Pet insurance in New Mexico

Which rules have been established

As of 11 November 2026, this review found no pet insurance law in New Mexico. All six specific guarantees in our state data remain unknown. General insurance rules and the terms of the contract apply.

The Insurance Code mentions pet insurance once. NMSA §59A-7-4 lists the kinds of property insurance; item AA is pet insurance. It stands apart from item Y, personal inland marine. The current text of the section comes from a 2016 law (Laws 2016, ch. 89, §7) and has applied since 1 July 2017. This is a classification, not a set of owner rights. We found no other pet insurance provisions in the text of Chapter 59A.

The NAIC Summer 2026 chart shows only “related activity” for New Mexico: the same §59A-7-4. The subject indexes for the 2023–2026 sessions list no pet insurance bill. This is a check of the indexes, not a full search of every bill.

Rates are filed before use, and the law does not name a high price as a ground for disapproval

The rate law (§59A-17-2) applies to every kind of insurance except wet marine and transportation, life insurance, annuities and health insurance. By our reading, pet insurance does not fall within those exceptions. The superintendent may also exempt a market segment from the rate law by order (§59A-17-2(C)); we did not search OSI’s orders.

Under §59A-17-9(A)(2)(a), in a competitive market an insurer files rates and supplementary rate information before using them. There is no waiting period. The exemption from filing in paragraph (b) covers only commercial insurance: insurance not for personal, family or household needs (§59A-17-4(B)). An ordinary policy on a household pet is not commercial insurance. We did not check business policies on working animals.

A market is presumed competitive unless the superintendent decides otherwise after a hearing (§59A-17-6.1). We found no ruling that the pet insurance market is noncompetitive; OSI’s orders and docket were not searched. The list of noncompetitive markets in 13.8.2.28 NMAC expired on 1 October 2010 and did not include pet insurance.

For a competitive market, §59A-17-13(A) names two grounds for disapproving a rate: it is inadequate (too low) or unfairly discriminatory. The law names excessiveness as a ground only for noncompetitive, reverse competitive and residual markets. Under §59A-17-6(B), rates in a competitive market are presumed not to be excessive. The Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) describes the regime the same way in its 21 July 2026 presentation to the Legislative Finance Committee: submit before the rates take effect; disapproval for inadequacy or unfair discrimination. Its examples are home and auto insurance.

What this means for an owner:

• a large increase is not by itself a ground for disapproval while the market is presumed competitive;
• an interested party may petition the superintendent for a hearing on whether a particular market is competitive (§59A-17-6.1);
• the right to a written explanation of why a premium changed at renewal (§59A-17-11.1(B)) covers only homeowners and private passenger auto policies. Pet insurance is not named there.

No individual filing, pricing factors or size of any increase was established in this review.

Policy forms are approved in advance

Under §59A-18-12(A), a policy form and the classification of risks are filed at least 60 days before their proposed effective date. A form cannot be used until approved. If the superintendent has not disapproved it by the end of the waiting period, it is deemed approved. The simplified procedure in 13.8.3.9 NMAC applies only to commercial insurance.

§59A-18-14 permits disapproval of a form for reasons that include ambiguous or misleading clauses and benefits that are unreasonably restricted in relation to the premium.

An owner has a tool in §59A-18-12(C). You may ask the insurer in writing to review how its filed form or classification has been applied to you. If the insurer does not review it and grant appropriate relief within 30 days, you may file a complaint and request a hearing with the superintendent.

Cancellation, nonrenewal and changes: a general rule with a caveat

§59A-18-29 allows cancellation for nonpayment with written notice at least 10 days in advance. Without cause, an insurer may cancel only within the first 60 days, also with 10 days’ notice. After 60 days, only for reasonable cause under the superintendent’s rules. Subsection (F): the section does not apply to inland marine contracts; whether a pet policy counts as one has not been established (see the caveat below).

The 13.8.4 NMAC rule applies to any policy of property and casualty insurance. It defines property insurance by reference to §59A-7-4, which includes pet insurance. The rule provides:

Caveat: whether this rule — and §59A-18-29 itself — applies to pet insurance has not been established. The statute excludes inland marine contracts (§59A-18-29(F)). Listing pet insurance as item AA of §59A-7-4, apart from personal inland marine (item Y), does not settle the question. Under §59A-7-1(A), a coverage may come within more than one kind of insurance, and its inclusion in one definition does not exclude it from another. Travel is also listed separately in §59A-7-4 (item BB, travel coverage), yet the law requires travel insurance to be classified and filed for rates and forms under an inland marine line (§59A-64-4(A)). In NAIC’s market share reports, pet insurance was included under inland marine until the 2024 data year.

Even if a pet policy is inland marine, the question about the rule remains. The rule’s definition of property and casualty insurance includes marine and transportation insurance (13.8.4.7(K)). The rule rests not only on §59A-18-29 but also on the superintendent’s general rulemaking power (§59A-2-9). That power, however, does not allow a rule to extend or conflict with a statute (§59A-2-9(B)). How OSI classifies New Mexico pet filings and applies the rule has not been established.

Trap: where the rule applies, it allows notice of a form change to go to the agent rather than the owner. If it went to the agent, the owner may not learn that coverage was cut until renewal.

Claims: “reasonable”, “prompt” and interest after 45 days

§59A-16-20 prohibits unfair claims practices committed knowingly or with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice. They include:

• failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly on communications about claims;
• failing to affirm or deny coverage within a reasonable time after the owner has completed and submitted the policy’s proof-of-loss requirements;
• failing to promptly give a reasonable explanation, based on the policy in relation to the facts or applicable law, for denying a claim or offering a compromise settlement;
• since 20 June 2025, treating an owner’s inquiry about damage or loss as a claim when the facts are not covered, no payment is made and no deception is involved.

We did not find specific day limits for responding to an ordinary property claim in OSI’s rules. The search was not exhaustive.

Delay does carry a monetary consequence. Under §59A-16-21(B), if an insurer fails for 45 days after the required proof of loss has been furnished to pay the amount justly due, that amount bears interest at one and a half times the prime lending rate for New Mexico banks, from the 46th day. The rule does not apply to claims in arbitration or litigation. It is not a payment deadline; it is the price of being late.

Three more general rules:

• §59A-16-21(A): if an insurer’s check, draft or electronic transfer is not paid or lawfully rejected within 10 days of forwarding by a New Mexico financial institution, a New Mexico resident has a right to sue for 10% of the amount, but not less than $500, plus costs and attorney fees. The insurer is not liable if it proves that the delay was caused by a financial institution or a postal or delivery service and the payment was paid or lawfully rejected within 48 hours of actual receipt;
• §59A-16-30: a person damaged by a violation of Article 16 of Chapter 59A may sue for actual damages;
• §59A-18-30: on written request, the insurer must provide within 60 days the total premiums charged, total claims paid, open claims and reserves on the policy. This does not apply to life insurance or group policies.

OSI takes complaints about the issuance and cancellation of policies and the handling of claims.

Rate filings are open from the moment they are filed

Under §59A-17-11, a filing and its supporting information are open to inspection as soon as filed. Any person may obtain a copy on request to the superintendent and payment of a reasonable charge. An insurer puts trade secrets in a separate section and asks the superintendent to consider whether that information should be kept confidential. Under 13.8.2.10 NMAC, the superintendent decides within 30 days and keeps the section closed until then. Under §59A-2-12(B), no required filing is confidential unless the law expressly says so. One express exception: underwriting and tiering guidelines filed at the superintendent’s direction are confidential trade secrets (§59A-17-5.1(C); filing procedure in 13.8.2.10(A) NMAC).

OSI’s Bulletin 2026-011 of 30 September 2026 adds that a record marked “confidential” in SERFF is inaccessible to the public through SERFF, but the marker itself is not an OSI determination. OSI does not accept broad, conclusory trade-secret claims without facts.

The general public records law is IPRA:

• “every person” has a right to inspect (§14-2-1), and a person is any individual or entity (§14-2-6(E)); in 1993 the words “citizen of this state” were replaced with “person”;
• no reason for the request is required; a written request gives a name, address and telephone number and identifies the records with reasonable particularity (§14-2-8(C));
• inspection must be allowed within 15 days; if not within 3 business days, the agency must explain in writing when (§14-2-8(D)).

OSI’s IPRA page takes requests through its GovQA portal and by mail, asks for the year or years sought and charges $1 a page for copies. The statute’s text contains no restriction on nonresidents. We did not test how OSI responds to a nonresident’s request, and we sent no requests. The Property and Casualty Bureau page links to the SERFF system; we did not open it.

The market

According to the NAIC 2025 market share report, page 251, direct written premiums for pet insurance in New Mexico were $17,483 thousand and direct earned premiums $16,811 thousand. Direct losses incurred were 55.69% of earned premium, against 68.07% for the industry total in the same report (states, territories, Canada and aggregate other alien; 68.10% for states and territories). NAIC notes that these loss ratios are calendar-year results, not measures of profitability. The three largest groups, JAB Holding Co Grp (23.49%), Trupanion Grp (22.32%) and Nationwide Corp Grp (15.24%), wrote 61.06% of premium together. NAIC is an association of regulators; these are not OSI’s own figures.

What the sample policies show

On 11 November 2026 we opened five brands’ sample-policy pages for New Mexico. None leads to a New Mexico amendment that changes the coverage terms: all use general or multistate forms. The partner-promotions endorsement in the Pets Best New Mexico file (IAIC-PB10001-PO-AE) names no state.

A sample does not establish that such a policy is issued today or that a new policy can be bought. Check your issued set: the declarations, the form and every endorsement.

What these samples show:

• Without a law, injury waits in these five samples run from 1 to 15 days. An injury on day 10 is covered neither by ASPCA (14 days) nor by Healthy Paws (15 days). Figo’s injury wait is 1 day.
• In the Healthy Paws sample, the payment period is longer than 45 days. Healthy Paws (III.9) promises payment within 60 days after completion of the claim form, unless state law provides a shorter period. §59A-16-21(B) is an interest rule: from the 46th day after proof of loss, interest accrues on the amount justly due. Whether completing the claim form coincides with proof of loss in a particular case has not been established.
• Terms change at renewal, and the notice period is often unstated. Figo reports changes “within the renewal notice”, ASPCA says you accept the changes by renewing, and Embrace says it will notify you in writing. Figo also allows premium changes during the term for changes in your address, your pet’s details or “other Policy parameters”. Healthy Paws promises 60 days’ notice of a premium change. See renewal changes.
• Cancellation reasons are broader than in 13.8.4 NMAC. The general Healthy Paws sample lets the insurer cancel with 90 days’ written notice and lists no reasons. After 60 days, Embrace V5 names, among others, foul or abusive language and failure to provide requested information; Figo names noncompliance that prejudices its ability to evaluate a claim. Whether the rule applies to these policies has not been established; this is not a finding of a violation. See cancellation without cause.
• ASPCA allows backdated rescission. For misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact it may cancel, invalidate or rescind coverage, and this “may include rescission backdated to the original policy period effective date.”
• Renewal protection for covered conditions exists only in the contract. The Pets Best sample says a condition that was covered cannot become pre-existing on renewal. That is a term of this sample, not New Mexico law.
• Disputes go to a veterinarian the insurer chooses. Healthy Paws (III.11): first the insurer’s own veterinarian, then an “independent” one appointed by the insurer, whose decision is final. See disputes decided by the insurer.
• No exam record, no illness cover. The Healthy Paws CPE moves the end of the waiting period if you do not provide the enrollment-exam record. Without an exam in the 12 months before the start or within 14 days after it, Embrace V5 turns the policy into accident-only cover. See missing records move the waiting period.
• Raising coverage restarts the waiting period. For a higher limit Pets Best issues a new policy with a new pre-existing-condition review. Embrace V5 redetermines pre-existing conditions as of the date of the change, and Figo applies the waiting period again. See plan changes.
• Claim deadlines differ. Pets Best: 180 days from treatment. Embrace V5: during the policy term or within 60 days after it ends. See claim deadlines.

What to do

• Keep the date you sent all the claim documents. If the money has not arrived after 45 days, ask about interest under §59A-16-21(B).
• Ask in writing for premium and claim data under §59A-18-30.
• If you believe the wrong form or risk classification was applied to your policy, first send the insurer a written request under §59A-18-12(C); after 30 days, complain to OSI.
• You can request rate filings from OSI under IPRA: name the insurer, its NAIC code and the years.
• Before buying, ask in writing which form and which endorsements your policy will be issued on.