Homeowners Insurance Claim Disputes Explained - The Appraisal Clause

About:-small claims tribunal

Typically speaking an "Appraisal" will be the determination of what constitutes a fair cost, valuation, or estimation of worth with regard to an insurance claim. The majority of property insurance policies enable appraisal when the insurance company and policyholder are unable to agree concerning the quantity of loss to a covered property. Under most appraisal provisions, the party demanding appraisal and the other party must each name an appraiser within a specified number of days. Those appraisers are needed to value the loss and attempt to reach agreement. If there is a disparity among the figures found by the respective appraisers, those appraisers submit their differences to the third appraiser, identified as an small claims tribunal.

As the appraisal clause is an ADR (alternative dispute resolution) function, with a tribunal panel charged with issuing an award; which is binding on the parties for "the amount of loss," it is often associated with arbitration. The Courts are not immune to the confusion, the court held that in the State of Ohio, the appraisal clause in a homeowner's insurance policy constituted "arbitration" in order for the award to be enforced and allow for judicial review. However, most states recognize the distinct difference between appraisal and arbitration,

Tag:-small claims tribunal

Is Putting a Limit on the Amount a Worker Can Win at Tribunal a Good Idea?

About:-small claims tribunal

Business secretary Vince Cable has proposed putting a limit on the amount someone can claim for unfair dismissal at tribunal.

He plans to limit compensation pay-outs to a maximum of 12 months' salary. He also wants to introduce settlement agreements, where employees agree to leave their position, get a pay-off but without being able to go to a tribunal. However, proposals that could potentially make it easier to dismiss workers will not go ahead.

These suggestions came on top of proposals that were made in April, which stipulated that only employees who have been in the company for two years or more could take a small claims tribunal, an increase on the previous limit of one year.

The business secretary wants to reduce the burden on smaller companies, employment tribunals are not only costly but expensive. No limits on the amount an employee could receive could potentially ruin a company, this puts unwanted pressure on businesses that are already struggling in a difficult climate. He feels that we need to acknowledge this cost and do more to help the smaller business.

There has been very mixed feelings on the proposals. Some people feel that if an employer has treated a member of staff unfairly, then it is right that the tribunal decides the amount of compensation that is due and this should serve as a warning to employers on treating staff unfairly.

Tag:-small claims tribunal

Reducing the Likelihood of Employment Tribunal Claims

About:-small claims tribunal

Regardless of whether you're running a small start-up business with just a handful of employees, or a large corporation with hundreds of staff members, the thought of discontented employees making employment tribunal claims is a worrying prospect. For an employer, it's really a no win situation, as even in cases where the claim is found to be unjustified, the employer will still usually have to cover their own legal fees, and the claim - however untrue it may be - can still damage their business' reputation. And of course, if the claim is successful, the employer typically has to pay out a substantial amount of money in compensation.

Although it might seem obvious, the easiest way to avoid getting involved in an employment tribunal claim is to make sure that you understand employer employment law, so that you can avoid disputes in the workplace. It's also very important to make sure that the way in which you treat employees on a daily basis is consistent and fair - discrimination must be avoided and you must meet your contractual obligations. In addition to this, you have to comply with all of the legal requirements in regards to things like remote and flexible working, as well as health and safety.

Unfortunately, even if you study and comply with every aspect of employer employment law, problems will still arise - you might need to make an employee redundant, or you may need to discipline or dismiss them. However, provided you've created property grievance and disciplinary procedures, you should still be able to resolve difficult workplace issues without a claim being made to the employment tribunal. Bear in mind that if worst comes to worst and an employee decides to make a small claims tribunal against you in an employment tribunal, the amount awarded to the employee may be higher, if it is found that you did not follow the aforementioned procedures.

Tag:-small claims tribunal