Subrogation is a concept that's well-known in insurance and legal circles but sometimes not by the customers who hire them. Even if it sounds complicated, it is in your self-interest to comprehend an overview of the process. The more you know, the more likely relevant proceedings will work out favorably.

An insurance policy you have is an assurance that, if something bad happens to you, the insurer of the policy will make restitutions in one way or another in a timely fashion. If a storm damages your house, for example, your property insurance steps in to pay you or pay for the repairs, subject to state property damage laws.

But since determining who is financially responsible for services or repairs is typically a confusing affair – and time spent waiting in some cases adds to the damage to the victim – insurance companies often decide to pay up front and assign blame afterward. They then need a means to regain the costs if, when all the facts are laid out, they weren't in charge of the payout.

For Example

Your living room catches fire and causes $10,000 in home damages. Fortunately, you have property insurance and it pays for the repairs. However, the assessor assigned to your case discovers that an electrician had installed some faulty wiring, and there is a reasonable possibility that a judge would find him accountable for the loss. The house has already been fixed up in the name of expediency, but your insurance firm is out $10,000. What does the firm do next?

How Subrogation Works

This is where subrogation comes in. It is the process that an insurance company uses to claim payment 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 done to your person or property. But under subrogation law, your insurance company is extended some of your rights in exchange 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 starters, if you have a deductible, it wasn't just your insurance company that 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 opt to recoup its costs by boosting your premiums. On the other hand, if it knows which cases it is owed and goes after those cases enthusiastically, it is acting both in its own interests and in yours. If all of the money is recovered, you will get your full 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.

Furthermore, if the total cost 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 Probate Litigation Lawyer Decatur TX, successfully press a subrogation case, it will recover your expenses in addition to its own.

All insurance agencies are not the same. When comparing, it's worth scrutinizing the records of competing companies to evaluate if they pursue legitimate subrogation claims; if they resolve those claims fast; if they keep their clients updated as the case continues; and if they then process successfully won reimbursements immediately so that you can get your losses back and move on with your life. If, on the other hand, an insurance company has a reputation of paying out claims that aren't its responsibility and then covering its bottom line by raising your premiums, you'll feel the sting later.

Probate Litigation Lawyer Decatur TX