Entities for consumer disputes in the European Union.

Mediation process costs are borne by the Croatian Insurance Bureau and filing fees are not charged to insureds and damaged parties.

If you have taken legal action against an insurance company you are invited to resolve your dispute amicably through this Mediation Centre because:

• Mediation is an informal process in which the parties discuss their disputes, communication with the Mediation Centre and the mediator is mainly orally and underlies no strict form.
• Mediation is voluntary, the parties are absolutely autonomous, the final resolution of the process depends exclusively on the wishes of the parties.
• Mediation offers the advantage of reduced expenses for the parties especially in view of the fact that the mediation process is free of charge for insureds and damaged parties.
• The mediation process is time efficient, mostly being finalised in one session between the disputants and the mediator.
• Mediation is confidential, all information disclosed in the course of the mediation shall not be used in any court or arbitration procedure.
• Mediators are impartial persons, judges or distiguished legal minds who assist the parties in a direct and informal communication in achieving mutually acceptable resolution of disputes.

Rules

• Mediation is pursuant to the provisions of the 'Code of Conduct for the Mediation Centre and the Mediation Proceedings at the Croatian Insurance Bureau'.
• Mediation is initiated by submitting a 'Mediation request' to the Mediation Centre which is forwarded to the opposing party who is given 15 days from the date of despatch to reply to it by sending the 'Reply of the opposing party to the mediation request'.
• The parties are free to agree upon the rules of the mediation process, in which case parties are recommended to use the standard Mediation Agreement.
• All issues that have not been explicitly solved by the Agreement between the parties shall be resolved by the upper mentioned Code of Conduct for the Mediation Centre and Mediation Procedures at the Croatian Insurance Bureau and if not by this Code of Conduct then by the Mediation Act.
• Mediation proceedings referring to domestic consumer disputes are held in Croatian, while in case of cross-border disputes it is possible to hold the mediation proceeding in English.
• The mediation proposal may be submitted in Croatian and in English.

Mediation procedure

How to initiate a mediation procedure?

• The Mediation request is submitted to the Mediation Centre in written (in order to speed up the procedure, requests may be submitted by e-mail or fax).
• The Mediation Centre forwards the request to the opposing party who is given 15 days from the date of despatch to reply to it.
• Mediation can take place only if both parties agree.
• Mediation proceedings usually end in one session. When necessary, it is possible to arrange several mediation sessions during the mediation proceedings depending on the parties’ mutual agreement.
   

Who are the mediators?

• Mediation sessions are conducted by mediators who have been nominated on the mediator list of the Mediation Centre at the Croatian Insurance Bureau and are experts who have been adequately educated or who are affirmed judicial experts through their scientific or professional work or their public activities.
• The Management Board determines the initial list of mediators which can later on be supplemented by the Managing Director of the Croatian Insurance Bureau.
• Mostly on this list are judges with long years of experience in the resolution of dispute arising out of insurance and indemnification relationships.

Which are the basic principles of the mediation procedure?

• Principle of dispositivity – mediation is voluntary in any phase of the procedure
  The initiation of and the participation in the mediation proceeding is voluntary. Both parties to the dispute must agree to the mediation proceeding. Moreover, during the mediation proceeding each party may address, by a written declaration to the other party and to the mediator a declaration to the effect that the mediation proceedings are terminated
• Principle of oral procedure – enables a time reduced procedure
• Principle of urgency, efficiency – mediation is carried out without any delays and with reduced costs
• Principle of flexibility and informality – mediation is an alternative dispute resolution procedure by which the strictness of formal court proceedings is avoided
• Principle of confidentiality - parties are asked to keep confidential all information relating to the mediation procedure

Basic objective of the mediation procedure

• The primary goal of the mediation procedure is the resolution of disputes by reaching a resolution agreement, avoiding lingering and expensive court proceedings.
• A settlement agreement signed in the mediation proceeding shall be an enforcement title if it contains an obligation to perform an act over which the parties may reach a settlement and if it contains the obligor’s statement on immediate authorisation of enforcement (an enforcement clause).
• The resolution agreement signed in the mediation procedure is an execution title and entails the distraint clause.

Mediation procedure costs
According to the Code of Conduct for the Centre insureds and damaged parties are particularly privileged regarding expenses since all costs are borne by the Croatian Insurance Bureau; further to this filing fees are free of charge.
 

If the amount in dispute exceeds 1,500,000.00 HRK the amount of mediator’s fee totals to 2,500.00 HRK.

FIN-NET Membership

On 4th February 2014 the Mediation Centre at the Croatian Insurance Bureau has become a member of FIN-NET (Financial Dispute Resolution Network), a network of national ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) organisations in member states of the EEA (member states of the EU, as well as Island, Liechtenstein and Norway) responsible for settling disputes between consumers and providers in the area of financial services. In 2001 FIN-NET was set up by the European Commission to provide consumers with easy access to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures in cross-border disputes.
For example, in case of a dispute between a consumer from Croatia and a financial service provider resident in an EEA country the consumer’s complaint shall be first addressed directly to the respective foreign financial service provider. If the consumer’s complaint fails to be resolved directly with the foreign financial service provider, the same may be addressed either directly to the ADR scheme in the country where the financial service provider is established or to the ADR scheme in Croatia, which is a member of FIN-NET – in this case to the Mediation Centre at the Croatian Insurance Bureau.

EU FIN-NET promotion video

Contact

Croatian Insurance Bureau
Mediation Centre
Martićeva 71
HR – 10000 Zagreb

Tel. + 385 1 46 96 600
Tel. + 385 1 46 96 646
Fax. + 385 1 46 96 663

E-mail: mirenje@huo.hr

Secretary of the Mediation Centre: Ms Nives Grgurić, jurist
 

Documents for download

Code of Conduct_Mediation Centre_CIB (size 283 kb)

REPLY TO THE REQUEST (size 13 kb)

MEDIATION REQUEST (size 14 kb)

MEDIATION AGREEMENT (size 22 kb)