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Bilateral Cooperation Agreement On Claims Settlement According To The Internal Regulations

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BILATERAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT ON CLAIMS

SETTLEMENT
According to the Internal Regulations

__________________________________________________________________________

and
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Agree upon the following:


Article 1: General Provisions
__________________ and ______________ shall act on behalf of each other as:
Correspondents according to the provisions of the Internal Regulations adopted by the
Council of Bureaus on Crete in May 2002 for claims arising from accidents at their respective
territories.
In compliance with Article 4 of the Internal Regulations the contractual partners shall advise their
national Insurer's Bureaus about this agreement.
Unless stated otherwise, the bellow articles apply to handling claims according to the Internal
Regulations. The term Representative refers to the claims handling agent acting as
Correspondent; the Motor Third Party Liability Insurer is referred to as the TPL Insurer.
Article 2: Claims Handling Competence
The Representative is authorized and obliged to handle the claim according to the applicable
legal norms and loss adjustment practices in the best interest of the TPL Insurer. The TPL Insurer
will grant full cooperation in obtaining information and documents needed by the Representative
for claim settlement. At the request of the Representative, the TPL Insurer will provide information
on the content of the law of the state in which the accident occurred.
If the claim is submitted directly to the TPL Insurer, it is up to the TPL Insurer to decide whether to
delegate the claim handling to the Representative or settle the claim on its own.
Article 3: Claim Handling Procedures

3.1 Communication
The Representative and the TPL Insurer will share without delay any information and
documentation pertinent to proper and timely claim handling, in particular the results of their
investigation of the accident circumstances, liability and the extent of loss.
The preferred means of communication, exchange of information and documentation are fax, email and phone.
Communication languages are to be English.
3.2 Claim Notification and Insurance Cover Confirmation
The Representative advises TPL Insurer that a claim was submitted and provides details of the
claim within five working days from having learned about it. This claim notification has to include
information about the date on which the claim was submitted.
The TPL Insurer replies to the Representative within five working days from receiving the claim
notification and confirms or denies the validity of the MTPL insurance at the date of accident. If
the TPL Insurer denies the insurance cover, the matter is to be referred to the appropriate bodies
(Guarantee Fund, Compensation Body) without delay.
3.3 Establishing Liability
The TPL Insurer conveys to the Representative any information and sends any documentation
pertinent to the question of liability within five working days from having acquired such information
or document.
The TPL Insurer is obliged to inform the Representative about any circumstances due to which
liability and/or its extent cannot established within the period of 3 months from submitting the
claim; such information has to be provided no later than 3 weeks before the end of the said
period.
If the claimant is partially liable for the loss, the TPL Insurer has to verify the degree of the
adverse parties' liability proposed by the Representative.
3.4 Loss Reserve
The Representative will recommend a loss reserve on each claim and inform the TPL Insurer
about any considerable changes in the amount of reserve. If the loss involves personal injury or
death or is expected to exceed EUR 2.000, the Representative has to provide full information
concerning the loss and specify individual items of the loss reserve.
3.5 Limits of Independent Settlement
Settlement of losses under EUR 2.000 is not subject to TPL Insurer's approval provided the
Representative has ascertained the extent of liability and compliance with the relevant legal
norms and loss adjustment practices. When in doubt about any legal and/or technical aspect of
the claim handling, the Representative should consult the TPL Insurer.
In any other instance, the Representative will brief the TPL Insurer on the case developments and
request the TPL Insurer's verification of the amounts of compensation to be paid to the claimant.
Claims exceeding EUR 2.000 are to be handled in close liaison with the TPL Insurer and
payments of compensation are subject to the TPL Insurer's approval.
3.6 Losses due to injury and death

Settlement of claims arising from injuries and death has always to be consulted with the TPL
Insurer.
Both the Representative and the TPL Insurer are obliged to seek, share and regularly update
information concerning any case of serious injury and death (such as accident circumstances,
character of the injury, medical status and expected consequences, dependants, family economic
situation etc.).
Article 4: Conflict of Interests
The contractual partners shall in principle waive the objection of the conflict of interests. Upon
learning about the conflict of interest, the Representative informs the TPL Insurer about it and
requests a permission to continue handling the claim. Without delay, the TPL Insurer either
grants such permission or instructs the Representative to hand the claim over to an appointed
agent.
Should either the claimant or the insured raise an objection against the conflict of interest, the
Representative will hand the claim over to an agent appointed by the TPL Insurer.
Article 5: Handling Fees
The Representative is entitled to a handling fee according the conditions set by Internal
Regulations in an amount fixed by the Council of Bureaus at the time of the request for
reimbursement.
Minimum handling fee and expenses incurred are due in cases of interest conflict mentioned in
Article 6. if the Representative had in good faith commenced the investigation and claim handling
before learning about the necessity to hand the claim over to another agent.
A handling fee shall not be paid if the Representative must refer the matter to the Compensation
Body. This provision does not apply if such a referral was due to the fact that
a) The TPL Insurer's has not provided information about the lack of the insurance cover
in time (see Article 2.) and the Representative had taken required steps towards the claim
investigation and settlement;
b) The TPL Insurer has failed to provide timely cooperation needed by the Representative in
order to handle the claim properly and prevent the National Bureau's involvement.
In such cases the Representative is entitled to the minimum handling fee and reimbursement
of incurred expenses.
Fees for services and assistance not related to claims being handled within the scope of this
agreement will be the subjects of a separate agreement between the partners.
Article 6: Reimbursement
Reimbursement of the Representative's outlays, expenses and handling fee takes place in
accordance with conditions and procedures stipulated in Article 5 of the Internal Regulations.
The request for reimbursement has to include a specification of the amounts of indemnities paid
for individual claims, own expenses and handling fee.

Proof of payment and supporting documentation are due without a request if the TPL Insurer is
entitled to recover expenses from the insured, another insurer or other parties.
Article 7: Arbitration Clause
Disputes between partners are to be solved without prejudice and settled amicably. Should the
partners fail to reach an amicable agreement, they will appoint an impartial referee to resolve the
dispute.
In cases where the agreement cannot be achieved, appropriate court in the R.M. will lead the
case and will be responsible for it.
Article 8: Agreement Validity and Termination
This agreement comes into force as of ___________________ and replaces any previous
agreement between the partners on MTPL claims handling.
Should it be necessary, the agreed terms can be modified to adapt to future needs by common
consent of both parties.
This agreement may be rescinded by any of the parties on the first day of any month. The intent
to rescind the agreement has to be communicated in writing at least three months prior to the
date of the rescission. Claims that are still in the handling phase at that time will not be affected
by this rescission.
In _____ on __________________

In ______ on ____________________

_______________________________
For INSURANCE 2

For _______________________

_______________________________

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