Montana Code 33-10-223. Assignment by beneficiaries — subrogation
33-10-223. Assignment by beneficiaries — subrogation. (1) Any person receiving benefits under this part must be considered to have assigned the person’s rights under the covered policy or contract, pertaining to any causes of action against the person for losses resulting from or otherwise relating to the covered policy or contract, to the association to the extent of the benefits received because of this part whether the benefits are payments of contractual obligations or continuation of coverage or provision of substitute or alternative coverage. The association may require an assignment to it of the rights by any payee, policyowner or contract owner, beneficiary, insured, or annuitant as a condition precedent to the receipt of any rights or benefits conferred by this part upon the person. The association must be subrogated to these rights against the assets of any impaired or insolvent insurer.
Terms Used In Montana Code 33-10-223
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Association: means the Montana life and health insurance guaranty association created under 33-10-203. See Montana Code 33-10-202
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Covered policy: means any policy or contract or portion of a policy or contract for which coverage is provided within the scope of this part. See Montana Code 33-10-202
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Insolvent insurer: means a member insurer that is placed under an order of liquidation by a court of competent jurisdiction upon a finding of insolvency. See Montana Code 33-10-202
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: means any individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, governmental body or entity, or voluntary organization. See Montana Code 33-10-202
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
(2)The subrogation rights of the association under this section have the same priority against the assets of the impaired or insolvent insurer as that possessed by the person entitled to receive benefits under this part.
(3)In addition to the rights detailed in this section, the association has all common-law rights of subrogation and any other equitable or legal remedy that would have been available to the impaired or insolvent insurer or owner, beneficiary, or payee of a policy or contract with respect to the policy or contract, including without limitation, in the case of a structured settlement annuity, any rights of the owner, beneficiary, or payee of the annuity, to the extent of benefits received pursuant to this part, against a person originally or by succession responsible for the losses arising from the personal injury relating to the annuity or payment for the annuity, except for any person responsible solely by reason of serving as an assignee with respect to a qualified assignment under section 130 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(4)If subsections (1) through (3) are invalid or ineffective with respect to any person or claim for any reason, the amount payable by the association with respect to the related covered obligations must be reduced by the amount realized by any other person with respect to the person or claim that is attributable to the policy or a portion of the policy covered by the association.
(5)If the association has provided benefits with respect to a covered obligation and a person recovers any amount to which the association has rights as described in this section, the person shall pay to the association the portion of the recovery attributable to the policy or a portion of the policy covered by the association.