My swift response was that partial theft wasn’t covered, and he asked what is partial burglary? I mean how can you have a partial theft, either it was robbed or it wasn’t, it sounds to me like being partially pregnant. that’s the characteristic response from most Americans traveling to Mexico and hearing about this for the first time, and so I gave my dear of dad an instance of partial theft. Joe drives his new auto with brand spanking new chrome wheels into downtown Juarez, and parks his auto along the street while he does some shopping. Joe returns from shopping and finds his new chrome wheels are missing, but the remainder of the auto is still there, or maybe it was actually the radio that is missing, or any other part of the vehicle, but the vehicle itself is still there : that’s partial burglary.

Well, my father did not have anything really nice to say of insurance companies, but that is normal for everyone. The point of the story is that if you travel to Mexico you want to recollect that partial burglary isn’t covered. The car must be fully gone in order for theft coverage to apply. Now, you and I’ll have the philosophical discussion about whether is should be covered, but that is a totally different subject.

Mexico is an excellent place to holiday and to get out and enjoy life. Before you travel, ensure that you buy Mexican car insurance, and that you know some of its constraints. Partial theft isn’t covered.

I just wanted to tell everybody about the need for Mexican car insurance and why it is that you need to do some homework. Let me tell you a true story.

Some years ago I sold a motorcycle insurance policy to a man named Bob. He wanted to buy full coverage insurance for his Harley, so I wrote a policy that included comprehensive and collision coverages.

About nine months after the purchase of the insurance Bob had an accident. He laid his bike down in front of and oncoming pickup truck. Bob walked away from the accident with minor injuries, but his girlfriend, on the back of the bike, suffered serious injuries that required many months of hospitalization, and many surgeries. The oncoming truck was uninsured at the time of the accident.

Bob came to me after the accident wanting all of her medical payments to be covered by his insurance. I informed him that his medical payment coverage would pay up to the policy limit of five thousand dollars, and that he had an additional twenty-five thousand dollars in coverage available to her under his uninsured motorist coverage. Unfortunately, her injuries far exceeded her available coverages. Bob was upset that not all of her expenses would be covered.

I asked Bob: Up to what limit he expected the insurance to pay for her medical expenses? His answer was: Whatever is billed, into the millions of dollars. My answer to him was that he needed a health insurance policy not a property insurance policy in order to cover those type of expenses.

Now, what in the world does Bob have to do with Mexican car insurance? Well, Bob had no idea what full coverage insurance was, and most people that buy Mexican car insurance don’t have any idea what they are buying either. You don’t have to be like everybody else in this world. You should find out what it is that you are covered for and don’t end up like Bob.

Most insurance agents don’t have the need to sell Mexican car insurance because it is a rather small niche market.  Furthermore, it requires the agent to learn a little bit about a foreign country and their laws and procedures.  Additionally, all of the literature is in Spanish and most insurance agents are not bilingual.  I am bilingual and have lived in a Latin American country for a couple of years, and that’s why the niche is a natural fit for me.

Mexico is such gorgeous country.  It has pristine beaches, and great deep sea fishing, or you can take time to discover all of the ancient Mayan or Aztec ruins, and I haven’t even mentions the snorkeling and scuba diving.  The list of things to do is endless.  I recall a vacation that I took there a couple of years ago, and my spouse and I tried to do something different every single day more than a week, but we didn’t get to do everything that we had wanted to do.  Some people go for the dancing and the nightlife, or for the food and the culture.  There is something for everybody, but before you book your trip plan ahead and purchase your Mexican car insurance before you ever get to Mexico.

Most states in the United States have adopted some kind of financial responsibility law.  This is the law that requires you to carry proof of insurance in your car.  If you don’t carry that little card with you the police officer will give you a ticket for failure to comply with the financial responsibility law; it is a misdemeanor and carries a fine.  The same laws apply in Mexico, but the big difference is that in Mexico it is a felony to not provide a evidence of financial responsibility.

Some major carriers within the United States will provide limited coverage in Mexico.  Usually this coverage is limited to within twenty-five miles of the Mexican border.  There are a few people that think that because they have chosen an insurance provider that provides this benefit that they don’t need to carry Mexican car insurance when they cross the border.  Remember that only a Mexican insurance company can provide evidence of financial responsibility in Mexico, just like only a United States insurance company can provide evidence of financial responsibility in the United States.  We don’t accept their proof and they don’t accept our proof.  That means that even if your insurance company will cover the accident in Mexico, but you don’t have Mexican car insurance, then you will most likely be going to jail for failure to comply with the local financial responsibility laws.  Jail doesn’t sound like a very fun vacation.  Personally, I’d rather stay home and go to work than go on vacation and end up in jail.

The list of things related to this subject is really endless and I am unable to exhaust them is this little article, but I will mention one other thing.  Don’t think that just because drove up to the border and bought insurance from the first salesman that hung out a shingle that you are properly covered.  Learn about what a variable deductible is, and why you need Legal Aid coverage or Travel Assistance coverage.  Take my advice and spend the little bit of extra money to buy these coverages.  Additionally, purchase a minimum of a combined single limit of one hundred thousand dollars of liability insurance.

Last of all, I encourage you to enjoy your vacation and to have all the fun that you can.  Worry about the small stuff before you go so that you don’t have that hanging over your head while you’re on vacation.  Buy Mexican car insurance online before you go.

First of all the Mexican government will not recognize a United States or Canada insurance policy. The only proof of financial responsibility that will be recognized by the Mexican officials is an insurance policy purchased from a Mexican insurance company. By Mexican law you are required to provide proof of financial responsibility when driving in Mexico. You should purchase your Mexican car insurance before you arrive at the border.

Please do your research and study all of the available material. A wide variety of coverages and plans are available to buy online. You can purchase a policy for as short as one day or as long as one year; many insurance companies will provide you with a discount if you purchase a longer period of time. Now, that might not be useful for you if you do not plan on returning during the next three hundred and sixty-five days, but if you do plan on returning it can be a big savings.

Be certain to purchase a combined single limit policy. Many insurance companies will use split limits, it is a way that they use to reduce payouts in the event of a claim. Because claims for pain and suffering are almost unheard of in Mexico most of the coverage should be for property damage. Coverages provided by split limits will reduce the amount of property insurance available.

Deductibles provided by a Mexican car insurance policy are handled quite a bit differently than they are in a United States insurance policy. A fixed deductible amount in the standard in the US, but that is not the case in Mexico. Mexican car insurance uses a variable deductible, usually somewhere between two and five percent of the value of the insured vehicle. That means that a vehicle with a value of twenty thousand dollars and a variable deductible of five percent would have an actual deductible of one thousand dollars. If you are not comfortable with a variable deductible you will have to do your homework, because fixed deductibles are available, but not widely available.

The other coverages that some would consider to be optional, but which are really essential are the legal aid and travel expense coverage. Without both of these offered coverages you will be paying for all of your own legal expenses until liability is determined, and that could be some time depending on the circumstances of the accident.

There are many different companies that offer policies that can be purchased online, with a simple three step process. Quote, buy, print. Do some research and make sure that you are getting the coverage that you need. It is cheaper to pay more for the right coverage than to buy a cheap policy that doesn’t offer the protection that you need.

Nobody wants to have an accident, and that is why they are called accidents. Make sure that in the unfortunate circumstance that you are involved in an accident that you have the right coverages.

The question arises as to where to purchase Mexican car insurance online and what it is that you should purchase.

First of all the Mexican government will not recognize a United States or Canada insurance policy.  The only proof of financial responsibility that will be recognized by the Mexican officials is an insurance policy purchased from a Mexican insurance company.  By Mexican law you are required to provide proof of financial responsibility when driving in Mexico.  You should purchase your Mexican car insurance before you arrive at the border.

Please do your research and study all of the available material.  A wide variety of coverages and plans are available to buy online.  You can purchase a policy for as short as one day or as long as one year; many insurance companies will provide you with a discount if you purchase a longer period of time.  Now, that might not be useful for you if you do not plan on returning during the next three hundred and sixty-five days, but if you do plan on returning it can be a big savings.

Be certain to purchase a combined single limit policy.  Many insurance companies will use split limits, it is a way that they use to reduce payouts in the event of a claim.  Because claims for pain and suffering are almost unheard of in Mexico most of the coverage should be for property damage.  Coverages provided by split limits will reduce the amount of property insurance available.

Deductibles provided by a Mexican car insurance policy are handled quite a bit differently than they are in a United States insurance policy.  A fixed deductible amount in the standard in the US, but that is not the case in Mexico.  Mexican car insurance uses a variable deductible, usually somewhere between two and five percent of the value of the insured vehicle.  That means that a vehicle with a value of twenty thousand dollars and a variable deductible of five percent would have an actual deductible of one thousand dollars.  If you are not comfortable with a variable deductible you will have to do your homework, because fixed deductibles are available, but not widely available.

The other coverages that some would consider to be optional, but which are really essential are the legal aid and travel expense coverage.  Without both of these offered coverages you will be paying for all of your own legal expenses until liability is determined, and that could be some time depending on the circumstances of the accident.

There are many different companies that offer policies that can be purchased online, with a simple three step process.  Quote, buy, print.  Do some research and make sure that you are getting the coverage that you need.  It is cheaper to pay more for the right coverage than to buy a cheap policy that doesn’t offer the protection that you need.

Nobody wants to have an accident, and that is why they are called accidents.  Make sure that in the unfortunate circumstance that you are involved in an accident that you have the right coverages.