Wis. Stat. § 646.33 — WI Code / Chapter 646 / Section 646.33
Subrogation and cooperation.
Status: in_force

(1) Subrogation.

(a) Upon payment to any loss claimant the fund is subrogated to the claimant’s full right of recovery against the insurer and, to the same extent the insurer would have been subrogated, against any liquidator and any 3rd person. A person receiving benefits under this chapter thereby assigns to the fund the person’s rights under, and any causes of action against any person for losses arising under, resulting from, or otherwise relating to, the covered policy or contract to the extent of the benefits received, regardless of whether the benefits are payments of or on account of contractual obligations, continuation of coverage, or the provision of substitute or alternative coverages.

(b) The subrogation rights of the fund under this subsection have the same priority against the assets of the insolvent insurer as the claimant’s rights with respect to the insurer.

(c) In addition to the rights specified in pars. (a) and (b) , the fund has all of the common law rights of subrogation and any other equitable or legal remedy that would have been available to the insolvent insurer or the claimant with respect to the covered policy or contract including, in the case of a structured settlement annuity, any rights of the owner, beneficiary, or payee of the annuity, to the extent of the benefits received under this chapter, against a person originally or by succession responsible for the losses that arise from the personal injury and that relate to the annuity or its payment.

(d) If any provision of this subsection is invalid or ineffective for any reason with respect to any person or claim, the amount payable by the fund with respect to the related covered obligations shall be reduced by any amount realized by any other person with respect to the person or claim that is attributable to the covered policy or contract.

(2) Cooperation. The claimant shall cooperate with the fund in pursuing the fund’s rights under sub. (1) , including executing any necessary documents. If cooperation is withheld unreasonably, the fund may recover from the claimant any amount it has paid the claimant. The fund may require a claimant to execute a written assignment to it of the claimant’s rights and causes of action relating to the covered policy or contract as a condition precedent to the receipt of any right or benefits under this chapter.

(2m) Recovery.

(a) On recovery under this section, the fund may retain both the amount it has paid to the claimant and the amount it has expended to obtain the recovery and shall pay any balance to the claimant.

(b) If a claimant to whom the fund has provided benefits under this chapter recovers amounts with respect to which the fund has rights under this section, the claimant shall pay to the fund the portion of the recovery that is attributable to the covered policy or contract.

(3) Claims against liquidator.

(a) The fund shall report periodically and whenever a reasonable request is made to any liquidator against whom subrogation rights exist under sub. (1) the claims paid and rejected together with estimates of unsettled claims made or anticipated against the fund.

(b) As a creditor of the insolvent insurer, the fund shall be entitled to receive disbursements of assets out of marshaled assets, consistent with s. 645.72 and any substantially similar laws of other states, as a credit against obligations under this chapter. If, within 120 days after a final determination of an insurer’s insolvency by the receivership court, the liquidator has not applied to the court for approval of a proposal for disbursement of assets out of marshaled assets to insurance guaranty associations having obligations because of the insolvency, the fund may apply to the receivership court, in accordance with the law of the insolvent insurer’s domicile, for approval of its own proposal for disbursement of the assets.

History: 1979 c. 109 ; 2003 a. 261 ; 2007 a. 170 ss. 35 , 37 .