State guide · West
Alaska subrogation law guide
The insured's own fault reduces the recovery by its percentage but never bars it. Fault is allocated among the claimant, defendants, third-party defendants and released parties under Alaska Stat. 09.17.080.
Alaska at a glanceAK
- Property damage
- 2 years
- Bodily injury
- 2 years
- Fault rule
- Pure comparative
- Gov. notice
- None
Overview
Alaska is favorable on fault and unforgiving on time. Pure comparative negligence under Alaska Stat. 09.17.060 means a carrier recovers something on almost any shared-fault loss, yet the two-year period in Alaska Stat. 09.10.070 covers both personal injury and damage to personal property, and contract claims, including lease and service agreement indemnity, run only three years. Joint and several liability is gone: every defendant pays only its allocated share, and fault can be assigned to released or third-party defendants, which makes early identification of every responsible party important. Alaska has no general notice-of-claim statute for public entities, and the Alaska Supreme Court has refused to enforce local charter notice requirements that conflict with state law. Civil Rule 82 awards the prevailing party a partial attorney fee, which raises the cost of litigating weak liability files and strengthens the hand of a carrier with a clean one. Geography adds evidence risk: vehicles, vessels and equipment may sit in communities reachable only by air or barge, so photographs, scene measurements and salvage holds should be arranged at first notice of loss rather than after payment.
Quick reference with citations
- Property damage SOL
- 2 years
- Alaska Stat. 09.10.070(a)(3) (taking, detaining or injuring personal property); actions for waste or trespass upon real property run 6 years under Alaska Stat. 09.10.050
- Bodily injury SOL
- 2 years
- Alaska Stat. 09.10.070(a)(2)
- Product liability
- 2 years from injury (Alaska Stat. 09.10.070); the general 10-year statute of repose in Alaska Stat. 09.10.055 expressly does not apply to harm caused by a defective product; 4 years for UCC warranty claims (Alaska Stat. 45.02.725)
- Written contract
- 3 years
- Contract and indemnity recoveries
- Comparative fault rule
- Pure comparative
- Alaska Stat. 09.17.060; Kaatz v. State, 540 P.2d 1037 (Alaska 1975)
- Government notice of claim
- No general statutory pre-suit notice
- Alaska has no general pre-suit notice-of-claim statute for municipalities or the State. In Johnson v. City of Fairbanks, 583 P.2d 181 (Alaska 1978), the Alaska Supreme Court held that a city charter's 120-day notice-of-claim provision could not be enforced because it conflicted with the statewide limitation statutes. Tort claims against the State are filed directly in superior court under Alaska Stat. 09.50.250, subject to discretionary function immunity, and municipalities keep a similar immunity for planning-level decisions (Alaska Stat. 09.65.070).
Fault rule in practice
How Alaska's rule changes a $50,000 recovery.
The insured's own fault reduces the recovery by its percentage but never bars it. Fault is allocated among the claimant, defendants, third-party defendants and released parties under Alaska Stat. 09.17.080.
Authority: Alaska Stat. 09.17.060; Kaatz v. State, 540 P.2d 1037 (Alaska 1975)
| Insured's share of fault | Recoverable in AK | Under pure comparative |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| 20% | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| 50% | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| 60% | $20,000 | $20,000 |
Doctrines that move the number
Alaska doctrine checklist.
Made-whole doctrine
Alaska case law on the made-whole doctrine is sparse. The courts have indicated that equitable subrogation does not arise until the insured has been fully compensated, and the issue surfaces most often when a tortfeasor's liability limits cannot cover both the insured's uninsured losses and the carrier's lien. Contractual subrogation and reimbursement clauses are more likely to be enforced as written, so policy language matters.
Economic loss doctrine
Alaska follows an intermediate rule. Under Northern Power & Engineering Corp. v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 623 P.2d 324 (Alaska 1981), a product that fails in a way that is dangerous to persons or other property supports strict liability recovery even when only the product itself is damaged, while purely qualitative failures are left to warranty and contract remedies.
Joint and several liability
Joint and several liability was abolished by the 1989 tort reform initiative, and each defendant pays only its percentage share under Alaska Stat. 09.17.080. Because fault can be allocated to released parties and third-party defendants, the subrogating carrier carries the risk of an uncollectible or settled-out tortfeasor.
Anti-subrogation and waiver
An insurer cannot subrogate against its own insured or a party insured under the same policy (Graham v. Rockman, 504 P.2d 1351 (Alaska 1972)). Builder's risk carriers cannot shift a covered loss to a subcontractor insured under that policy (Baugh-Belarde Construction Co. v. College Utilities Corp., 561 P.2d 1211 (Alaska 1977)).
Practice notes
Working Alaska subrogation files.
- 1
Use two years from the loss for vehicle, contents and equipment claims under Alaska Stat. 09.10.070, and do not rely on the six-year real property statute unless the claim is genuinely for waste or trespass to land. Contract-based recoveries, such as indemnity under a commercial lease or a maintenance agreement, run three years under 09.10.053, which is shorter than many carriers assume when they treat contract claims as a long-tail option.
- 2
Pure comparative fault keeps shared-liability files alive. Suppose a carrier pays $52,000 for a fire at a Kenai marine supply store started by a welding contractor, and a jury puts 35% of the fault on the insured for storing fuel near the work area. The carrier still recovers $33,800. Even at 70% insured fault it would recover $15,600, a result no modified comparative state allows.
- 3
Alaska Civil Rule 82 shifts a schedule-based share of attorney fees to the prevailing party, and offers of judgment under Civil Rule 68 can increase that exposure. Before suing, weigh the file's win probability against potential fee liability, since a carrier that loses a thin subrogation suit may pay part of the defense bill. The same rule gives a carrier with clear liability real settlement pressure.
- 4
For losses outside the road system, request scene photographs, salvage retention and component holds at first notice. Shipping a failed water heater or outboard motor to an expert can take weeks, and destructive testing should wait until every potential defendant has been notified. Evidence disputes are far easier to prevent than to litigate when the product sits hundreds of miles from the nearest laboratory.
- 5
Ishqkala keeps Alaska files with heavy insured fault in the scoring queue rather than suppressing them, because pure comparative fault leaves recoverable dollars at almost any allocation. When adjuster notes reference a lease, service contract or indemnity clause, the SOL Tracking Engine adds the three-year contract clock alongside the two-year tort date so the shorter deadline drives the diary.
Key cases
Kaatz v. State
540 P.2d 1037 (Alaska 1975)
Adopted pure comparative negligence in place of the contributory negligence bar. A subrogating carrier recovers its proportionate share even when its insured carries most of the fault.
Graham v. Rockman
504 P.2d 1351 (Alaska 1972)
Held that an insurer may not recover by subrogation against its own insured, including a party insured under the policy. Check additional insured and permissive user provisions before filing.
Johnson v. City of Fairbanks
583 P.2d 181 (Alaska 1978)
Refused to enforce a municipal charter notice-of-claim requirement that conflicted with state limitation statutes. Recoveries against Alaska municipalities follow the general limitation periods rather than local presentment deadlines.
Inter-company arbitration
For signatory carriers, Alaska losses go through Arbitration Forums like any other state: company-paid damages up to $100,000 are compulsory in the Automobile and Property forums, and panels apply Alaska law, including pure comparative fault, so a carrier can win a proportionate award even when its insured shares the blame. Product defect claims are not compulsory in the Property program. Arbitration also avoids the Civil Rule 82 fee exposure that comes with losing a lawsuit, which makes it the efficient path for modest, contested auto claims.
How Ishqkala applies this guide
AK rules, built into every score.
- Opportunities with a Alaska loss state are calendared against the 2 years property damage period or the 2 years bodily injury period, whichever controls the claim type.
- The insured's estimated fault share is applied under pure comparative before recoverable dollars are scored.
- Public-entity claims are flagged for counsel review because notice and immunity rules vary by entity.
- Alerts fire at 180, 90, 45 and 15 days before the controlling deadline.
Other pure comparative jurisdictions
FAQ
Alaska subrogation FAQ
2 years (Alaska Stat. 09.10.070(a)(3) (taking, detaining or injuring personal property); actions for waste or trespass upon real property run 6 years under Alaska Stat. 09.10.050). A subrogating carrier generally takes the insured's claim subject to the same limitation period, usually measured from the date of loss.
Pure comparative (Alaska Stat. 09.17.060; Kaatz v. State, 540 P.2d 1037 (Alaska 1975)). The insured's own fault reduces the recovery by its percentage but never bars it. Fault is allocated among the claimant, defendants, third-party defendants and released parties under Alaska Stat. 09.17.080.
Alaska has no general pre-suit notice-of-claim statute for municipalities or the State. In Johnson v. City of Fairbanks, 583 P.2d 181 (Alaska 1978), the Alaska Supreme Court held that a city charter's 120-day notice-of-claim provision could not be enforced because it conflicted with the statewide limitation statutes. Tort claims against the State are filed directly in superior court under Alaska Stat. 09.50.250, subject to discretionary function immunity, and municipalities keep a similar immunity for planning-level decisions (Alaska Stat. 09.65.070).
Alaska case law on the made-whole doctrine is sparse. The courts have indicated that equitable subrogation does not arise until the insured has been fully compensated, and the issue surfaces most often when a tortfeasor's liability limits cannot cover both the insured's uninsured losses and the carrier's lien. Contractual subrogation and reimbursement clauses are more likely to be enforced as written, so policy language matters.
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