Regresvordering

A recourse claim arises when a creditor, such as an insurer or a surety, makes a payment that ought properly to have been made by the original debtor. The payer thereby acquires an independent claim against the debtor for recovery of the sum paid.

This mechanism is significant in insurance law, in the law of suretyship and in the general law of obligations, since it prevents the ultimately liable party from being unjustly enriched.

In practice, insurers frequently exercise a recourse claim after indemnifying the insured, seeking to recover the loss from the third party responsible.