There is a puzzling disconnect in the world of mediation.  Some insurers routinely fly adjusters across the country to attend mediations. Others seek telephonic participation wherever possible.  Puzzling further, is the practice of some insurance carriers who insist on sending an adjuster to observe a jury trial from start to finish, having earlier refused to allow that same adjuster to travel to a mediation that well might have resolved the case.

What is going on and why?

The explanation seems to trace to a contrarian attitude still found in some claims departments that mediations are a court-mandated headache that gets in the way of important work that needs to be done in the office.