INSURANCE SUBROGATION IN PROPERTY DAMAGE CASES - REAL ESTATE KNOWLEDGE FROM ATTORNEY STEVE.
The focus of this blog is insurance subrogation.
Many real estate brokers are familiar with the concept that when you have water, fire, or flood damage to residential or commercial property, this can trigger an insurance claim. The insurance company then comes out and assesses the property damage, and writes a check to cover repairs and losses. This is pretty straight forward. But what many brokers don't know is that the insurance company does not have to just say "oh well, there goes $100,000 in an insurance claim" what the insurance company can then do is to go after the party that was at-fault (in other words a party who was negligent and caused the property damage in the first place, for example someone who ran the water and forgot to turn off the valve, or go after the toaster company that caused the kitchen fire leading to the property loss.
So, the basic thing to realize is that the insurance company "stands in the shoes" of the insured (the injured party) and can go after the wrongdoer seeking to recover their losses in what we call insurance subrogation.
INSURANCE SUBROGATION EXAMPLE: So let's say as a real estate agent you go to show a property and you run the shower to show the buyer how good the shower stream and water power is. Only problem, you leave the shower running when you leave the house. The house floods and no one knows (the homeowner lives in another state). The damage caused by the water / flood runs into $50,000. The homeowners insurance company will pay their insured on the loss, but they could well come back after you and your brokerage for negligence since you are the one that actually caused the flood.
So this is an interesting concept to be aware of, and if you have any questions about insurance subrogation involving residential or commercial real estate give us a call and we are happy to discuss this with you. We offer insurance subrogation information at our firm website at vondranlegal.com.
WE CAN BE REACHED AT (877) 276-5084.
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