New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment and home of the world’s largest international hot air balloon festival, is the fifth largest state and has the lowest water to land ratio of all the states. It also experiences an average of seven to ten tornados a year. Most cause little property damage because they occur over uninhabited areas.1
For residents of New Mexico, the New Mexico Superintendent of Insurance, John Francini, and his staff are prepared to lend assistance if you believe your insurance company or its adjusters have acted improperly or mishandled your insurance claim. A relatively new standalone agency (2013), the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) is highly digitized. Complaints against insurance companies and adjusters can be submitted to the OSI electronically on the OSI website: www.osi.state.nm.us.
The online form allows you to provide a complete set of information to the OSI regarding your complaint, including the identity of your insurance company and the persons involved, the policy number, claim number, date the loss occurred, and the amount in dispute, as well as a general description of the basis for your complaint. You can upload copies of supporting documents electronically with your complaint or mail them to the OSI separately.
According to the OSI Annual Report for 2018, the Office “closed” 96 percent of “internal and external insurance-related grievances” within 180 days.2
If you’ve experienced a significant property loss, seek professional help independent of your insurance company. If you believe your insurance company or its adjusters have acted improperly, consider filing a complaint with your state insurance regulatory agency. In New Mexico, it’s the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance.
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1 New Mexico State University website (May 25, 2019), https://weather.nmsu.edu/climate/about.
2 2018 OSI Annual Report, page 10.
