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Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States - Hardcover
Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States - Electronic
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§ 4.45 UTAH
§ 4.45[1] Subrogation Rights
Utah recognizes both equitable and contractual subrogation.1
Although generally governed by equitable principles, Utah holds fast
to the more logical ideology that equitable subrogation can be
modified by contract.2 This is because an insurer's subrogation right
to recover from a responsible third party the amount it has paid to or
on behalf of its insured derives from the insurance contract between
the insurer and insured, and not from any contract or relationship
between the insurer and third party.3
Regardless of an express contract provision, an insurer may be
entitled to subrogation.4 This is because subrogation springs from the
equity concluding that one having been reimbursed for a specific loss
should not be entitled to a second reimbursement therefore. This
principle has been accepted in Utah with respect to property damage
and medical costs.5
An insurance company may enforce its subrogation and
reimbursement rights in Utah.6 A Utah statute provides that
subrogation actions may be brought by the insurer in the name of its
insured.7 Subrogation is permitted with respect to property damage
and medical costs, but a claim or cause of action for personal injuries
arising out of tort is not assignable.8
§ 4.45[2] Automobile Insurance Coverage
Every resident owner of a motor vehicle must maintain an owner's
or operator's insurance any time the vehicle is operated on a highway
or on a quasi-public road or parking area within the state.9 Also,
every non-resident owner of a motor vehicle that has a physical
presence in Utah for more than ninety (90) days during the preceding
365 days must also maintain such insurance.10
As of 2010, Utah has 1,463,366 licensed drivers and 5 to 10% of
them are uninsured.
Liability Coverage. Automobile policies must provide liability
coverage of no less than $25,000 because of liability for bodily
injury to or death of one person, arising out of the use of a motor
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.
