State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Fisher

Citations

• 2018 CO 39
• 418 P.3d 501

Syllabus

Insurance—Underinsured Motorist Benefits—Unreasonable Delay/Denial of Payment. The Supreme Court held that under CRS § 10-3-1115 insurers have a duty not to unreasonably delay or deny payment of covered benefits, even though other components of an insured's claim may still be reasonably in dispute. Here, an insurer issued multiple underinsured motorist insurance policies that covered a driver who was injured by an underinsured motorist. Though the insurer agreed that its policies covered the driver's medical expenses, it refused to pay them because the insurer disputed other amounts (including lost wages) that the driver sought under the policies. A jury found that the insurer violated CRS § 10-3-1115, which provides that an insurer \shall not unreasonably delay or deny payment of a claim for benefits owed to or on behalf of any first-party [insured] claimant.\ Because the Court of Appeals properly upheld the driver's jury award, the Court affirmed its judgment.