Rear End Collision
$2,300,000
Insurer offered$85,000
Spinal cord injury after a rear end crash. The insurer offered $85,000.
Serving New Mexico
Hit by an Uninsured Driver in New Mexico: Who Pays for Your Injuries?
Hurt in a crash? The insurance company already has a team working on your claim. You should too. A free call tells you where you stand.
- No Fee Unless We Win (Costs May Apply)
- Se Habla Español
- Available 24/7
Your attorneyAndranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Esq.Founding Attorney. Licensed in New Mexico.Attorney advertising. Services are not available in all states.
Free consultationNo cost to ask. No obligation.
No fee unless we winCosts may apply. Explained in writing.
Available 24/7Calls answered day and night.
Se habla españolEvery step in English or Spanish.
Licensed attorneysA licensed attorney on every file.
By Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Attorney at Law. Meet the team
In New Mexico, when the driver who hit you had no insurance, your own uninsured motorist coverage pays, and coverage on a policy belonging to a relative in your household can pay too. There is no state fund to fall back on. Top USA Law finds every policy that applies and files the claim with your own insurer.
Who pays when the other driver had no insurance in New Mexico?
Your own auto policy, most of the time. New Mexico requires liability insurance on every registered vehicle, yet many drivers carry none, and when one of them hits you there is no state fund to call on. What saves the claim is uninsured motorist coverage, the part of your own policy that stands in for the driver who should have been insured and pays what that driver would have owed.
New Mexico requires every insurer to offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage when a policy is sold, and most policies carry it. The coverage follows you rather than the car: it applies when you are driving, riding as a passenger, walking or cycling, and it can be found on a policy belonging to a spouse, parent or other relative who lives with you.
The same coverage answers two related problems. If the driver fled, the claim proceeds as a hit and run under the uninsured motorist part of your policy while the driver is sought; leaving the scene of an injury crash is a crime under NMSA 66-7-201. If the driver had only the minimum, the underinsured part of your coverage pays above that limit.
How does an uninsured motorist claim work in New Mexico?
The claim is made to your own insurer, but you must still prove what you would prove against the driver: fault, that the crash caused your injuries and what those injuries cost. Your recovery is reduced by any share of fault the insurer can pin on you under the pure comparative rule from Scott v. Rizzo, and this time it is your own insurer making the argument. The limit you chose is the ceiling, and the claim includes medical costs, lost income and pain and suffering just as a claim against the driver would.
Rules that catch people off guard
- Notice: every policy requires prompt notice of a crash and of a possible uninsured motorist claim. Waiting to see how you feel is how New Mexico crash victims lose coverage they paid for.
- Consent before settling: if the driver had some insurance, your underinsured carrier usually must be told before you accept the driver's limit. Sign a release without that step and the underinsured claim can be forfeited.
- The difference rule: underinsured coverage in New Mexico generally pays the gap between the other driver's limit and your own, so a policy with the same limit as the driver may add nothing.
- More than one vehicle: where a household insures several vehicles, New Mexico courts have in some situations allowed the coverage on each to be combined.
A worked example
A woman is hit on Coors Boulevard by a driver with no insurance in a borrowed car. Three policies are checked in order: the car's owner, because an owner's policy usually follows the vehicle; her own policy; and her mother's, because she lives at home. The owner's policy exists but is small, so it pays its limit first, and her mother's underinsured coverage pays the balance up to its limit. Without the household search, the claim would have ended at the owner's small limit.
Top USA Law gathers every declarations page in the household in the first week, puts each carrier on notice, obtains the police report and any camera footage to lock down fault, and refuses to let an early release cut off coverage. The three year deadline under NMSA 37-1-8 still governs the claim against the driver, and we calendar it.
See if you have a case
Three answers and a phone number. An attorney reviews your situation and calls you back, free.
Results in cases like this
T Bone Accident
$1,800,000
Insurer offered$120,000
Broken pelvis and internal bleeding at an intersection. The insurer offered $120,000.
Drunk Driver Victim
$1,500,000
Insurer offered$50,000
Traumatic brain injury caused by an impaired driver. The insurer offered $50,000.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict a similar outcome.
Where we help in New Mexico
Talk to a New Mexico lawyer about an uninsured driver claim
Top USA Law works New Mexico cases by phone, by video, at home or at the hospital; the firm keeps no office in the state, and Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, its founding attorney, is licensed in New Mexico. When a carrier refuses to pay fair value, the dispute is filed in the district court for the county, most often the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County, or goes to arbitration if the policy requires it. Clients treated at University of New Mexico Hospital, the only Level I trauma center in the state, can meet us there. Read the New Mexico car accident lawyer page, the guide on what a claim is worth, or call (877) 411-5291.
We serve New Mexico clients by phone, video and in person appointments arranged case by case.
Hurt in a crash? Talk it through for free.
New Mexico filing deadlines and insurance notice rules can be short. A free call tells you where your clock stands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I have no uninsured motorist coverage in New Mexico?
We look for coverage you may not know about: a relative you live with, the car you were riding in, or an employer if you were working. If none exists, there is no public fund in New Mexico; the remaining option is a claim against the driver personally.
Can I sue an uninsured driver personally in New Mexico?
Yes, within three years of the crash under NMSA 37-1-8, and a judgment can be enforced against wages and property. In practice a driver who skipped insurance rarely has assets worth pursuing, which is why the uninsured motorist claim comes first and the personal claim is held in reserve.
Does uninsured motorist coverage apply to a hit and run in New Mexico?
Generally yes. A driver who fled and cannot be identified is treated as uninsured under most policies, though the policy may require a prompt police report and, in some cases, physical contact between the vehicles. Leaving the scene of an injury crash violates NMSA 66-7-201.
Can I use a spouse's or parent's policy if I live with them?
Usually. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in New Mexico commonly extends to relatives who live in the policyholder's household, whether they were driving, riding, walking or cycling at the time. The policy language controls, so we read every declarations page in the home rather than assume the answer.
What if the driver had insurance but not enough to cover my injuries?
Then your underinsured motorist coverage responds, generally paying the difference between the driver's limit and your own. Two cautions apply: your carrier usually must consent before you accept the driver's limit, and a release signed too early can end the underinsured claim. We handle the sequence so nothing is forfeited.
Does Top USA Law charge a fee to pursue my own insurer?
The consultation is free and the case is taken on a contingency fee: no fee unless we win, with case costs that may apply set out in the written agreement before you sign. A claim against your own insurer is worked like a claim against a stranger.
Last reviewed by Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Esq., September 2026.
Get your free case evaluation
Three fields. We respond fast, day or night.
My wife was killed by a drunk driver. Top USA Law handled our wrongful death case with such compassion. They got us $1.2 million.
Client testimonials. Testimonials are not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of the outcome of your case.
Talk to an Accident Attorney
Top USA Law. Services are not available in all states.
Takes 30 seconds. No obligation.