Bilingual Commercial and Insurance Arbitration

Bilingual Commercial and Insurance Arbitration

Commercial, financial, or insurance-based conflicts. We all try to avoid them, but sometimes… they’re unavoidable.
You could go to court.

Or, instead, you could reach a legally-binding, satisfactory resolution:
● without wasting money on exorbitant lawyers’ fees
● without waiting months for the first hearing and years for a ruling
● without feeling like you’re at a disadvantage because everything is in Hebrew

and… with a significantly lower likelihood of ever stepping into a courtroom.

With our Bilingual Commercial and Insurance Arbitration service, you can arrive at a legally binding resolution without the hassle, investment or headache of courtroom proceedings.

Arbitration is as effective and legally binding as a court decision, and it’s also:

FAST
Court cases can take months or years to resolve, and with approximately 80,000 claims waiting in Israeli courts, you have a long wait in front of you. An arbitrator will normally deliver a decision within 90 days, or within a timeframe that all parties agree to at the outset of arbitration.

CONFIDENTIAL
Court cases are public. Arbitration is confidential, affording you discretion and privacy.

LESS EXPENSIVE
Court cases generally require legal representation, and the longer the case drags on, the more you may need to pay. Arbitration involves a set hourly cost dependent on the complexity of the case. The fee and how it will be split is agreed upon by the two parties at the outset, so there are no surprises.

Qualifications
Our CEO, Avner Goldfus, is qualified as an arbitrator by the Israeli Institute of Commercial Arbitration (IICA). But he has actually been involved in commercial and insurance-based arbitration for far longer than arbitration has been recognized a legally binding option. In our near 50 years history, we have never reached a point where a client took the insurance company to court. We have always negotiated an acceptable solution for both parties, and now we can do it for you, in a legally binding manner.

Every year, we see multiple conflicts about claims. But we arbitrate as a matter of course, and we have been successful at reaching satisfactory conclusions for all parties. In addition, our extensive industry experience enables us to analyze and understand insurance and business cases more accurately than most small claims court judges.

Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between arbitration and mediation?
In a nutshell, mediation is not binding. Arbitration is as legally binding as a court decision. (Note: the verdict can be appealed, just like a court decision.)

How does arbitration work?
First, both parties have to agree to arbitration and agree on an arbitrator. Then, the steps are as follows:
1. Preliminary hearing (it can include witnesses, depositions and testimony but often does not)
2. Post hearing submissions (each party can submit supporting documentation)
3. Decision and award (as standard procedure, this can take up to 90 days – it’s so much quicker than court)

Does each party need an attorney?
No. It’s optional.

In what languages do you arbitrate?
Hebrew and English. We speak insurance, finance and legalese fluently in both languages.

Can Israelis and non-Israelis engage in arbitration?
Yes, although the IICA has a special set of rules for foreign parties.

Do you need to file with the court for arbitration?
Once a decision has been made, then you file with the court. The court will ask technical questions (to prove you have an arbitration agreement and the scope of the agreement) and then they will approve the decision and support the ruling.