Waiver of subrogation
A waiver of subrogation is an agreement that limits an insurer’s ability to seek recovery from a specified party after paying a loss. Its scope depends on the clause, the policy, and the loss context in which it is invoked.
Subrogation is the recovery right that can arise after an insurer pays a loss. A waiver allocates that recovery risk in advance. New York decisions caution that these clauses are read in their stated context, so the exact party, operation, and policy endorsement matter more than a generic certificate notation.
Sources
- Primary source: State Farm Insurance Co. v. J.P. Spano Construction, Inc. — Published New York appellate decision describing waiver-of-subrogation clauses as risk-allocation provisions and applying a strict contextual construction.
- Primary source: American Scientific Lighting Corp. v. Hamilton Plaza Associates — Published decision stating that a waiver cannot be enforced beyond the specific context in which it appears.