It can be a great shock to experience an accident or a mishap and sometimes disagreement arises. Therefore, it is possible to remit cases to committees appointed with experts.
Damage committee of insurance companies
The committee handles disputes concerning liability for compensation for vehicle insurance. The committee operates for The Icelandic Financial Services Association (SFF) and includes a representative from each Icelandic insurance company.
Sjóvá takes care of presenting cases to the committee, if customers ask for it. The committee has meetings once a week and the procedure takes around one to two weeks. The ruling of the committee is usually not binding for customers.
The Insurance Complaints Committee
The Insurance Complaints Committee deals with disputes between clients/consumer and insurance companies concerning liability for compensation. The Insurance Complaints Committee is made up of three members, all of whom have a law degree and are nominated by the Ministry of Industries and Innovation, the Consumers' Association of Iceland and Icelandic Financial Services Association. The procedure usually takes around four to six weeks from the time that all sufficient data has been delivered.
The ruling of the committee is usually not binding for customers and they can always remit the case to a court of law. However, the ruling of the committee is binding for the insurance company unless they notify the customer and the committee, within two weeks of receiving the ruling, that they will not abide by it.
Customers who wish to send their case to the committee need to fill out an appeal form and send it to the committee along with all necessary documentation concerning the disagreement at hand. An appeal is not approved unless a fee of 9.200 kr. is paid in full. The fee is refundable if the committee decides partly or wholly in the appellant's favor. The committee is based with the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority (FME), which handles all office management for the committee and receives all complaints.
