Driverless cars – more appropriately known as “autonomous vehicles” – are here to stay, and we have only just begun to see the shockwaves to and ramifications for the $225 billion auto insurance industry. Last month, Business Insider reported that the revolutionary automaker Tesla, based in Palo Alto, California, struck a deal with Liberty Mutual to create a customized auto insurance package – one that is destined to disrupt the auto insurance industry.

Beginning July 1, 2018, Maryland auto insurers issuing new policies will be required to offer enhanced underinsured motorist (“EUIM”) coverage in place of the uninsured motorist (“UM”) coverage required under § 19-509. Md. Code Ins. § 19-501.1(d). Unlike UM coverage, EUIM coverage prohibits the carrier from reducing the coverage amount by any applicable liability insurance paid on behalf of a liable third party. Md. Code Ins. § 19-501.1(h)(2). Essentially, claimants who elect EUIM coverage will be able to stack their EUIM payment on top of anything they receive from a responsible third-party’s liability policy without any offset.

Every subrogation claim has a story that tells your audience (a supervisor, a liability adjuster, an expert, adverse defense counsel, a jury) what happened. The story is the roadmap for how you will handle the subrogation claim, and explains to an adverse party what their liability is and why they should pay you for the damages incurred. However, often times, the subrogation claim’s story gets lost. In order to properly tell a claim’s story, you will first need to perform some investigation and ask some questions.