What should I know if my policy states the uninsured motorist carrier has a subrogation right and why should I know about releasing a tortfeasor?

Subrogation means the taking of legal rights of someone whose debts or expenses have been paid. In insurance contracts, subrogation occurs when the insurance company who has paid off its injured claimant takes the legal rights its claimant has against a third-party that caused the injury, and sues that third-party. An uninsured motorist carrier has a common-law right to subrogation against the uninsured motorist. See Eckert v. Government Employees Insurance Co., 334 So.2d 119 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976).
If you have been in a car accident in Palm Beach County Florida, what this means is that you have the right to collect money from you own insurance carrier and then have your own insurance carrier go after the person that hit you in the West Palm Beach Car wreck to get paid. But in order to do this, you must have UM insurance, and unfortunately unlike what most people think, this does not mean “full coverage”. Full coverage is a misnomer that insurance sellers usually use.
Uninsured Motorist carriers will typically protect their subrogation rights by including a provision in the insurance contract that prevents their insured from settling or prosecuting to judgment the claim against the uninsured motorist without obtaining written consent from the UM carrier. This means that if you are involved in an West Palm Beach Florida car accident with an uninsured motorist, and you make a private agreement with the uninsured motorist for them to pay for your car damages and/or your doctor’s bill, you may be prevented from bringing a UM claim against the UM carrier because there is a presumption of prejudice to the insurer. The presumption of prejudice may be overcome by proof that the uninsured motorist is judgment-proof or that the UM carrier would have settled with the uninsured motorist. Rafferty v. Progressive American Insurance Co., 558 So.2d 432 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990).
In these cases the presumption of prejudice to the insurer was overcome:
• Settlement with a 99 year old nursing home resident with no earning capacity and no assets. Tucker v. Seward, 400 So.2d 505 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981).
• Settlement with a tortfeasor against whom a judgment “would not have been worth the paper it was printed on.” Southeastern Fidelity Insurance Co., 395 So.2d at 231
However, in the following cases the insurer failed to overcome the presumption of prejudice to the insurer:
• Settlement with a college student with a part-time job, bank accounts, and savings bonds. Argiro v. Progressive American Insurance Co., 510 So.2d 635 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987).
• Settlement with a 26 year old employed, married woman with no extensive assets but with the potential to acquire assets. New Hampshire Insurance Co. v. Knight, 506 So.2d 75 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)
• Settlement with a 23 year old man with no assets but “unrestricted future earning ability.” General Accident Insurance Co. of America v. Taplis, 493 So.2d 32, 33 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986).
Be aware that an insured does not have a duty to the UM insurer to bring an action against the uninsured motorist before the statute of limitation expires to preserve the UM insurer’s subrogation rights. Jones v. Integral Insurance Co., So.2d 1132 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994). Also, UM benefits are not considered collateral source payments so when an UM carrier has paid benefits to its insured for the negligence of an uninsured motorist, a joint tortfeasor (parties act together to commit the wrong, or their acts, if independent, must unite in causing a single injury) is not entitled to a setoff for the amount of the UM coverage payment. International Sales-Rentals Leasing Co. v. Nearhoof, 263 So.2d 569 (Fla. 1972).
Under F.S. 627.727(6)(a), an injured person is required to submit written notice of the proposed settlement by certified or registered mail to all carrier providing uninsured motorist coverage. If the insurer authorizes settlement with the third party tortfeasor or fails to respond within 30 days, the injured person may execute a release and finalize settlement with the tortfeasor without jeopardizing the UM claim. Contacting an experienced Palm Beach County accident attorney with insight of insurance law when you have been injured should be your first action to preserve your UM benefits by not violating a subrogation clause. If the UM carrier refuses permission to settle with the tortfeasor, the carrier must pay to the injured insured, within 30 days, the amount of the written offer from the third party torfeasors liability carrier to preserve the UM carrier’s rights of subrogation against the tortfeasor. F.S. 627.727(6) (b).