(a) Any insurer may inform an insured who has filed a complaint with the department concerning a dispute that qualifies for this program of the existence of the mediation program and may ask the insured to seek mediation under this chapter jointly with the insurer. Any insurer may notify the department of any dispute arising out of a qualifying event that it believes may be appropriately resolved through the mediation program. The department, with respect to that notification, shall proceed as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 10089.74.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 10089.82, if the commissioner makes a finding that an individual insurer has engaged in unreasonable or arbitrary refusals to mediate, the commissioner shall have the authority to require that insurer to participate in mediation in all cases deemed by the commissioner appropriate for mediation under this chapter.

(c) Any insurer who has been ordered to participate in mediation on a mandatory basis may seek a review of the order by filing in a court of competent jurisdiction within 30 calendar days of the order. The commissioner’s order to participate in mediation, however, may not be stayed during the pendency of any judicial proceeding for any period beyond 60 calendar days after the initial date of the order to participate. The basis for the commissioner’s decision to require an insurer to participate in the mediation program shall not be made public unless review is sought. The commissioner’s decision not to require an insurer to participate, including the basis for the decision, shall be made public.

(d) Any insured whose request to mediate his or her claim under this chapter was declined by an insurer may request the commissioner to require the insurer to participate in the mediation program and may seek review in a court of competent jurisdiction of the commissioner’s decision not to require the insurer to participate in the mediation program. The review shall be required to be sought within 30 calendar days after the commissioner’s decision.

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 727, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2002.)