Jill Collins Speaks with Auto Insurance Report About Recent Developments in New Mexico UM/UIM Case Law
Albuquerque, N.M. (July 20, 2022) - Albuquerque Managing Partner Jill M. Collins recently spoke with Risk Information’s Auto Insurance Report for an article titled, “New Mexico, Land of Uninsured, Struggles With UM/UIM Coverage,” which discusses the implications of a recent New Mexico Supreme Court ruling in Crutcher v. Liberty Mutual regarding uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage.
As the article describes, New Mexico’s high court determined in Crutcher that UM/UIM coverage in minimum limits policies was “illusory” because it could mislead policyholders to believe, incorrectly, that they would receive UM/UIM benefits. This issue has arisen as a result of state laws that require insurers to offer UM/UIM limits no higher than bodily injury liability limits, and that also require insurers to offset UIM benefits by the amount recovered from the at-fault driver. Under these laws, minimally insured motorists do not have an opportunity to collect UM/UIM benefits. To address this matter, the Crutcher court decided that insurers selling “minimum limits” UM/UIM policies must provide disclosure to their customers in the form of a policy exclusion disclosing the “illusory” nature of UIM coverage.
Following the court’s ruling in Crutcher, insurers have been updating their policy forms with appropriate disclosure and exclusion language. Ms. Collins, who previously authored an article on the Crutcher decision, told Auto Insurance Report that the language insurers are adding to their forms “hasn’t been tested yet.” She noted, “It’s the hot issue, and there’s going to be case law definitely within the next couple of years.”
Ms. Collins serves as the national vice chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Insurance Coverage Practice and is also a member of the firm’s Bad Faith Litigation and General Liability Practices. Her practice is devoted to defending insurance companies in New Mexico and providing coverage opinions involving personal and commercial lines.
Read the full Auto Insurance Report article here.
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Jill Collins
Managing Partner
Albuquerque, NM
505.545.8304Attorney Bio
Jill.Collins@lewisbrisbois.com