Frequently Asked Questions

Who are we?

Double Blind Settlement Services is a Montana domiciled LLC with its headquarters in Bozeman. We have no affiliation with any person or organization involved in the claims process. We are completely neutral, and seek only to provide the service of optimizing the chances of fast, cost efficient resolution of monetary disputes. We are a member of the International Council For Online Dispute Resolution (ICODR) and a provider recognized by the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR). We subscribe to their ethical standards for ODR.

How do we know the claims negotiation process?

DBSS's owners have more than 40 years of experience with claims, lawsuits and settlement both on the claimant side and the insurer side. But we are neutral, and have no affiliation with any person, company or entity involved in the claims process.

Why would I trust DBSS?

We succeed or fail based on the integrity of our process and the quality of the service we provide to you. We do not have a stake in your dispute; only a desire to help you achieve the fastest, best result for the least cost. We are completely independent; our sole loyalty is to a neutral, confidential process. We want you to succeed, whoever you are.

How will DBSS protect my information?

DBSS uses a fully encrypted end to end communication system through a secure, hardened website. DBSS will share your information with NO ONE (except a mediator if you elect to provide your submissions to a mediator). DBSS will not sell your data or information to anyone, ever, period.

What does "double blind" mean?

Double blind means that a party can submit an offer or demand without revealing its position to their counterpart in the process. Only DBSS knows your position, and DBSS does not reveal your position to your counterpart or anyone else, ever. DBSS uses your submission to evaluate whether or not a settlement is possible, and advises you with a settlement possibility score. If your demand/offer meet or overlap, DBSS notifies the parties of a settlement. If the offers and demands overlap, a settlement occurs where the parties split the difference of the overlap. Most expert mediators use this process. We get to the heart of the matter for a fraction of the traditional cost.

What is the advantage of double blind?

The Double blind method allows you to protect your bottom line. Your counterpart never knows your position unless the claim settles, or unless you specifically request to reveal your position after the bidding. You will never show "weakness" in your negotiations because your counterpart will not see your position unless the dispute settles.

Why use DBSS as opposed to mediation?

When a claim goes into litigation, the costs of the dispute explode for both sides. Good mediators often charge $300 an hour or even much more. The typical cost for a mediation is $10,000 to $50,000 depending on the size of the dispute. The typical small to average sized claim does not warrant the extraordinary expense of in person mediation. For almost all claims, a mediator eventually uses our methods of claim resolution. For complex and high value claims that will require a full mediation, using DBSS in advance can eliminate much of the typical mediation cost if the mediator is allowed to confidentially see both sides' DBSS submissions.

Why use DBSS?

For both sides to a monetary dispute such as an insurance claim, each day the claim persists, the net result for each side diminishes as the cost to each side escalates as the dispute continues. Claimants incur costs and experience the loss of the time value of getting the funds in their pocket. Insurers experience the ongoing cost of managing the claim and paying for the expense of administering/defending the claim. It is time for modern technology to transform the old, inefficient method of dispute resolution. DBSS will transform the claims settlement process. It's time to get on board.

What if I want my counterpart to see my final position?

Great, you can elect at any point in the process to let your counterpart know your last best offer if you make that election in our process. You can also ask your counterpart to reveal their last best offer. You can elect to request that both sides reveal the last best position. It is completely up to you.

Why does this process work?

Your dispute will either end with a trial verdict or negotiated settlement. 95% of disputes end with a negotiated settlement. Ours is the best system offered on the web. For 95% of claims/cases, a negotiated settlement is inevitable at some point. Why not use the best, most cost efficient process available? Why waste more time when you can begin to move toward a successful resolution today.

What is the settlement possibility score?

Using AI data, DBSS looks at the trajectory of your demands/offers, then provides you with a "score." The score tells you whether you are making progress, and whether the odds of settlement are increasing in its confidential evaluation of each party's submissions. We will never reveal our "secret sauce" of how we determine the settlement possibility score.

SETTLEMENT POSSIBILITY SCORE

For each of the five submissions, you will see a speedometer indicating:

1. Extremely far apart
2. Far apart
3. Closer
4. Keep pursuing settlement
5. Did not settle, but quite close. This should settle with a little more effort. If this was your last of the five attempts you can schedule with a mediator who could bring home a settlement with a little more work