What Every Policy holder Ought to Know About Subrogation

Subrogation is an idea that's understood among legal and insurance companies but often not by the people who employ them. Even if you've never heard the word before, it would be in your benefit to comprehend the steps of how it works. The more information you have about it, the more likely an insurance lawsuit will work out favorably.

Every insurance policy you hold is a commitment that, if something bad occurs, the insurer of the policy will make restitutions in one way or another in a timely manner. If your vehicle is hit, insurance adjusters (and the judicial system, when necessary) decide who was to blame and that party's insurance pays out.

But since ascertaining who is financially responsible for services or repairs is usually a confusing affair – and time spent waiting in some cases adds to the damage to the victim – insurance firms in many cases decide to pay up front and figure out the blame after the fact. They then need a means to get back the costs if, in the end, they weren't actually in charge of the expense.

For Example

You are in a traffic-light accident. Another car crashed into yours. The police show up to assess the situation, you exchange insurance information, and you go on your way. You have comprehensive insurance and file a repair claim. Later police tell the insurance companies that the other driver was to blame and his insurance should have paid for the repair of your auto. How does your company get its funds back?

How Subrogation Works

This is where subrogation comes in. It is the method that an insurance company uses to claim reimbursement when it pays out a claim that turned out not to be its responsibility. Some companies have in-house property damage lawyers and personal injury attorneys, or a department dedicated to subrogation; others contract with a law firm. Usually, only you can sue for damages to your self or property. But under subrogation law, your insurer is considered to have some of your rights for having taken care of the damages. It can go after the money originally due to you, because it has covered the amount already.

Why Do I Need to Know This?

For a start, if you have a deductible, your insurer wasn't the only one who had to pay. In a $10,000 accident with a $1,000 deductible, you have a stake in the outcome as well – namely, $1,000. If your insurance company is lax about bringing subrogation cases to court, it might choose to get back its losses by ballooning your premiums and call it a day. On the other hand, if it has a competent legal team and pursues them enthusiastically, it is acting both in its own interests and in yours. If all $10,000 is recovered, you will get your full thousand-dollar deductible back. If it recovers half (for instance, in a case where you are found one-half to blame), you'll typically get $500 back, depending on your state laws.

Additionally, if the total expense of an accident is over your maximum coverage amount, you could be in for a stiff bill. If your insurance company or its property damage lawyers, such as immigration attorney near me South Jordon UT, pursue subrogation and wins, it will recover your losses in addition to its own.

All insurers are not created equal. When shopping around, it's worth examining the records of competing companies to evaluate whether they pursue valid subrogation claims; if they do so without dragging their feet; if they keep their clients updated as the case proceeds; and if they then process successfully won reimbursements quickly so that you can get your funding back and move on with your life. If, instead, an insurance company has a record of honoring claims that aren't its responsibility and then safeguarding its income by raising your premiums, you should keep looking.