State guide · Southeast
Kentucky subrogation law guide
A claimant recovers even when mostly at fault, with damages reduced by its own share. Fault is apportioned among the parties and any released nonparties, and each pays only its share.
Kentucky at a glanceKY
- Property damage
- 2 years
- Bodily injury
- 1 year
- Fault rule
- Pure comparative
- Gov. notice
- 90 days
Overview
Kentucky is a pure comparative fault state under Hilen v. Hays and KRS 411.182, so even a mostly-at-fault insured supports a partial recovery, and fault is apportioned among parties and settling nonparties with no joint and several liability. Its clocks are among the shortest in the country: 1 year for bodily injury under KRS 413.140, 2 years for damage to personal property under KRS 413.125, and 5 years for real property. Auto runs under the Motor Vehicle Reparations Act, a choice no-fault system: basic reparation benefits (BRB) pay first, tort suits require medical expenses over $1,000 or a serious injury unless the person rejected the tort limitation, and motor vehicle injury claims get 2 years from the injury or last BRB payment. A BRB carrier recovers from a secured tortfeasor's carrier only by joining the injured person's suit or through the Kentucky Insurance Arbitration Association process (KRS 304.39-070), and the injured person's recovery comes first. Wine v. Globe American applies the made-whole rule to contractual subrogation unless the policy clearly subordinates the insured. Giddings & Lewis bars tort recovery for a product's damage to itself. Claims against cities over defective streets and sidewalks need notice within 90 days.
Quick reference with citations
- Property damage SOL
- 2 years
- KRS 413.125 (taking, detaining or injuring personal property); 5 years for trespass and injury to real property (KRS 413.120)
- Bodily injury SOL
- 1 year
- KRS 413.140(1)(a); motor vehicle injury claims run 2 years from the injury or the last basic or added reparation benefit payment (KRS 304.39-230(6))
- Product liability
- 1 year for personal injury (KRS 413.140(1)(a)) and 2 years for damage to personal property (KRS 413.125); KRS 411.310 presumes a product was not defective if the injury occurred more than 5 years after sale to the first consumer or more than 8 years after manufacture.
- Written contract
- 10 years
- Contract and indemnity recoveries
- Comparative fault rule
- Pure comparative
- KRS 411.182; Hilen v. Hays, 673 S.W.2d 713 (Ky. 1984)
- Government notice of claim
- 90 days
- Cities: written notice within 90 days of the occurrence for injury from a defect in a bridge, street, sidewalk, alley or other public way, served on the mayor, city clerk or clerk of the board of aldermen (KRS 411.110). Commonwealth agencies: negligence claims go to the Kentucky Claims Commission and must be filed within 1 year (KRS 49.120). Counties generally retain sovereign immunity.
Fault rule in practice
How Kentucky's rule changes a $50,000 recovery.
A claimant recovers even when mostly at fault, with damages reduced by its own share. Fault is apportioned among the parties and any released nonparties, and each pays only its share.
Authority: KRS 411.182; Hilen v. Hays, 673 S.W.2d 713 (Ky. 1984)
| Insured's share of fault | Recoverable in KY | 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
Kentucky doctrine checklist.
Made-whole doctrine
Kentucky applies the made-whole rule to contractual and equitable subrogation alike: the insured must be fully compensated before the insurer recovers (Wine v. Globe American Cas. Co., 917 S.W.2d 558 (Ky. 1996)). That priority shifts only where the agreements clearly give the insurer an immediate right of subrogation and subordinate the insured's interest. For no-fault benefits, the injured person's collection from a liability insurer takes priority over the reparation obligor's reimbursement (KRS 304.39-140(3)).
Economic loss doctrine
Giddings & Lewis, Inc. v. Industrial Risk Insurers, 348 S.W.3d 729 (Ky. 2011) applies the economic loss rule to commercial product purchases even without privity, barring a property insurer's subrogated tort claim for a product's damage to itself. Damage to other property remains recoverable in tort.
Joint and several liability
Kentucky apportions fault among all parties and settling nonparties under KRS 411.182, and each tortfeasor pays only its own share (Dix & Assocs. Pipeline Contractors, Inc. v. Key, 799 S.W.2d 24 (Ky. 1990)). A release reduces the claim against others by the released party's equitable share, not by the dollars it paid.
Anti-subrogation and waiver
Kentucky reads leases literally: a lease requiring the landlord to insure for the lessor's and lessee's interest as they may appear makes both parties beneficiaries and bars subrogation against the tenant (Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Jefferson Family Fair, Inc., 521 S.W.2d 244 (Ky. 1975)). A carrier cannot subrogate against its own insured.
Practice notes
Working Kentucky subrogation files.
- 1
Kentucky clocks differ by claim type. Auto and contents damage runs 2 years under KRS 413.125, real property damage 5 years, general bodily injury only 1 year, and motor vehicle injury 2 years from the injury or last reparation payment under KRS 304.39-230(6). Set separate alerts on mixed files, and treat any city street or sidewalk defect as a 90-day notice file under KRS 411.110. Written contracts signed after July 15, 2014 carry 10 years (KRS 413.160).
- 2
Fault math under pure comparative fault: a fictional Lexington distributor's $60,000 warehouse loss follows a forklift battery fire, and the jury assigns 70% to the insured for ignoring a charging warning and 30% to the charger manufacturer. In a modified comparative state the claim would be barred. In Kentucky the carrier still recovers $18,000 (30% of $60,000), so files other states would close at intake keep value here.
- 3
BRB reimbursement has strict procedure. Under KRS 304.39-070 the reparation obligor must either join the injured person's action or present its claim to the secured tortfeasor's carrier and, after 60 days, pursue reimbursement within the categories recognized by the Kentucky Insurance Arbitration Association. In Progressive Max Ins. Co. v. National Car Rental Systems (Ky. 2011), a payer that skipped those steps lost its claim. Recovery is capped by the tortfeasor's bodily injury limits.
- 4
Because KRS 411.182 reduces the claim by a released party's equitable share rather than the dollars it paid, a cheap early settlement by the insured with one defendant can cost the carrier far more than the release price. Coordinate releases with the insured's counsel, confirm the release does not compromise the subrogated property claim, and price any settlement against the released party's likely fault percentage.
- 5
Ishqkala keeps Kentucky files open that modified-comparative logic would discard: its liability model scores recoverable value at the adverse party's share even when the insured carries most of the fault. Alerts run at 365 days for general bodily injury, 730 days for personal property and from the last reparation payment on auto injury, 1,825 days for real property, and 90 days when a city street defect appears in the narrative.
Key cases
Hilen v. Hays
673 S.W.2d 713 (Ky. 1984)
Abolished contributory negligence and adopted pure comparative fault, so an insured's own fault reduces but never bars a Kentucky recovery.
Wine v. Globe American Cas. Co.
917 S.W.2d 558 (Ky. 1996)
Held the made-whole rule governs contractual as well as equitable subrogation, and set the clear-language standard an insurer must meet to take priority over an insured who has not been fully compensated.
Giddings & Lewis, Inc. v. Industrial Risk Insurers
348 S.W.3d 729 (Ky. 2011)
Adopted the economic loss rule for products in commercial transactions, defeating a subrogating property insurer's negligence and strict liability claims for damage the machine did to itself.
Inter-company arbitration
Kentucky has two arbitration channels. Physical damage and property subrogation between signatory carriers go to Arbitration Forums, Inc., compulsory up to $100,000 in total company-paid damages. No-fault BRB reimbursement between reparation obligors follows KRS 304.39-070 and the Kentucky Insurance Arbitration Association categories under KRS 304.39-290; AF's PIP jurisdiction conforms to the statute that creates the recovery right in the accident state. Under pure comparative fault even a majority-fault applicant can win a reduced award, so marginal property cases are worth filing.
How Ishqkala applies this guide
KY rules, built into every score.
- Opportunities with a Kentucky loss state are calendared against the 2 years property damage period or the 1 year bodily injury period, whichever controls the claim type.
- The insured's estimated fault share is applied under pure comparative before recoverable dollars are scored.
- Files involving a public entity get a 90-day notice deadline that outranks the general SOL in the priority queue.
- Alerts fire at 180, 90, 45 and 15 days before the controlling deadline.
Other pure comparative jurisdictions
FAQ
Kentucky subrogation FAQ
2 years (KRS 413.125 (taking, detaining or injuring personal property); 5 years for trespass and injury to real property (KRS 413.120)). A subrogating carrier generally takes the insured's claim subject to the same limitation period, usually measured from the date of loss.
Pure comparative (KRS 411.182; Hilen v. Hays, 673 S.W.2d 713 (Ky. 1984)). A claimant recovers even when mostly at fault, with damages reduced by its own share. Fault is apportioned among the parties and any released nonparties, and each pays only its share.
Cities: written notice within 90 days of the occurrence for injury from a defect in a bridge, street, sidewalk, alley or other public way, served on the mayor, city clerk or clerk of the board of aldermen (KRS 411.110). Commonwealth agencies: negligence claims go to the Kentucky Claims Commission and must be filed within 1 year (KRS 49.120). Counties generally retain sovereign immunity.
Kentucky applies the made-whole rule to contractual and equitable subrogation alike: the insured must be fully compensated before the insurer recovers (Wine v. Globe American Cas. Co., 917 S.W.2d 558 (Ky. 1996)). That priority shifts only where the agreements clearly give the insurer an immediate right of subrogation and subordinate the insured's interest. For no-fault benefits, the injured person's collection from a liability insurer takes priority over the reparation obligor's reimbursement (KRS 304.39-140(3)).
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