407 7th St NW Albuquerque, NM 87102
info@collinsattorneys.com
We Represent Policyholders. Never the Insurance Companies.
When you pay your premiums, you are buying peace of mind. You expect that if disaster strikes, whether it’s a car accident on I-25, monsoon hail damage to your roof, or a medical emergency, your insurance company will step up. Instead, too many Albuquerque residents face delays, silence, or outright denials.
At Collins & Collins P.C., our Albuquerque insurance bad faith lawyers know that a denied claim is more than an inconvenience; it is a financial crisis. We are not a high-volume settlement mill. We are a litigation firm dedicated to holding insurers accountable when they violate the New Mexico Unfair Claims Practices Act.
If you believe your claim was wrongfully denied or mishandled, do not accept the insurer’s word as final. We offer a free case review to determine if the insurance company has acted in bad faith.
Insurance bad faith is a legal cause of action that arises when an insurance company violates the “Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing.” Under New Mexico law, every insurance contract contains an unwritten promise that the insurer will treat you fairly and honestly, placing your interests on the same level as their own.
When an insurer puts profits over policyholders by looking for ways to deny a valid claim rather than looking for ways to pay it, they have committed a tort. This means you may be entitled to damages that go far beyond the original value of your claim.
In New Mexico, the landmark case State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Sloan established that policyholders can seek punitive damages when an insurer acts with reckless disregard for the policyholder’s rights. These damages are not meant to compensate you, but to punish the insurance company and deter them from treating other New Mexico families unfairly.
Insurance companies often try to frame bad faith as a simple “clerical error.” However, New Mexico Statute § 59A-16-20 clearly defines unfair practices. If your insurer has engaged in the following conduct, you may have grounds for a lawsuit.
Insurers have a duty to conduct a reasonable investigation before denying a claim. Denying coverage without inspecting the damage, interviewing witnesses, or reviewing medical records is a primary indicator of bad faith.
While some processing time is normal, dragging a claim out for months without explanation is a tactic designed to wear you down. This often involves rotating claims adjusters or repeated requests for documents you have already provided.
Our team litigates bad faith claims across Albuquerque and Bernalillo County involving various types of policies.
We handle disputes involving Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, where your own insurer fights you as if you were the adversary. This often happens after serious accidents on local corridors like Paseo del Norte or I-40.
From monsoon hail damage and windstorms to wildfire smoke claims, New Mexico weather creates complex losses. We fight insurers who use “wear and tear” exclusions to deny valid storm damage claims or refuse to pay for necessary code upgrades (like stucco matching).
We represent clients when health insurers deny necessary treatments within networks like UNM Health or Presbyterian, or when disability carriers terminate benefits without proper medical evidence.
We prepare every case for trial in the Second Judicial District Court or the Federal Court. This “litigation-ready” approach forces insurance companies to take your claim seriously.
We strip the claim file apart. We look for internal emails, adjuster notes, and procedure manuals that reveal whether the insurer followed its own rules. We analyze the policy language to expose where the denial contradicts your coverage.
We issue a formal legal demand. In many cases, we also assist in filing complaints with the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI). This establishes a record of the insurer’s conduct.
If the insurer refuses to do what is right, we file suit. Through the discovery process, we can force the insurance company to turn over internal documents they tried to hide, exposing the systemic issues behind your denial.
A bad-faith lawsuit is about more than just getting your original bill paid. Because bad faith is a tort, the potential recovery is broader.
Depending on the circumstances, a bad faith insurance claim may allow recovery for:
In New Mexico, a claim denial is not always the final word. When your insurer denies or delays payment without a clear and consistent explanation, the focus should shift to how your claim was handled and what options you still have.
What you do next can directly affect your ability to challenge the denial:
Our experienced New Mexico insurance bad faith lawyers can review how your claim was handled and determine whether the insurer crossed the line. The issue is not simply that your claim was denied, but whether the insurance company acted fairly when you needed coverage.
The insurance company has teams of lawyers working to protect their profits. You deserve a team dedicated to protecting your rights.
At Collins & Collins P.C., we handle bad faith claims on a contingency fee basis. This means we do not charge hourly fees. We only get paid if we recover compensation for you. If the court orders fee-shifting, the insurer may even be responsible for our legal fees.
Do not let the 4-year clock run out on your rights.
Call us at (505) 242-5958 or fill out our consultation form for a free, confidential review by an experienced Albuquerque bad faith attorney.
We simplify complex legal matters by providing clear, concise, and accurate answers to your most pressing questions.
Four years. The statute of limitations for an insurance bad faith claim in New Mexico is generally four years from the date the bad faith conduct occurred (often the date of the wrongful denial). This is distinct from the three-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims. Do not wait; evidence disappears, and missing this deadline bars you from recovery.
Yes. Bad faith claims focus on insurer conduct rather than coverage alone and carry a higher level of scrutiny. These cases are treated seriously because they involve whether an insurer failed to meet its obligations in handling a claim.
First-party bad faith involves your own insurance company (e.g., your homeowner's insurance or your own auto policy) failing to treat you fairly. Third-party bad faith occurs when an insurer fails to defend you against a lawsuit from someone else or fails to settle a claim against you within policy limits, exposing you to personal financial liability.
Yes. An insurer stating it followed the policy does not automatically rule out bad faith. The issue is whether the insurer’s conduct was reasonable and honest when applying the policy to the claim.
Yes. Insurance bad faith standards apply regardless of the size or scope of the insurance company. Both national carriers and smaller regional insurers are expected to handle claims fairly.
Filing a bad faith claim does not automatically prevent someone from obtaining insurance in the future. Each insurer evaluates risk differently, and pursuing accountability does not, by itself, disqualify someone from coverage.
Yes. Because bad faith is a tort, you can recover damages for the anxiety, stress, and emotional suffering caused by the insurer’s refusal to pay. You do not need to prove a physical injury to recover emotional distress damages in a bad faith case.
It is illegal for an insurer to retaliate. New Mexico law prohibits insurance companies from raising rates or cancelling coverage solely because a policyholder exercised their right to dispute a claim or hire an attorney. If they do, that action itself may be considered further evidence of bad faith.
By addressing following common threats across different vulnerable groups, we aim to hold the responsible entities accountable and push for systemic reforms that ensure dignity and care for all individuals.
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Past results do not guarantee any future outcome, and every case is different.
