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Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States - Hardcover
Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States - Electronic
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§ 4.40 RHODE ISLAND
§ 4.40[1] Subrogation Rights
Rhode Island defines subrogation as the substitution of one person
in place of another with reference to lawful claim or right and is
device adopted by equity to compel ultimate discharge of obligation
by party who in good conscience ought to pay it.1 Rhode Island
recognizes both an equitable and contractual right of subrogation.2 Its
Supreme Court has recognized the validity of a contract of
subrogation.3
§ 4.40[2] Automobile Insurance Coverage
Liability Coverage. Automobile insurance policies must provide
liability insurance coverage of at least $25,000 for bodily injury to or
death of any one person and $50,000 for bodily injury to or death of
two or more persons in any one accident.4 It must also provide
coverage of at least $25,000 for injury to or destruction of the
property of others in any one accident.5
As of 2010, Rhode Island has 654,035 licensed drivers and 11 to
15% of them are uninsured.6
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage. An auto carrier in
Rhode Island must offer uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, unless
the insured specifically rejects such coverage.7 The UM carrier must
offer the insurance in at least the amounts of the limits of the
insured’s bodily injury liability coverage.8 Yet, the insured can select
limits less than the bodily injury coverage limits. The owner of an
automobile must obtain UM coverage if he has more than the
minimum limits of bodily injury liability coverage.9 The insured
must sign a document prescribed by the Department of Business
Regulation which sets forth the hazards of UM and UIM motorists.10
The definition of "uninsured motorist" (UM) includes an
underinsured motorist (UIM).11 An "UIM" is the owner or operator
of a motor vehicle who carries automobile liability insurance with
coverage in an amount less than the limits or damages that persons
insured pursuant to this section are legally entitled to recover because
of bodily injury, sickness, or disease, including death, resulting from
that injury, sickness or disease.
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.
