Originally Posted by
mnemia
I have. When I fell and broke my arm (not related to cycling, and not caused by a motorist), my health insurer demanded that I give them detailed information on anyone else that might have been involved in the incident, presumably so that they could try to recover some of what they paid out from another responsible party or another insurance company.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subrogation
they will try to recover
their costs. it's possible that their endeavors will benefit you (eg, being reimbursed for your deductible) but don't count on it. the goal of the insurance company at that point is to recover their loss, not yours.
let's say someone's negligence causes an injury to you, and the costs of that injury are $50k. if your insurance (regardless of medical, auto, other) covers $10k of those costs, you still have $40k outstanding in bills. now your insurer may sue the negligent party (or their insurer) for the full cost of your injury, but that could involve court time and attorney fees... so if the negligent party will settle for $10k, your insurance company has recovered their costs.
if your insurer recovers $50k from the negligent party, i'm pretty sure you get it. of course this could be years later.
if your insurer recovers $10k from the negligent party, can you then sue the negligent party for the remaining $40k? i'm sure someone here can answer that one... but i think "it depends".