Why Tenacity Matters Across All Claims, Not Just in Claims Recovery

​The most recoverable subrogation dollar isn't always hiding in a complex, multi-party file. Instead, it's often sitting in a straightforward claim that never received enough sustained pursuit. For claims organizations chasing better claims recovery ratios, that's where the real opportunity lives.

The Assumption That Holds Claims Recovery Back

Many subrogation teams operate on the same belief: difficult cases deserve the most attention. So they concentrate their best pursuit on complex files and move through the rest quickly. In practice, though, that approach leaves real money behind.

Most subrogation inventories fall squarely in the middle of the bell curve. These are standard auto liability, property damage, and workers compensation third-party claims. They're neither uniquely complex nor trivially easy. They are the volume cases. Internal staff typically gives them a reasonable first attempt. But when the tortfeasor doesn't respond, or pushes back with a denial, most adjusters move on. As a result, the file stalls, the claims recovery opportunity closes, and the organization absorbs a loss it didn't have to.

NASP consistently identifies follow-through as a key driver of recovery outcomes. In fact, sustained pursuit produces significantly higher recovery rates regardless of file complexity. The problem isn't case difficulty. It's dropout.

How Tenacity Drives Claims Recovery in Practice

A plaintiff mindset treats each claim as an active pursuit, not a passive process. That's the posture Recovery Concepts & Solutions LLC (RCS), a specialized subrogation and tort recovery firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, brings to every file. Once RCS makes contact with the tortfeasor, the engagement doesn't soften. It doesn't cycle to the bottom of a queue. Instead, it follows every lead, disputes every denial, and escalates every stall.

That approach differs from how most internal claims teams operate. Internal adjusters manage volume across a broad inventory. As a result, their focus splits between closing files and recovering on them. By contrast, an external recovery partner has one job: claims recovery. That focus, applied to every file, changes results across the board.

The claims that benefit most aren't always the largest or most legally involved. For example, they're often the ones where the tortfeasor's first response is a denial, a delay, or silence. Most pursuers stop there. Consistent follow-through, however, converts those stalls into recoveries. It works on complex files, and it works just as well on the volume in the middle.

Claims Recovery Results Across the Full Portfolio

The data backs this up. RCS recovers on 48–50% of files that clients had already worked and walked away from. By contrast, the industry average on those same referrals is 28–33%. That gap isn't explained by RCS taking on easier cases. It's explained by not letting go.

Recovery rate on previously-worked files	48–50%	28–33%
Average cycle time to recovery payment	90–92 days	9–12 months
Total recovered since 2014	$75M+	—

Furthermore, that performance spans commercial auto, property, general liability, and workers compensation. Each line of business responds to the same approach. Steady contact and ongoing follow-up move results forward. Accepting silence as a final answer, however, does not.

For Claims VPs managing large pending inventories, the point is direct. Weak claims recovery ratios rarely come down to file complexity. More often, recoverable files simply aren't getting enough attention. Therefore, the fix isn't always more staff. It's more consistent pursuit on the files already in the inventory. Claims handling and recovery analysis that treats every file as worth pursuing is where performance gaps close.

Tenacity as a Measurable Claims Recovery Advantage

For CFOs, tenacity connects directly to loss ratio. Every percentage point gain in claims recovery rate lowers the net cost of paid claims. In addition, it improves overall profitability. Recovering on 48% of referred files generates far more revenue from the same inventory than recovering on 30%. That difference adds up across an entire book of business.

RCS operates on a pure contingency basis. So there's no financial risk in finding out what a more tenacious pursuit of your portfolio could produce. No upfront fees. No invoices. Just a structured, persistent claims recovery process applied to every claim, not only the complex ones. To find out what that looks like for your organization, explore RCS's claims recovery services and start the conversation today.