Do I have to pay my insurance company back out of a recovery for medical malpractice?

It depends upon the type of insurance you have, and where you’re located. In New York, the general rule is that insurance companies are not entitled to get reimbursed for benefits they’ve paid you under a third-party policy. In New Jersey, the rule is based upon the terms of the contract that you have with the insurance company. But in both New York and New Jersey, and in fact all across the United States under the federal laws … if your employer, or if your policy that you have, is a self-funded ERISA plan … federal law provides that carrier the right to recoup the money that they’ve paid you from any third-party recovery you have.