State guide · Northeast
New Hampshire subrogation law guide
The insured recovers if its fault is not greater than the fault of the defendant, or of the defendants in the aggregate when recovery is sought against more than one, with damages reduced by its share. At 51% or more the claim is barred.
New Hampshire at a glanceNH
- Property damage
- 3 years
- Bodily injury
- 3 years
- Fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- Gov. notice
- 60 days
Overview
New Hampshire runs almost everything on one 3-year clock: RSA 508:4 covers property damage, bodily injury, product claims and even written contracts, and its discovery rule starts the period when the injury and its cause were or should have been discovered. There is no product statute of repose, because the 12-year repose was struck down in 1983. The shortest and most dangerous deadline is the 60-day notice to the clerk of a town, city, county or school district under RSA 507-B:7, sent by registered mail. Comparative fault uses a 51% bar measured against defendants in the aggregate, and a defendant 50% or more at fault is jointly liable for the whole judgment. Auto insurance is not compulsory in New Hampshire, so confirm the adverse driver's liability coverage before building a demand, and medical payments subrogation is barred by statute. The state follows the Sutton rule protecting tenants as implied co-insureds, extended in 2021 to students living in college residence halls, which narrows landlord and campus fire recoveries.
Quick reference with citations
- Property damage SOL
- 3 years
- RSA 508:4, I (with discovery rule)
- Bodily injury SOL
- 3 years
- RSA 508:4, I
- Product liability
- 3 years with a discovery rule (RSA 508:4). No product statute of repose: the 12-year repose in RSA 507-D:2 was held unconstitutional in Heath v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. (1983). Improvements to real property carry an 8-year repose (RSA 508:4-b).
- Written contract
- 3 years
- Contract and indemnity recoveries
- Comparative fault rule
- Modified, 51% bar
- RSA 507:7-d
- Government notice of claim
- 60 days
- Claims against towns, cities, counties, school districts and other governmental units require written notice to the clerk by registered mail within 60 days after the injury or damage, or after it was or reasonably could have been discovered, stating its date, time and location (RSA 507-B:7). Missing the window bars the claim only if the unit shows substantial prejudice. Liability is capped under RSA 507-B:4, and claims against the State proceed under RSA 541-B.
Fault rule in practice
How New Hampshire's rule changes a $50,000 recovery.
The insured recovers if its fault is not greater than the fault of the defendant, or of the defendants in the aggregate when recovery is sought against more than one, with damages reduced by its share. At 51% or more the claim is barred.
Authority: RSA 507:7-d
| Insured's share of fault | Recoverable in NH | 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
New Hampshire doctrine checklist.
Made-whole doctrine
New Hampshire applies the made-whole doctrine at least to health insurers, which may not subrogate when the beneficiary is not made whole by the third-party recovery (Dimick v. Lewis). Courts have not mapped its limits for property insurers, so allocate settlements expressly. Auto medical payments subrogation is barred by statute (RSA 264:17).
Economic loss doctrine
New Hampshire distinguishes accidental harm from disappointed expectations: when a defective product accidentally damages persons or other property, the loss sounds in tort, but deterioration or failure of the product itself is economic loss left to contract and warranty (Ellis v. Robert C. Morris, Inc., 513 A.2d 951 (N.H. 1986)). Implied warranty claims for latent building defects reach subsequent purchasers without privity.
Joint and several liability
A defendant 50% or more at fault, or one that acted in concert, is jointly and severally liable; a defendant less than 50% at fault pays only its share (RSA 507:7-e). Contribution may be pursued in a separate action whether or not fault has been apportioned.
Anti-subrogation and waiver
A tenant is an implied co-insured under the landlord's fire policy, so the landlord's insurer cannot pursue a negligent tenant absent an express agreement (Cambridge Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Crete). The rule was extended to college students in residence halls in Ro v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co., 260 A.3d 811 (N.H. 2021).
Practice notes
Working New Hampshire subrogation files.
- 1
The bar is measured against the defendants in the aggregate. On a $75,000 commercial roof collapse after a heavy snow, an insured found 45% at fault for skipping snow removal, against a roofer at 35% and an engineer at 20%, recovers $41,250. Neither defendant reaches 50%, so each pays only its own share: $26,250 from the roofer and $15,000 from the engineer.
- 2
Sixty days passes quickly on a water main break or a plow strike. Notice under RSA 507-B:7 must reach the governmental unit's clerk by registered mail and state the date, time and location of the damage. A late notice is fatal only if the unit proves substantial prejudice, but that defense is raised often enough that the notice should go out with the first reserve.
- 3
RSA 508:4 gives contract and tort claims the same 3 years, which removes the usual advantage of pleading breach of contract against a contractor. The discovery rule can extend accrual for hidden defects such as concealed plumbing or wiring faults, but document when the insured first noticed the problem; the defense will date the claim from the earliest stain, odor or service call in the file.
- 4
Auto medical payments subrogation is prohibited by RSA 264:17, so New Hampshire bodily injury files offer no med pay recovery. Because liability insurance is not compulsory, confirm adverse coverage at first contact; where the other driver had none, realistic sources are the driver's personal assets and any employer liability for a driver working at the time.
- 5
Ishqkala treats the RSA 507-B:7 notice as the controlling New Hampshire deadline whenever a municipal party appears, opening a 60-day registered-mail task from the date of loss. Every other New Hampshire file carries a 3-year SOL alert with a discovery-date field that the adjuster must confirm before the alert can be cleared.
Key cases
Cambridge Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Crete
846 A.2d 521 (N.H. 2004)
Absent an express agreement, a tenant is a co-insured under the landlord's fire policy, so the landlord's insurer cannot subrogate against the tenant for negligently caused fire damage.
Dimick v. Lewis
497 A.2d 1221 (N.H. 1985)
Applied the made-whole principle to health insurance subrogation and required a reduced settlement to be allocated between a parent's and a minor's claims in proportion to each one's full loss.
Heath v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.
123 N.H. 512 (1983)
Struck down the 12-year product liability statute of repose as unconstitutional, so New Hampshire product claims are limited only by the 3-year, discovery-based limitation period.
Inter-company arbitration
Arbitration Forums handles New Hampshire inter-company auto and property subrogation for signatory carriers up to $100,000 in company-paid damages. Medical payments claims do not belong in AF's Medical Payments forum because RSA 264:17 bars that subrogation. Where the adverse driver carried no liability insurance, AF is unavailable and recovery must be pursued directly against the individual in court, inside the 3-year period.
How Ishqkala applies this guide
NH rules, built into every score.
- Opportunities with a New Hampshire loss state are calendared against the 3 years property damage period or the 3 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 60-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
New Hampshire subrogation FAQ
3 years (RSA 508:4, I (with discovery rule)). 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 (RSA 507:7-d). The insured recovers if its fault is not greater than the fault of the defendant, or of the defendants in the aggregate when recovery is sought against more than one, with damages reduced by its share. At 51% or more the claim is barred.
Claims against towns, cities, counties, school districts and other governmental units require written notice to the clerk by registered mail within 60 days after the injury or damage, or after it was or reasonably could have been discovered, stating its date, time and location (RSA 507-B:7). Missing the window bars the claim only if the unit shows substantial prejudice. Liability is capped under RSA 507-B:4, and claims against the State proceed under RSA 541-B.
New Hampshire applies the made-whole doctrine at least to health insurers, which may not subrogate when the beneficiary is not made whole by the third-party recovery (Dimick v. Lewis). Courts have not mapped its limits for property insurers, so allocate settlements expressly. Auto medical payments subrogation is barred by statute (RSA 264:17).
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