Cozen O’Connor founded the subrogation and recovery practice in the early 1970s and remains the world’s leading subrogation and recovery law firm. Our team of more than 100 attorneys represents the largest insurers and reinsurers in the United States, Canada, and other international venues. In addition to representing the insurance industry, we handle self-insured recovery claims for many Fortune 500. From 2017 through 2020, we recovered a total of $940 million for our clients.
In a field as distinctive and technical as subrogation, experience is the difference between success and failure. The foundation of an effective subrogation and recovery program is having a process in place to conduct timely, accurate, and cost-effective investigations. Because catastrophe can strike at any moment, our attorneys are available around the clock via a subrogation hotline. We can coordinate a thorough investigation into the causes of a major loss within 24 to 48 hours of notification. When warranted, our attorneys are on site to interview witnesses, liaise with public authorities, and identify, preserve, and analyze relevant physical evidence. By performing activities that otherwise would be outsourced to hourly fee consultants as part of our contingent-fee services, we reduce investigation expenses. When retention of forensic experts is authorized by our clients, we work closely with those experts to establish a complete scientific understanding of the causes of the loss.
We can respond to events whenever and wherever they arise. Firm attorneys are licensed in all 51 U.S. jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, as well as Canada, Germany, China, and various international jurisdictions. Moreover, the firm has partnerships with experienced insurance litigation firms throughout the world. We are able to handle complex multijurisdictional losses, and are at the forefront of spotting new trends, especially regarding repetitive failures in product liability claims.
In addition to our broad geographic reach, we have formed subject matter task forces in numerous industry sectors and lines of business. Through repeated prosecution of similar claims, our task forces are able to develop comprehensive electronic databases of technical and forensic information, which can then be used to accelerate and maximize recoveries.
Clients are able to independently review real-time information about all of their claims using the firm’s highly secure web-based data management system. In addition to narrative reports from our attorneys, we also provide monthly and quarterly electronic claim database management reports. To ensure individual attention is given to specific client needs, we meet with clients on a regular basis to review pending and recently closed claims and confirm compliance with all reporting and budgetary requirements.
Our claim portfolio includes losses ranging from hundreds of millions of dollars to those involving several thousand dollars. Firm attorneys are assigned to handle all large losses, while recovery analysts at our subsidiaries, National Subrogation Services and Maritime Subrogation Services, are responsible for perfecting recoveries for smaller and moderate sized losses.
SERVICES
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Pursue claims on behalf of property and other first- and third-party underwriters with losses incurred as a result of fires, explosions, structural collapses, machinery and equipment failures, transportation and logistics accidents, gas and water leaks, and natural catastrophes, including wildfires, windstorms, and floods
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Serve insurers writing for specialized sectors such as the energy and petrochemical, construction, product liability, fidelity and surety, environmental, maritime, and other lines of business
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Operate a 24-hour subrogation hotline for clients to report losses
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Conduct timely and accurate investigation and analysis of losses for subrogation and recovery potential, including on-site investigation by the firm’s attorneys
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Pursue subrogation and recovery claims against responsible tortfeasors and other culpable third parties in state and federal courts throughout the country, as well as in over 50 international venues
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Provide access to our secure subrogation claims database that provides information about all pending and closed subrogation claims, such as status, work stage, loss description, responsible parties, and financial data, including projected and realized recoveries
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Allow access to our proprietary subrogation and recovery electronic library, including numerous jurisdictional comparative charts, international law digests, and over 400 papers and reference materials authored by our attorneys on a wide spectrum of insurance, subrogation, and liability issues
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Conduct client training sessions to update our clients about legal and technical developments in the subrogation industry
CLIENTS
We represent primary insurers, reinsurers, self-insurers, insurance syndicates, third-party administrators, managing general agents, insurance brokers and agents, and independent adjustment companies. Client references are available upon request and include most of the largest property & casualty underwriters in the United States and internationally.
TEAM
Cozen O’Connor’s subrogation and recovery team includes top trial lawyers and prominent industry innovators in this highly specialized field. We are nationally ranked by Chambers and Partners. Senior members of the team have and continue to hold leadership positions with the Property Loss Research Bureau, the Loss Executives Association, the National Association of Subrogation Professionals, and other insurance trade associations. Our attorneys publish and lecture extensively on subrogation and recovery, and are frequently called upon to provide commentary on new developments.
Our objective, as subrogation and recovery counsel, is to identify, develop, and successfully prosecute actionable claims based on thorough analysis of potential third party responsibility. We pursue every loss with subrogation potential. At the same time, we strive to expeditiously recommend closing of non-viable claims; there is an incremental cost to insurers in keeping unmeritorious claims open. To further reduce clients’ legal expenses, Cozen O’Connor’s subrogation practice is structured to operate on a contingency fee basis. This enables us to handle claims creatively and aggressively without exposing our clients to significant out-of-pocket fees.
Cozen O’Connor is the world’s leading
subrogation and recovery law firm.
We founded our subrogation and recovery practice in 1970 and have
been at the forefront of this dynamic area ever since, representing
most industry-leading P&C insurers, together with multiple syndicates,
third-party administrators, managing general agents and self-insured
companies.
Why do the largest insurers in the United States, Canada and the
London Market trust us with their subrogation and recovery claims?
Relentless Focus
Our success rests on two pillars: personnel and technology. In a
complex and technical domain such as subrogation, experience often
is the difference between success and failure. For decades, Cozen
O’Connor and National Subrogation Services have successfully
handled tens of thousands of subrogation claims, setting the standard
of excellence in the subrogation industry.
How do we consistently achieve extraordinary results for our clients?
- All claims with potential are identified and aggressively pursued; there are no missed opportunities. All non-viable claims are archived without expending client
resources.
- Exclusive claim databases, including comprehensive tracking of systemic product
failures/product recalls with associated technical and forensic details.
- Proprietary predictive analytics programs and workflow processes which are
uniquely designed to maximize recoveries and increase the value of our services to
our clients.
- Standing subject matter task forces for numerous industry sectors and lines of
business to reduce learning curves and accelerate recoveries.
- Immediate deployment of resources when a casualty event occurs with the
capability to launch and coordinate a site investigation into the cause of a major loss
within 24 to 48 hours of notification.
- Emphasis on identifying repetitive failure claims, which are handled through mass
tort and subrogation industry class actions to reduce expense and optimize recovery
potential.
- Building deep relationships with our clients through an ongoing dialogue; we
continually curate our subrogation services to fit our clients’ business objectives.
- Cozen O’Connor: 30+ US offices and 3 CN offices; NSS: Recovery Specialists
located in 26+ states. Combined resources provide for an unmatched, comprehensive
US and CN geographic footprint, with proximity to any location in North America
where a loss may occur.
Cutting Edge Technology
SubroSpeed™, our industry-leading predictive analytics engine combines our expertise with the latest
generation proprietary technology to mine, evaluate, and score individual claims.
SubroSpeed™ is designed to process both structured and unstructured data for claim volumes of the
highest magnitude.
Highly secure web-based claims management system enables our clients to access and manage
real time information for all pending and closed claims.
Our subrogation group uses STAR (Subrogation Technical Analysis Report), a proprietary reporting system, to streamline reporting critical case events to our clients. We also employ AI-driven tools to streamline routine tasks and conduct legal research and large-scale document reviews.
Joseph F. Rich serves as Chair for Subrogation Technology & Innovation within the Subrogation Department. In this role, Joe works to identify cutting-edge technologies, customizable tools, and workflows that can lead to better results and efficiencies for our clients.
Subro Leadership
Our leadership in the subrogation and recovery practice area has long
been recognized by our peers and within the insurance industry.
Our credentials include: a former National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP) President; (Elliott R. Feldman); present and former
NASP board members; (Joseph F. Rich and Philip T. Caroll); regular presenters at industry
conferences including the PLRB (2023 Top Presenter Award), LEA, NASP,
and various others.
- Our lawyers have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©, Super Lawyers, and other lawyer rating services.
- Our lawyers provide insightful monthly training sessions to a variety of insurance clients, including Allstate, Hartford, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Zurich, and numerous others.
- Cozen O’Connor is nationally ranked by Chambers and Partners.
- Our CE/CLE approved monthly webinars hosted in the United States and Canada, focus on a wide spectrum of cutting-edge claims,
legal, and forensic recovery and claims issues. These have been attended by countless
professionals, and private client training is available upon request.
- We employ a diverse complement of attorneys and staff, and strive to foster
greater inclusion in the legal profession. Learn more about Cozen O’Connor’s Firm Culture here.