State guide · Midwest
Minnesota subrogation law guide
The insured recovers if its fault is not greater than the fault of the party it sues, compared defendant by defendant rather than in the aggregate. Damages are reduced by the insured's percentage.
Minnesota at a glanceMN
- Property damage
- 6 years
- Bodily injury
- 6 years
- Fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- Gov. notice
- 180 days
Overview
Minnesota pairs one of the longest property damage limitation periods in the country with a no-fault auto system that sharply narrows bodily injury recoveries. Negligence claims for property damage and personal injury both run 6 years under Minn. Stat. 541.05, and written contracts also get 6 years, so few files die on the general SOL. The traps sit elsewhere: a 2-year discovery-based period for claims arising from defective improvements to real property (Minn. Stat. 541.051), 4 years for strict product liability, and 180-day notice for claims against municipalities. Fault is compared defendant by defendant, so an insured at 40% cannot recover from two contractors at 30% each. No-fault benefits are deducted from the injured person's tort recovery, so PIP carriers have no general subrogation right; the main exception is indemnity from the insurer of a commercial vehicle over 5,500 pounds curb weight, decided in mandatory arbitration. Collision, homeowners and commercial property subrogation are unaffected by no-fault. The full recovery rule, a statutory bar on subrogating against your own insured, and the Schmidt v. Clothier procedure for underinsured motorist claims round out the state's rules.
Quick reference with citations
- Property damage SOL
- 6 years
- Minn. Stat. 541.05, subd. 1
- Bodily injury SOL
- 6 years
- Minn. Stat. 541.05, subd. 1(5) (negligence; 2 years for intentional torts under 541.07)
- Product liability
- 4 years for strict liability (Minn. Stat. 541.05, subd. 2); negligence-based product claims follow the 6-year period. No product statute of repose; a useful-life defense is available (Minn. Stat. 604.03).
- Written contract
- 6 years
- Contract and indemnity recoveries
- Comparative fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- Minn. Stat. 604.01, subd. 1
- Government notice of claim
- 180 days
- Written notice to the governing body within 180 days after the loss or injury is discovered (Minn. Stat. 466.05, subd. 1). Claims against the State require notice to the attorney general within 180 days (Minn. Stat. 3.736, subd. 5). Municipal tort liability is capped at $500,000 per claimant and $1,500,000 per occurrence (Minn. Stat. 466.04).
Fault rule in practice
How Minnesota's rule changes a $50,000 recovery.
The insured recovers if its fault is not greater than the fault of the party it sues, compared defendant by defendant rather than in the aggregate. Damages are reduced by the insured's percentage.
Authority: Minn. Stat. 604.01, subd. 1
| Insured's share of fault | Recoverable in MN | Under pure comparative |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| 20% | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| 50% | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| 60% | Barred | $20,000 |
Doctrines that move the number
Minnesota doctrine checklist.
Made-whole doctrine
Minnesota calls it the full recovery rule and applies it to equitable and contractual subrogation alike (Westendorf v. Stasson; Medica, Inc. v. Atlantic Mut. Ins. Co., 566 N.W.2d 74 (Minn. 1997)). Policy language displaces the rule only if it clearly and explicitly says the insurer is reimbursed even when the insured recovers less than full compensation.
Economic loss doctrine
Codified for sales of goods at Minn. Stat. 604.101: tort recovery is barred for damage to the product itself, but harm to the buyer's other tangible property remains recoverable in tort. Fraud and intentional misrepresentation claims are preserved.
Joint and several liability
Several liability is the rule. A defendant is jointly and severally liable only if its fault is greater than 50%, or under statutory exceptions such as intentional torts and environmental claims (Minn. Stat. 604.02, subd. 1). Contribution follows percentage of fault.
Anti-subrogation and waiver
Minn. Stat. 60A.41 bars an insurer from subrogating against its own insured, or against another person it insures for the same loss, when the loss was caused by nonintentional acts. Tenants are no longer automatic co-insureds; RAM Mut. Ins. Co. v. Rohde adopted a lease-based, case-by-case test.
Practice notes
Working Minnesota subrogation files.
- 1
Minnesota compares the insured's fault against each defendant separately. On a $90,000 water loss with fault split 20% insured, 50% plumbing contractor and 30% fixture manufacturer, the carrier recovers $72,000 from the two of them. Change the split to 35% insured, 40% contractor and 25% manufacturer, and the manufacturer drops out; only the contractor's several share of $36,000 remains collectible.
- 2
Claims against contractors, designers and installers arising from a defective and unsafe condition of an improvement to real property must be brought within 2 years of discovering the injury and no later than 10 years after substantial completion (Minn. Stat. 541.051). Roof flashing leaks and many plumbing installation failures fall here, not under the 6-year negligence period, so calendar 2 years from the date the damage was found.
- 3
Basic economic loss benefits ($20,000 medical and $20,000 non-medical) are deducted from the injured person's tort recovery (Minn. Stat. 65B.51), so PIP carriers generally cannot subrogate against a negligent motorist. The exception that pays is indemnity under 65B.53, subd. 1 against the insurer of a commercial vehicle over 5,500 pounds curb weight whose negligent operation caused the injury. File within 6 years of the first no-fault payment.
- 4
Minn. Stat. 60A.41 stops a carrier from pursuing another person it also insures for the same loss when that person's acts were nonintentional. Before suing a neighbor, contractor or driver, check the adverse party against your own book of business. The statute still lets the carrier allocate the loss internally to the at-fault insured for underwriting, agency and claims records.
- 5
When an injured insured reports a proposed liability limits settlement, a Schmidt v. Clothier notice gives the underinsured motorist carrier 30 days to substitute its own check and keep its subrogation claim against the tortfeasor. Ishqkala reads settlement correspondence in Minnesota auto files for limits tenders and opens a 30-day substitution task, so the window does not close while the notice sits in an adjuster's queue.
Key cases
Westendorf v. Stasson
330 N.W.2d 699 (Minn. 1983)
Applied the full recovery rule despite a contractual reimbursement provision, holding that equitable principles govern subrogation unless the contract expressly provides otherwise.
RAM Mut. Ins. Co. v. Rohde
820 N.W.2d 1 (Minn. 2012)
Rejected the per se rule barring a landlord's insurer from suing a negligent tenant and adopted a case-by-case test based on the lease and the parties' reasonable expectations.
Schmidt v. Clothier
338 N.W.2d 256 (Minn. 1983)
Set the notice procedure that lets an underinsured motorist carrier preserve its subrogation claim by substituting its own payment when the insured proposes to settle with the tortfeasor for the liability limits.
Inter-company arbitration
Minnesota is one of three states where inter-company PIP disputes must be resolved at Arbitration Forums, and 65B.53 indemnity claims against commercial vehicle insurers go to mandatory, binding arbitration that applies comparative negligence; the award cannot be used as evidence in later litigation. For collision and property subrogation, AF signatories arbitrate claims up to $100,000 in company-paid damages, with the defendant-by-defendant fault comparison still shaping what each responding carrier owes.
How Ishqkala applies this guide
MN rules, built into every score.
- Opportunities with a Minnesota loss state are calendared against the 6 years property damage period or the 6 years bodily injury period, whichever controls the claim type.
- The insured's estimated fault share is applied under modified, 51% bar before recoverable dollars are scored.
- Files involving a public entity get a 180-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 modified, 51% bar jurisdictions
FAQ
Minnesota subrogation FAQ
6 years (Minn. Stat. 541.05, subd. 1). A subrogating carrier generally takes the insured's claim subject to the same limitation period, usually measured from the date of loss.
Modified, 51% bar (Minn. Stat. 604.01, subd. 1). The insured recovers if its fault is not greater than the fault of the party it sues, compared defendant by defendant rather than in the aggregate. Damages are reduced by the insured's percentage.
Written notice to the governing body within 180 days after the loss or injury is discovered (Minn. Stat. 466.05, subd. 1). Claims against the State require notice to the attorney general within 180 days (Minn. Stat. 3.736, subd. 5). Municipal tort liability is capped at $500,000 per claimant and $1,500,000 per occurrence (Minn. Stat. 466.04).
Minnesota calls it the full recovery rule and applies it to equitable and contractual subrogation alike (Westendorf v. Stasson; Medica, Inc. v. Atlantic Mut. Ins. Co., 566 N.W.2d 74 (Minn. 1997)). Policy language displaces the rule only if it clearly and explicitly says the insurer is reimbursed even when the insured recovers less than full compensation.
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