ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (11/24/85)
> I am planning to visit Mexico for 2-3 days. My auto insurance does not extend > to Mexico and I have been told that I can get short-term insurance at the > border. I will be grateful if someone can tell me about the different > possibilities. > - How expensive is it compared to US rates? > - Is there a choice of insurance companies? > - How much insurance is required by law in Mexico? > - Is there a cheaper way than buying at the border? My understanding is that Mexican auto insurance is basically a bribe -- if you don't have it and get into an accident, they will confiscate your car, throw you in jail, and lose the key.
burden@cheers.DEC (The influence of a frozen beef pie) (12/02/85)
Before I went to Canada earlier this year, I went down to my insurance agent, told them where and when I was going and they supplied me with a little card that was entitled "Canada Non-Resident Inter-Province Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Card". In Canada you need a certain level of liability insurance, the card just shows that I have that amount of insurance in case I was involved in an accident. You should probably check with your insurance agency or company and see if they have this sort of thing for Mexico. Dave Burden decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-cheers!burden 603-881-2559 Nashua, NH 42 42' 48.8'' N 71 27' 23.7'' W "Look, strange women lying on their backs in ponds handing over swords ... that's no basis for a system of government." -- Dennis (Monty Python and the Holy Grail)
dbp@dataioDataio.UUCP (Dave Pellerin) (12/03/85)
>My understanding is that Mexican auto insurance is basically >a bribe -- if you don't have it and get into an accident, >they will confiscate your car, throw you in jail, and lose the key. There's more to it than that - if you get in a wreck and your car is broken bad, you still must get it back to the U.S. You can not sell your car (or even give it away) across the border. The insurance you get at the border will (should) cover the cost of recovering the car. From 'The Peoples Guide to Mexico' by Carl Franz (required reading!)
terryl@tekcrl.UUCP () (12/04/85)
> > I am planning to visit Mexico for 2-3 days. My auto insurance does not extend > > to Mexico and I have been told that I can get short-term insurance at the > > border. I will be grateful if someone can tell me about the different > > possibilities. > > - How expensive is it compared to US rates? > > - Is there a choice of insurance companies? > > - How much insurance is required by law in Mexico? > > - Is there a cheaper way than buying at the border? > > My understanding is that Mexican auto insurance is basically > a bribe -- if you don't have it and get into an accident, > they will confiscate your car, throw you in jail, and lose the key. I don't know about it being a bribe, but this happened to my parents and myself once when we went down to Ensanada(sp?), Mexico, with some friends for an afternoon. My parents did get the short term insurance, and got a little sticker to put in the lower right-hand portion of the windshield. When we got down to Tiajuana(sp?), which is just across the border from San Diego, CA, driving downtown, I swear there was a taxi that was making a bee-line right for my parents' car, but as soon as he saw the sticker, he slammed on the brakes and stopped about 5 feet into the intersection. As for the original poster and his questions, if you do ANY driving at all in Mexico, DEFINITELY GET THE INSURANCE!!! I don't remember the prices, and it was ten years ago, but I vaguely remember it being reasonable. One thing I do know for a fact is that a lot of sailors who make port in San Diego go down to Tiajuana for cheap booze and women(no sexist flames, I just report `em as I see `em!!!), sometimes getting into some trouble and then disappearing in the jails. I do remember reading a newspaper article quoting some high- ranking naval official warning the Tiajuana police to go easy on the sailors, or else Tiajuana would be off limits to the sailors. It seems that if Tiajuana were off limits, the local bars would lose quite a bit of GI trade and money!!!
ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (12/05/85)
> Before I went to Canada earlier this year, I went down to my insurance agent, > told them where and when I was going and they supplied me with a little card > that was entitled "Canada Non-Resident Inter-Province Motor Vehicle Liability > Insurance Card". In Canada you need a certain level of liability insurance, > the card just shows that I have that amount of insurance in case I was > involved in an accident. You should probably check with your insurance agency > or company and see if they have this sort of thing for Mexico. Don't bother. What the rules SAY and what the people DO are two different things. I have seen, in several different places, the assertion that if you visit Mexico and do not buy insurance from a Mexican company, you can confidently expect to rot in jail if you get into even a minor accident, even though you may indeed be insured according to the letter of their laws.