Subrogation professionals might read the title to this article and wonder what subrogation and the confounding labyrinth of insurance coverage might have in common.
After all, aren’t we all comfortably nestled in the subrogation world so that we don’t have to wade through endless pages of small font, state-specific endorsements, and baffling insurance policy lexicon?
When a subrogation effort is stonewalled because the responsible tortfeasor’s insurance carrier has issued a reservation of rights or even an outright denial of coverage, that is when true subrogation warriors rise to the occasion.
Beyond simply getting a default judgment against the uninsured tortfeasor, efforts can and should be taken to shake the third-party carrier loose from its coverage denial moorings.
Insurance coverage and subrogation certainly appear to make strange bedfellows, but coverage also sneaks into the subrogation bedroom when an insured endeavors to settle a case on its own, thereby affecting its insurer’s subrogation rights.