In evaluating the defendants' third argument, the court explained the difference between two types of subrogation: equitable and contractual. By subrogation, a surety is allowed to step into the shoes of the principal and use the surety's contractual rights to recover the cost of making payment.Subrogation of insurance serves the vital function of helping to keep premiums low for billions of insureds worldwide, and should be protected at all costs. A subrogation receipt transferring the insured's entire causes of action to the insurer allows the insurer to recover in the insured's name for the entire loss,. First being a working definition of subrogation. Subrogation is a legal principle that allows an insurance company to recover the money paid out to a policyholder from a thirdparty insurance policy. Contractual provisions which would deny the insured complete recovery for a loss are unenforceable. This allows the insurance carrier to recover the amount of the claim it paid to the insured for the loss. Most of our insurance company clients write policies that contain subrogation clauses. A different problem arises when an excess insurer is locked out of the settlement process.