Small Biz Ideas

A profitable firm is made from many parts. From the initial business idea to timing to capable management, everything is a bit of a larger picture. One of the bigger parts is itself built from several smaller, but critical, parts: the staff. It makes sense that every business works to insure they are able to do what they do best, which is look after your company adeptly and efficiently. And the easiest way to do this is by ensuring they're appropriately cared for. A company must be prepared for the unplanned. An occupational accident can be one of these surprises. So it's imperative to pay for workers compensation coverage for not only your business, but for the betterment of your employees. You can't allow one calamity to severely harm your business. workers comp lawyer Lithia Springs, GA coverage will pay for an injured workers medical bills. Everyone knows this. But some workers comp companies will help protect your business assets in case of an accident. This will give peace of mind, allowing you to focus on running and enlarging your business.

Subrogation is a concept that's understood among legal and insurance firms but often not by the customers who hire them. Even if you've never heard the word before, it is to your advantage to understand the nuances of the process. The more information you have about it, the more likely an insurance lawsuit will work out in your favor.

Any insurance policy you have is a commitment that, if something bad happens to you, the company on the other end of the policy will make good in a timely manner. If you get hurt while you're on the clock, for instance, your employer's workers compensation insurance picks up the tab for medical services. Employment lawyers handle the details; you just get fixed up.

But since figuring out who is financially responsible for services or repairs is regularly a heavily involved affair – and delay often adds to the damage to the policyholder – insurance firms in many cases opt to pay up front and figure out the blame after the fact. They then need a mechanism to recover the costs if, when all the facts are laid out, they weren't actually in charge of the expense.

Let's Look at an Example

Your garage catches fire and causes $10,000 in house damages. Luckily, you have property insurance and it takes care of the repair expenses. 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 to blame for the loss. You already have your money, but your insurance company is out $10,000. What does the company do next?

How Does Subrogation Work?

This is where subrogation comes in. It is the method 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. Normally, only you can sue for damages done to your self or property. But under subrogation law, your insurer is extended some of your rights in exchange for having taken care of the damages. It can go after the money that was originally due to you, because it has covered the amount already.

Why Does This Matter to Me?

For a start, if you have a deductible, it wasn't just your insurer that had to pay. In a $10,000 accident with a $1,000 deductible, you lost some money too – to the tune of $1,000. If your insurance company is unconcerned with pursuing subrogation even when it is entitled, it might opt to recover its losses by raising your premiums. On the other hand, if it knows which cases it is owed and pursues those cases efficiently, it is doing you a favor as well as itself. If all $10,000 is recovered, you will get your full $1,000 deductible back. If it recovers half (for instance, in a case where you are found 50 percent to blame), you'll typically get half your deductible back, depending on your state laws.

Furthermore, if the total cost of an accident is over your maximum coverage amount, you may have had to pay the difference. If your insurance company or its property damage lawyers, such as employment law east olympia wa, successfully press a subrogation case, it will recover your costs in addition to its own.

All insurers are not created equal. When shopping around, it's worth comparing the records of competing agencies to find out whether they pursue valid subrogation claims; if they do so with some expediency; if they keep their accountholders apprised as the case proceeds; 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 firm has a reputation of paying out claims that aren't its responsibility and then safeguarding its profitability by raising your premiums, you should keep looking.