In New Mexico, drivers need $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident in bodily injury liability protection from an auto insurer. Drivers also need $10,000 in property damage liability protection. Drivers have many options regarding which insurance providers they receive their policies through. Options include, among others, Geico, Farmers, State Farm, New Mexico Farm Bureau, Central Mutual, and Encompass.
Regardless of who a driver is insured by, it is common for victims who need to recover compensation from insurers to have a difficult time getting the coverage that they need. Insurers often use a number of different tactics, including denying legitimate claims and unnecessary delays, in order to try to pay out as little money to victims as the insurer can get away with. You need an attorney that is effective at negotiating with the insurance company.
If you've been involved in an accident, you must first find an experienced car accident attorney. Your attorney will be negotiating with your own insurer if you have purchased optional coverage to pay for your injuries or property damage in the event you caused an accident or were in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist. Your own injuries and property damage aren't covered by your liability policy, so you'll have coverage in these situations only if you've bought voluntary policies like uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage or collision coverage.
If some other driver hurt you, however, you will be able to make a claim with his or her liability insurance company- and liability insurance is required, so the driver who hurt you should have coverage. You have to convince the insurer of the driver who hurt you that its policyholder was to blame for the crash. You will also have to convince the insurer of the extent of your loss so you can try to be compensated for everything you deserve.
The best way to deal with negotiations with an insurer is to have an attorney help guide you through the process. Your attorney should be conducting a comprehensive investigation into the accident and gathering all necessary evidence to show the insurer (or to show the court in an injury claim) who was responsible for the collision and the extent of your injuries and damages. You also need to make an assessment of the value of your case, which your lawyer can help with.
Once you know the likely value of your claim, your lawyer can send a demand letter to the insurer. You'll specify how much you are willing to settle for. The insurer will probably make a counter offer and you can go back and forth with the insurer during negotiations until you've reached an amount of compensation you believe is fair and provides appropriate coverage for your losses. Once you accept, you will have to agree to sign a release of liability, so don't agree to a settlement unless you're sure you won't want to ask for more money later.