Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co. v. Barriga

CHIEF JUSTICE RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 In this case, we consider the operation of a statutory scheme that expressly prohibits the unreasonable delay or denial of insurance benefits. Specifically, we consider whether an award of damages under section 10-3-1116(1), C.R.S. (2017), must be reduced by an insurance benefit unreasonably delayed but ultimately recovered by an insured outside of a lawsuit. We hold that an award under section 10-3-1116(1) must not be reduced by an amount unreasonably delayed but eventually paid by an insurer because the plain text of the statute…