Originally from:
Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States - Hardcover
Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States - Electronic
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§ 4.06 COLORADO
§ 4.06[1] Subrogation Rights
Colorado recognizes both an equitable right of subrogation and a
contractual right of subrogation.1 Under the Doctrine of Equitable
Subrogation, when an insurer has paid its insured for a loss caused by
a third party, it may seek recovery from the third party.2 In such an
action, the insurer effectively stands in the shoes of its insured.3
Many Colorado policies contain subrogation or reimbursement
language such as:
Our Recovery Rights. If we pay under this policy, we are
entitled to all the rights of recovery of the person to whom
payment was made against another. That person must sign
and deliver to us any legal papers relating to that recovery,
do whatever else is necessary to help us exercise those rights
and do nothing after loss to harm our rights.
When we pay damages under this policy to a person who
also collects from another, the amount collected from the
other shall be repaid to us to the extent of our payment.4
§ 4.06[2] Automobile Insurance Coverage
Liability insurance is required under Colorado law.5 Such
insurance must be in at least the following amounts:
(1) Legal liability for bodily injury or death arising out of the use
of a motor vehicle to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs of
$25,000 per person in any one accident and $50,000 for all persons
in any one accident, and
(2) Legal liability for property damages arising out of the use of a
motor vehicle to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, of $15,000 in
any one accident.6
The minimum required liability for a truck exceeding 16,000 lbs
GVW is $100,000 per person, $300,000 per occurrence, and $50,000
for property damage.7
Gary Wickert is an insurance trial lawyer and is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on insurance subrogation. He is also the author of several subrogation books and legal treatises and is a national and international speaker and lecturer on subrogation and motivational topics. After 15 years as the youngest managing partner in the history of the 30-lawyer Houston law firm of Hughes, Watters & Askanase, L.L.P., Mr. Wickert returned to his native Wisconsin in 1998 and co-founded the subrogation firm of Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. He oversees a National Recovery Program which includes a network of nearly 285 contracted subrogation law firms in all 50 states, Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom and boasts recoveries of more than $500 million in recoveries and credits for more than 200 insurance companies. Licensed in both Texas and Wisconsin, Mr. Wickert is double board-certified in both personal injury law and civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is also certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, for whom he has both written and graded the product liability questions contained on the NBTA national certification exam taken by trial lawyers around the country. For 25 years, Mr. Wickert has served as an expert witness and insurance consultant on subrogation and insurance related issues and has been consulted by insurance carriers, lawyers, and legislative bodies from several states. He is a licensed arbitrator and has attended more than 750 mediations in more than 30 different states. He has represented subrogated insurance carriers in every state, and has been admitted pro hac vice in 17 states. Gary Wickert has worked with the Texas Legislative Oversight Committee in rewriting their workers' compensation subrogation statutes, has served on the Board of the National Association of Subrogation Professionals, and has been cited as an authority on workers' compensation subrogation by several appellate courts, including the Texas Court of Appeals. He is one of only a few lawyers to have ever represented a subrogated carrier before the United States Supreme Court, and was named as one of Law & Politics magazine's "Super Lawyers" for 2005, 2006, and 2007.
