23. Indemnity payment
For each loss, the payment of the indemnity will adhere to the following rules:
- If the damages were calculated by mutual agreement, the insurer shall pay the agreed amount within a maximum period of five days as from the date on which both parties signed the agreement. This shall not be done in detriment to the terms of the next number in this article concerning the obligation of the insurer to pay the minimum sum it is obliged to pay.
- If the damages were calculated and agreed by the loss adjusters, the insurer shall pay the amount they indicate within a period of five days as from the moment both parties consent to and accept the adjusters' agreement, at which point said agreement will become unassailable.
- Should the loss adjusters' report be challenged, the insurer shall pay the minimum cost of what if might owe, in accordance with circumstances known to it.
- If, in the period of three months following the occurrence of the loss, the insurer has not repaired or indemnified the damage or if, in the forty days following its receipt of the survey report, it has not proceeded to pay the minimum amount it might owe, the indemnity shall be increased because of default by the insurer, by the payment of an annual interest equal to a 50% increase on top of the legal interest on money in force at the time of payment.
Nevertheless, once two years have elapsed since the occurrence of the loss, the annual interest cannot be less than 20%.
The initial date for the calculation of said interests shall be the date of the loss.
There shall be no indemnity for default on the part of the insurer when the failure to pay the indemnity or the minimum amount is due to a justified cause or cannot be attributed to it.
- The indemnity may be substituted by the repair or replacement of the damaged property whenever the nature of the insurance so allows and the insured gives his or her consent.
- The insurer, before proceeding to the payment of the indemnity, may require the policyholder or the insured to furnish documented proof that the damaged property does not have tax payments pending.
- For losses affecting the civil liability guarantee, the insurer, within the limits and conditions of the policy, shall pay the indemnity within a maximum period of forty days as of the date on which the sum of said indemnity is set by a judicial sentence or by the insurer's recognition of the liability of the insured.
24. Termination of the contract