Experienced subrogation attorneys Jason Sullivan and Rebecca Wright presented at the NASP Annual Conference in Austin, Texas on Underinsured Motorist Subrogation: Tackling the Combined Challenges of Insured and Uninsured Subrogation. This presentation included information about subrogation laws across different state jurisdictions on how best to optimize your potential to recover in a subrogation claim where the tortfeasor was insured, but not enough to cover the total damages incurred by the subrogating carrier.
Laws regarding UIM automotive subrogation vary by state, with some legislating specific limitations and actions that apply when the at-fault party has insufficient policy limits to cover the damages they caused. Jason and Rebecca unpacked the multifaceted approach subrogation professionals must take to these types of claims.
What Was Covered in the Discussion on UIM Subrogation?
When a tortfeasor’s insurance policy limits does not cover total damages, what recourse does the insured, and their provider, have? Can the tortfeasor be held liable for that difference in total coverage and total damages in a subrogation case? Is complete recovery via subrogation even possible in cases of underinsured tortfeasors?
Sullivan and Wright’s talk discussed these nuances of underinsured motorist subrogation, namely, how the answers to these questions differ by state insurance and insurance subrogation law, and how these differences must guide an attorney’s approach to managing a given subrogation case.
While a UIM subrogation claim may at first seem hopeless, there are often alternate avenues subrogating counsel can take to identify tortfeasor assets that might be pursued. The key is to understand the opportunities as well as the limits, and to conduct a second-look subrogation investigation that is thorough, transparent and fair.
More on Underinsured Motorists & Other Subrogation Subjects:
If you would like us to present this information to your group, email us at [email protected]. Or, if you would like to learn more about overcoming the obstacles of underinsured motorist subrogation online, watch our informational YouTube talk on the subject, Underinsured Motorists: Subrogating Underinsured Tortfeasors, hosted by experienced subrogation attorney and a founding partner of Rathbone Group, Kim Rathbone.
Interested in learning more about the right to subrogation recovery? If you have another topic on insurance and subrogation law you would like us to unpack in a YouTube episode of On Subrogation, reach out to us at [email protected].