Subrogation.
In plain English
Subrogation is the process by which an insurer that has paid your claim steps into your shoes to recover the money from whoever was actually responsible. After it pays you, the insurer chases the at-fault party or their insurer for reimbursement, which keeps costs, and everyone's premiums, lower than if the paying insurer just ate the loss. For you it usually happens in the background, but it can mean your deductible is refunded if the recovery succeeds. It is why insurers ask for accident details and may bar you from settling directly with the other party.
01Why it matters
Subrogation is how insurers recover money from the party at fault, and a successful recovery can get your deductible back, so it quietly affects both premiums and your own claim.
02The math, step by step
Your insurer pays 8,000 dollars to fix your car after another driver hits you, and you pay a 500 dollar deductible. Through subrogation it collects from the other driver's insurer and refunds your 500 dollars.
03What this is NOT
Subrogation is NOT a coverage you buy. It is a right your insurer has to recover what it paid from the at-fault party after settling your claim.
04Receipts
Every figure on this page is sourced to a primary document. Tap to open the original.