If a health insurer covers the medical bills of an accident victim and then the victim receives compensation for medical costs through a lawsuit or a settlement agreement, he or she would have to reimburse the health insurer. This process is known as subrogation.
Insurance Subrogation in Nevada
The Nevada subrogation law allows insurance providers to obtain reimbursement from the liable party for costs they covered on the policyholder’s behalf. If an accident victim paid medical bills incurred with his or her health insurance and then obtained compensation from the insurance company of the liable party, the victim must use part of that compensation to repay his or her health insurance company.
A health insurance company can pursue reimbursement from the accident victim only when he or she has received compensation from the liable party. A car accident lawyer can, therefore, bargain with the health insurer to ensure the victim has received reasonable compensation before the insurer gets its share.
Subrogation Notice Letters
After reporting an accident, the victim will get a letter from his or her health insurer requesting more information regarding the accident. The letter will specifically seek to know the type of accident, details of any liable party involved, and details of the liable party’s insurance company.
The notice letter will also ask for the contact information of a lawyer if the victim has already hired one. The letter may also include a form that reminds the victim of the insurance policy’s provisions that give the health insurer the right to recover full repayment from the injury award he or she receives either by jury decision or settlement agreement.
Why Is Subrogation Important?
The subrogation provision is crucial because health insurance exists to safeguard the policyholder if he or she sustains an injury or becomes ill. If the policyholder is injured by a third party, the health insurer pays his or her medical costs before liability and damages are addressed in the policyholder’s injury lawsuit. The health insurer will eventually claim full reimbursement for costs it has incurred in relation to the policyholder’s medical treatment once the policyholder obtains compensation from the liable party’s insurer.
An accident victim must carefully read the language of the health insurance policy to know what rights his or her health insurer hold. An auto accident lawyer can look at the policy to determine if it has language that allows subrogation.
