New Mexico Statutes 59A-16-21. Payment of claim by check, draft or electronic transfer;
failure to pay; interest.
Terms Used In New Mexico Statutes 59A-16-21
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
A. An insurer shall pay promptly claims arising under its policies with checks or drafts, or, if a claimant requests, may pay by electronic transfer of funds. Without amending other statutes dealing with checks, drafts or electronic transfer of funds, a resident of New Mexico is granted a cause of action for ten percent of the amount of any check, draft or electronic transfer of funds that is not paid or lawfully rejected within ten days of forwarding by a New Mexico financial institution, but in no case to be less than five hundred dollars ($500) plus costs of suit and attorney fees. The insurer shall not be required to pay such civil damages for delay if it proves that the delay in processing and payment was caused by a financial institution or postal or delivery service and the check, draft or electronic transfer of funds was paid or lawfully rejected within forty-eight hours of actual receipt of the draft, check or electronic transfer of funds by the person on whom drawn.
B. Notwithstanding any provision of the Insurance Code [N.M. Stat. Ann. Chapter 59A], any insurer issuing any policy, certificate or contract of insurance, surety, guaranty or indemnity of any kind or nature that fails for a period of forty-five days, after required proof of loss has been furnished, to pay to the person entitled the amount justly due shall be liable for the amount due and unpaid with interest on that amount at the rate of one and one-half times the prime lending rate for New Mexico banks during the period the claim is unpaid. Interest shall accrue, and the interest rate shall be determined, as of the forty-sixth day after the proof of loss was furnished.
C. Subsection B of this section shall not apply to any claims in arbitration or litigation.