Statutes of Limitation in Subrogation: How Deadlines Work

A subrogation recovery is only viable inside its statute of limitations. Miss the deadline and an otherwise strong claim is worth nothing. Because the window depends on the state and the type of loss, tracking it accurately is a core part of prioritizing recovery work.

Why the deadline varies

There is no single subrogation deadline. The limitation period is set by state law and differs by the underlying claim: property damage, personal injury, and contract claims each carry their own window, and those windows differ from state to state. A recovery that is timely in one jurisdiction or claim type may already be expired in another.

When the clock starts

The period generally begins at the date of loss, though some claims run from when the harm was or should have been discovered. Certain circumstances can pause, or toll, the clock. Because the trigger date itself can be contested, documenting when the loss occurred and when it was discovered is part of protecting the recovery.

Keeping recoveries from expiring

• Calendar the deadline on every file at intake, per the claim type and governing state.
• Review paid and closed files promptly, since the most common way a recovery is lost is aging out unreviewed.
• Preserve the trigger-date evidence so the start of the period is defensible.
• Prioritize by expiry, working the files closest to their window first.

This is exactly the tracking that does not scale by hand across a large book. Reading every file and surfacing the ones nearing their limitation window is where AI subrogation helps most, so viable recoveries are pursued before they expire.