5 things you can do to hit the subrogation ball out of the park

Getting the right person in the right position. Not everyone is cut out to be an adjuster. Beginning with the hiring process, identify those people who have an insatiable curiosity. Some of my best adjusters had no experience in adjusting whatsoever. It is easy to teach good claims habits; it is hard to break bad ones. Focus on hiring the right people every time.
Show me the money! It is often there, sometimes in very strange places. Finding 80% of subrogation is not overly difficult. But what about the other 20%, which is often a disproportionately higher dollar amount. Successful subrogation adjusters have an insatiable curiosity and will leave no stone unturned. Giving them the tools and the time necessary to dig deeper on claims is critical to both quality and outcomes.
Early identification of subrogation should be paramount to internal processes. Time is money, and the longer a subro opportunity sits, the lower the recovery dollars will be. Analytics can help on the early ID front but shouldn't be solely relied upon as ID is only as good as modeling and modeling properly for highly complex scenarios is very difficult.
Use a second set of eyes. When 15% of all claims are closed with a missed subrogation process, utilizing this type of audit pays big dividends.
Measure for success. By moving from disposition to quality, focused metrics can have a profound impact on results. Focus on creating total file quality scores, including components for proper liability assessment, timely investigation and recovery recognition. During my QA days, we moved from disposition to a quality-focused process and saw improvements in indemnity results, timely and accurate disposition of claims, subrogation recognition, and referral and recovery dollars.

Missed subrogation is a challenge, but one that can be overcome with the right people, processes, and technology. I have seen tremendous improvements in several situations where carriers have made subrogation a key priority from the top down. In the world of claims, subrogation provides a meaningful way to bring money back into claims organizations while getting deductibles back to customers, driving up retention and customer satisfaction results.

Special Reports /

Insurers are overlooking subrogation options when paying claims

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