THE INSURER/INSURED RELATIONSHIP IN SUBROGATION Peter M. Papasavas COZEN AND O'CONNOR 5 Great College Street London SWIP 3SJ (0) 171.654.7600
[email protected] Atlanta, GA Charlotte, NC Cherry Hill, NJ Columbia, SC Dallas, TX Los Angeles, CA New York, NY Newark, NJ Philadelphia, PA San Diego, CA Seattle, WA W. Conshohocken, PA Westmont, NJ The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of any current or former client of Cozen and O'Connor. This is an attorney-client privilege document. Copyright (c) 1999 Cozen and O'Connor ALL RIGHTS RESERVED I. INTRODUCTION The doctrine of subrogation enables an insurer that has paid an insured's loss pursuant to a property insurance policy to recoup the payment from the party responsible for the loss. Essentially, the principle of subrogation permits one (i.e., the insurer) who is legally obligated to pay the debt of another to "stand in the shoes" of the person owed payment (i.e., the insured) and enforce that person's right against the actual wrongdoer. Several policy considerations underlie the doctrine of subrogation. First, subrogation has its genesis in the principle of indemnity. Although an insured is entitled to indemnity from an insurer pursuant to coverage provided under a policy of insurance, the insured is entitled only to be made whole, not more than whole. Subrogation principles normally prevent an insured from obtaining one recovery from the insurer under its contractual obligations and a second recovery from the tortfeasor under general tort principles.