MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Carlos de la Garza, Raúl Acosta and Enrique Tamez, De la Garza & Acosta Abogados, S.C.
particularly important where a single cyber incident affects multiple systems, entities or jurisdictions. Policy Response Cyber policies increasingly address security require- ments, known incidents, notification, data restora- tion, business interruption, social-engineering losses and sub-limits. Systemic cyber events also increase aggregation risk where a single incident affects mul- tiple insureds. Future disputes are likely to depend heavily on techni- cal evidence concerning causation and the interaction between cyber-specific and traditional coverage. 4.4 Aggregation and Limits of Liability Aggregation and Occurrence Wording Aggregation disputes remain less prevalent than tra- ditional coverage disputes but are relevant in large losses, catastrophe events and reinsurance. The prin- cipal issue is whether multiple losses constitute one occurrence or separate events for purposes of limits, deductibles and sub-limits. Outcomes depend heavily on definitions of “occur- rence”, “event” and “loss”, particularly where multiple claims share a common cause. Limits of Liability Disputes also arise concerning the interaction between per-occurrence limits, aggregate limits, sub-limits and deductibles. Mexican courts will generally give effect to clearly drafted contractual limits, provided they were properly incorporated into the policy and are consistent with mandatory law and the purpose of the applicable coverage. Recent Supreme Court jurisprudence illustrates an important limitation to this principle. In compulsory public passenger transport insurance, the Court held that although insurers may establish different liabil- ity limits for passengers and third parties, where the amount applicable to one category is insufficient to provide full compensation, the highest liability limit contained in the policy must be applied. The decision reflects increased judicial scrutiny of contractual lim- its where mandatory insurance is intended to protect injured third parties.
Systemic and catastrophic losses may raise differ- ent issues, particularly as to the interaction between occurrence-based and aggregate limits. In such cas- es, causation, timing and the relationship between individual losses may be decisive in determining whether multiple claims should be aggregated. Sanctions-related coverage disputes remain relatively uncommon in Mexican insurance litigation. Their prac- tical significance is greater in cross-border insurance and reinsurance, particularly where payments involve foreign reinsurers, banks or currencies subject to sanctions regimes outside Mexico. 4.5 Sanctions and Illegality Issues Sanctions and Payment Restrictions Mexican insurers are subject to extensive anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations under Article 492 of the LISF and related regulations. These include customer-identification and reporting requirements and screening against lists of blocked persons maintained by the Ministry of Finance, which incorporate, among others, persons identified pursu- ant to United Nations Security Council resolutions. Compliance considerations may therefore affect the processing or payment of a claim where the benefi- ciary or transaction raises sanctions or financial-crime concerns. Illegality and Public Policy Mexican insurance law does not permit coverage to operate as protection for deliberate wrongdoing by the insured. Under the Insurance Contract Law, an insurer is not liable where it proves that the loss was intentionally caused in bad faith by the insured or beneficiary. Similarly, intentional concealment or mis- representation during the claims process aimed at misleading the insurer may extinguish its obligations. Public policy can also operate in the opposite direc- tion: even clearly drafted exclusions or limitations may be unenforceable where they conflict with manda- tory law or undermine protections that Mexican law requires a particular insurance product to provide.
182 I NSURANCE L I T IGATI O N 2026
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