MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Carlos de la Garza, Raúl Acosta and Enrique Tamez, De la Garza & Acosta Abogados, S.C.
nity proposal presented by an adjuster to the policy- holder may bind the insurer. Delegated claims handling may also create practical difficulties concerning consistency of coverage deci- sions, record-keeping, communications and access to the underlying claims file. Insurers therefore benefit from clearly defining delegated authority, maintaining oversight and ensuring that third-party administrators, adjusters and intermediaries follow documented pro- cedures. Any contractual recourse against the del- egate is generally a separate issue from the insurer’s obligations towards the policyholder. 4.9 Financial Lines Coverage Trends Coverage Issues Financial lines disputes remain less prominent in reported Mexican case law than health, property or general liability disputes. D&O, professional indem- nity and financial institution policies may neverthe- less generate issues concerning claims-made word- ing, notification, prior-known circumstances, defence costs and fraud or dishonesty exclusions. Evolving Risk Drivers Regulatory investigations, insolvency or shareholder claims may raise questions concerning defence costs, exclusions and the scope of insured liability. Insolven- cy may be particularly relevant where financial distress increases scrutiny of management decisions while reducing the company’s ability to indemnify directors. Shareholder actions remain less prevalent than in some jurisdictions, but Mexican law provides mecha- Casualty disputes in Mexico increasingly involve bod- ily injury and third-party liability claims, particularly under motor and general liability policies. Coverage disputes frequently turn on the existence and extent of the insured’s liability, causation, policy limits and whether particular categories of damage fall within the scope of the policy. Recent Supreme Court jurisprudence has reinforced scrutiny of compulsory liability coverage. In motor nisms for pursuing director liability. 4.10 Casualty Coverage Trends Motor and Third-Party Liability Claims
insurance, for example, the Court has restricted con- tractual limitations that would undermine the com- pensatory purpose of mandatory coverage, including exclusions of moral damages and, in certain passen- ger transport cases, insufficient differentiated liability limits. Expanding Damage Claims Claimants increasingly seek recovery beyond tradi- tional material damages, including moral damages, loss of earnings and other consequential losses. This can materially increase the exposure attached to rel- atively ordinary casualty events and creates greater pressure on insurers to assess both the underlying liability and the evidentiary basis supporting each head of damage. Causation and Victim Conduct Causation is also becoming increasingly important in casualty disputes, particularly where several factors may have contributed to the injury. The conduct of the injured party may be relevant to determining the insured’s civil liability and, consequently, the insurer’s exposure. Recent federal precedent has, however, reinforced the high threshold for establishing the victim’s inexcusa- ble negligence as a complete defence to strict liability. Building on Supreme Court jurisprudence, a federal collegiate court held in 2026 that this defence must be interpreted restrictively and fully proven, and that the victim’s conduct must be sufficiently serious to break the causal link entirely. Where the victim belongs to a vulnerable group, the court also required heightened judicial reasoning taking into account the victim’s cir- cumstances and the surrounding environment. Importantly, the court held that a judge’s assessment of video footage alone was insufficient to establish inexcusable negligence, emphasising the need for technical evidence concerning the mechanics of the accident. This development further increases the importance of early accident reconstruction, preser- vation of video and other contemporaneous evidence, and appropriate expert analysis in casualty claims.
184 I NSURANCE L I T IGATI O N 2026
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