United States And Mexican Car Insurance Differences PDF Print E-mail
Written by Luisa Navarrete   
Friday, 25 June 2010 11:37
It's just obvious that there will be some differences between United States and Mexican car insurance policies, and I will try to list some of the differences here. However, before I do let me warn you not to confuse this with a complete list of all of the differences because there are just too many minor differences to list. I will list the major differences by type of insurance.
by LuisaNavarrete


It's just obvious that there will be some differences between United States and Mexican car insurance policies, and I will try to list some of the differences here. However, before I do let me warn you not to confuse this with a complete list of all of the differences because there are just too many minor differences to list. I will list the major differences by type of insurance.

First of all, let's talk about Liability Insurance. Civil Law, as defined by statute, determines liability coverage in Mexico. This can be really good or really bad depending on your point of view. Because of this system there is almost never a claim made for pain and suffering or emotional distress. The great majority of claims are paid under "Property Damage to Others" and "Bodily Injury," these losses are settled on an actual cash value (acv) basis, and are dictated by law.

Mexico is not nearly as litigious a society as is the US and because of this it is rare to have a claim in excess of one hundred thousand dollars. Property Damage to others can approach this limit, but it is rare to have a Bodily Injury claim that reaches this limit. By the way, this is completely contrary to the way that claims are settled in the United States.

If you have an "incident" in Mexico and a case is brought against you in the United States there will be no coverage for that claim under your Mexican insurance policy. Now, that might be obvious to some and not to others, but a liability insurance policy purchased from a Mexican insurer will only cover claims brought against you in Mexico.

The Second thing that I want to address is car insurance, because there can be quite a big difference in the various rates, coverages, limits, and deductibles that the various Mexican Insurance companies offer. Let's take a look at some of the things that you should pay attention to. First of all, you will want a combined single limit coverage, as opposed to a split limit, because some insurance companies will reduce the amount payable with the use of split limits. The standard used on a Mexican car policy is a combined single limit of one hundred thousand dollars. I encourage you to stay away from split limits. Another coverage to take very seriously because it is very important is Legal Aid and Travel Assistance. Sometimes these are listed as as additional coverages, but they are not they are essential, and without both of these coverages you will be paying your own legal expenses until liability is determined.

The last thing is that a Mexican car policy has exclusions for both Vandalism and Partial Theft, but in the United States policies are generally "all risk" policies. Not so in Mexico, because Mexican policies are "named perils" policies. These policies provided coverage for collision, fire, total theft, some natural occurrences, and other perils. In the United States almost all insurance companies use a fixed deductible, but in Mexico insurance companies will often have a deductible as a percentage of the value of the car insured.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

Learn more about Mexican car insurance. Stop by Luisa Navarrete's site where you can find out all about car insurance for Mexico and what it can do for you.