Legal & Jurisdiction
Inter-Company Arbitration Explained
How insurers resolve subrogation disputes between each other through arbitration instead of court, how the forums work, what you file, and why the evidence package decides the outcome.
6 min readUpdated July 27, 2026
Most auto subrogation disputes between carriers never see a courtroom. They're decided in inter-company arbitration, an industry forum that's faster and cheaper than litigation. Understanding how it works is central to recovering efficiently.
How the forums work
Participating insurers agree to resolve certain disputes through arbitration rather than court. Each side files its contentions and a supporting evidence package; a neutral arbitrator reviews both and decides liability and the award. There's no trial and no appeal in the usual sense, which puts a premium on getting the filing right the first time.
What you file
- Contentions, your argument for liability and the amount owed.
- The evidence package, the police report, statements, photos, estimates, and damages that back it.
- The applicable rules of fault, how the jurisdiction's negligence rules apply to the facts.
In arbitration, the side with the clearer, better-cited evidence package usually wins.
Where AI helps
Because outcomes hinge on the assembled package, the work AI accelerates (reading the file, building the chronology, pulling cited evidence, drafting the contentions) maps directly onto what arbitration rewards. Certvian prepares that package for human review; filing with the forum stays with your team.
Is inter-company arbitration binding?+
Within the participating forums, yes, the arbitrator's decision resolves the dispute between the insurers, without a trial. That's much of why it's faster and cheaper than litigation.
What decides an arbitration?+
The evidence package. Liability is argued from the report, statements, photos, and estimates against the jurisdiction's negligence rules; the clearer, better-cited filing typically prevails.
See it on one of your own claims.
Bring a claim file and we’ll run Certvian’s analysis live: chronology, liability, recovery viability, the drafted demand.
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