The Fourth Department determined the antisubrogation rule prohibited the insurer from recovering under the relevant $1,000,000 policy. But there was no showing that recovery under a $25,000,000 umbrella policy was prohibited by the antisubrogation rule. Therefore recovery to the extent recovery exceeded $1,000,000 was not precluded by the rule:
… [U]nder the antisubrogation rule, “an insurer has no right of subrogation against its own insured for a claim arising from the very risk for which the insured was covered . . . even where the insured has expressly agreed to indemnify the party from whom the insurer’s rights are derived’ ” … . Conversely, where “the monetary limit of the insurance provided by the . . . policy is for a lesser sum than that sought by the plaintiff as damages, the motion [for summary judgment dismissing] the third-party complaint should have been granted only up to the applicable limits of that policy” … , because “[i]t is black letter law that New York law does not bar insurance companies from seeking indemnification for settlements or judgments that exceed the limits of an insurance policy” … . Mitchell v NRG Energy, Inc., 2016 NY Slip Op 06359, 4th Dept 9-30-16
INSURANCE LAW (ANTISUBROGATION RULE DID NOT PRECLUDE RECOVERY TO THE EXTENT RECOVERY EXCEEDED THE LIMITS OF THE RELEVANT POLICY)/ANTISUBROGATION RULE (INSURANCE LAW, ANTISUBROGATION RULE DID NOT PRECLUDE RECOVERY TO THE EXTENT RECOVERY EXCEEDED THE LIMITS OF THE RELEVANT POLICY)