Insured motorists are called upon every day to pay their deductibles in order for their carriers to cover the necessary repairs to their motor vehicles after accidents. Many carriers refuse to include those deductibles in the subrogated claims they make against the other motorists involved in accidents with their insureds. Because they are left on…
A recent unpublished and quite puzzling decision from the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, threw decades of established New Jersey subrogation law into question when it announced that a workers’ compensation carrier has no subrogation/reimbursement rights on the medical portion of a third-party claim against an uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) carrier. The Court in Dever…
In one of last year’s most questionable court decisions, a sharply-divided Illinois Court of Appeals has held that the Common Fund Doctrine applies to Med Pay set-offs. In Scheppler v. Pyle, 2013 IL App. (3d) 110380-U (Ill. App. 2013), Peggy Scheppler (Country Mutual) was involved in an accident with Tom Pyle (American Family). Country Mutual…
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage is mandatory in Pennsylvania. Due to Pennsylvania being an optional or “choice” no-fault state, insureds must choose between “full tort” and “limited tort” options, and PIP coverage must be provided. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Kentucky are the only states that have “choice” no-fault laws, also known as an optional modified…
Minnesota and Hawaii don’t have a lot in common. However, the Minnesota Court of Appeals – of all places – recently laid down some rather novel and earth-shattering law with regard to PIP subrogation in Hawaii. In American Family Mutual Ins. Co. v. American Automobile Ass’n d/b/a Auto Club Ins. Ass’n, 2013 WL 656493 (Minn.…
Robert Van Orden v. USAA, 2014 MT 45 (Mont. 2014) Montana has long been one of the toughest states to subrogate in because it has a very strict made whole policy. It is the public policy in Montana that an insured must be totally reimbursed for all losses as well as costs, including attorney fees…
Two Texas vehicle owners driving identical vehicles are involved in accidents caused by a negligent tortfeasor. Both contact their insurance company regarding their damaged vehicles. Both must wait for an appraiser to inspect the vehicle and write a report. One vehicle is repairable, the other is considered “totaled.” The owner of the vehicle being repaired…
As most subrogation professionals handling auto subrogation in Illinois know, Illinois Senate Bill signed into law effective January 1, 2012 changed subrogation in that state significantly. For the first time, Illinois mandated that in collision subrogation cases involving amounts less than $2,500, recently-enacted § 143.24d now required mandatory arbitration between all auto carriers. That development…
One of the more common misconceptions one hears in the realm of health and accident subrogation is that, when it comes to motor vehicle accidents, “there is no subrogation in Michigan.” No one can deny that the Michigan No-Fault Act presents an abundance of obstacles for a carrier looking to recover medical and wage loss…
When and whether a vehicle involved in a collision is considered to be “totaled” for first-party insurance purposes is an issue of great angst and confusion for most consumers. We hear horror stories about older, functioning automobiles being “totaled” simply because the frame is bent or other seemingly minor and hidden damage occurs. Even insurance…