FSCO inviting insurers, law firms to register for new dispute resolution portal

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario has announced that the registration for access to its new dispute resolution services portal is now available for insurance companies and law firms.

 The pilot phase for use of the portal is set to end July 2, when its use will be mandatory for insurance companies and law firms, so FSCO is encouraging relevant users to become familiar with the system now.

The portal includes the enhanced Dispute Resolution Case Directory (DRCD-2) and the new Arbitration E-Calendar.

This is the next step following what FSCO says was a successful pilot with member firms of its Counsel and Company Forum groups.

“Now, employees of insurance companies and law firms, lawyers, and licensed paralegals who have not yet registered will have equal access to all of the portal’s enhanced functionality,” FSCO says on its website.

“In addition, applicants with open arbitration files at FSCO will be given access to their own files on a readonly basis, as long as they have provided an email address in the Application for Arbitration.”

Once registered for the DRS Portal, FSCO says users will be able to:

• Book arbitration prehearings and settlement discussions
• Report arbitration withdrawals and settlements on consent
• See more information about their files, such as file status, next scheduled events, and notices of proceedings
• Selfadminister a Firm’s access to the Portal (including the Arbitration ECalendar)
• Download, search and sort file information in real time

Information about how to register is available on FSCO’s website.