My dog suffered a bite at the dog boarding facility resulting in a vet visit. I filed a claim with our pet insurance and it covered most of the cost but not all of it. The boarding facility also filed a claim with their business insurance and received compensation, which they want to give to me. This would result in me receiving more than what the cost of the vet visit was. Is this a case of double recovery? and is this legal?
1 Answer
Yes, it’s double recovery: what’s legal depends on your policy
It’s almost certain that your insurer has a subrogation clause which legally entitles them to ‘stand in your shoes’. If so, any recovery you make belongs to them in proportion to how much each of you contributed.
Let’s put some figures on it. Assume the cost of the visit was $1,000. You had a $100 deductible, a 10% co-pay and a $500 cap. So you paid the first $100, 10% of the next $555.56, and the remaining $344.44.
Any recoveries are attributed in reverse. So, you are entitled to the first $333.44, 10% of the next $555.56, and anything after that. And your insurer gets the rest.
So, you should inform your insurance of the recovery and pay them their share.
