Is a right of reimbursement clause in an insurance policy enforceable?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Toll Bros. Inc v. Onebeacon Ins., G042196, No. 06CC03545 (Cal. App. 2011):

Second, plaintiffs claim defendant's insurance policy did not include an explicit "right of reimbursement clause...." Buss rejected this argument, finding "[t]he insurer therefore has a right of reimbursement that is implied in law as quasi-contractual, whether or not it has one that is implied in fact in the policy as contractual." (Buss v. Superior Court, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 51, fn. omitted.) In a footnote, the court explained "[t]hat the insurer does not have a right of reimbursement express in the policy does not mean that it does not have one implied in law. Rather, that it has an implied-in-law right helps explain why it does not have an express-in-policy one. The former renders the latter unnecessary...." (Id. at p. 51, fn. 13.)

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