The appeals board has jurisdiction to determine controversies arising out of insurance policies issued to self-employing persons, conferring benefits identical with those prescribed by this division.
The appeals board may try and determine matters referred to it by the parties under the provisions of Title 9 (commencing with Section 1280) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, with respect to controversies arising out of insurance issued to self-employing persons under the provisions of this division. Such controversies may be submitted to it by the signed agreement of the parties, or by the application of one party and the submission of the other to its jurisdiction, with or without an express request for arbitration.
The State Compensation Insurance Fund, when the consent of the other party is obtained, shall submit to the appeals board all controversies susceptible of being arbitrated under this section.
In acting as arbitrator under this section, the appeals board has all the powers which it may lawfully exercise in compensation cases, and its findings and award upon such arbitration have the same conclusiveness and are subject to the same mode of reopening, review, and enforcement as in compensation cases. No fee or cost shall be charged by the appeals board for arbitrating the issues presented under this section.