In the 2003 Miramax comedy Duplex, Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore are Brooklyn landlords to a pesky, rent‑controlled tenant named Mrs. Connelly, played by Eileen Essell. Efforts to get rid of Connelly fail and the tenant’s careless actions cause a fire which nearly destroys the entire building. The fact that Ben Stiller’s insurance company had…
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Employers Fight Losing Battle Against Tortfeasors Who Cause Premium Increases Workers’ compensation insurance premiums seem to know only one direction – up. On average, premiums rise approximately 5% annually; more, if an insured has experienced significant losses. For many corporate risk managers and claims professionals, the concepts of underwriting and experience ratings remain a clouded…
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Katherine A. Sandoval will be presenting a MWL webinar on Advanced Concepts of California Workers’ Compensation Subrogation on May 11, 2021 from 11:00 to 12:00 p.m. (CDT). There are very few areas in which the law of each individual state vary more and are applied as differently, than in the area of workers’ compensation subrogation. While…
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Understanding the Difference Between Total Loss and Salvage Vehicles Nowhere is the difference between “knowing” something and “understanding” something more evident than when it comes to the relationship between “totaling a vehicle” for insurance purposes and the concept of salvage vehicles under state law. Everybody knows what it means to “total” a vehicle. But very…
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With exceptions not relevant here, the omnibus statute, Wis. Stat. § 632.32, requires every motor vehicle insurance policy issued to an owner to provide that: (a) Coverage provided to the named insured applies in the same manner and under the same provisions to any person using any motor vehicle described in the policy when the use…
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You might ask what Vice-President Kamala Harris was best known for prior to becoming the first female vice-president in U.S. history. One piece of notoriety was, as Attorney General of the State of California, she oversaw the prosecution of Wells Fargo & Company, the American multinational bank and financial services company for violation of §§…
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Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. would like to wish all of our clients and friends a very blessed Easter. While Easter means different things to different people, we celebrate the Good News which Easter represents. It is the fulfillment of the greatest Promise ever made – the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the…
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Health insurance subrogation involves much more than simply making demands on negligent tortfeasors. Coordination of Benefits (COB) is a subset of health Plan subrogation. It primarily concerns itself with situations where two different health Plans, or a health Plan and a no-fault automobile carrier, cover the same person or loss. Obviously, with two sources of…
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Ancient mythology and the modern practice of subrogation would seem to be strange bedfellows. Yet one story from the past has particular relevance when it comes to the never-ending toil required for aggressive and successful insurance subrogation. Sisyphus was the mythical King of Corinth in south-central Greece. He was a sly and deceitful person and…
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“Is the Juice Worth The (Florida Orange) Squeeze?” Carriers and adjusters are all too familiar with the “Judgment Proof Uninsured At-Fault Motorist.” Unless your insured happened to be driving in the Tampa area and was t-boned by Tom Brady, the same day his automobile coverage lapsed, the question always becomes “Is it worth pursuing subrogation…
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