Read your Auto insurance policy

I understand that the woman who accidentally ran over her friend and was in jail
(don't know if she still is) did not have legal assistance as part of her auto
insurance. For those of you who don't understand your coverage page here are the
basic coverages:

Danos materiales - physical damage
Robo total - Theft of total car
Gastos medicos occupantes - medical expenses for occupants
Responsabildad civil - legal liability if you hit someone else or
damage property of others
*Asistencia juridica - Legal assistance (the coverage the woman
supposedly does not have who drove the car resulting in the accident)
Asistencia en viajes - Road side assistance - this is optional in my opinion
many drivers don't realize they have this coverage - There is for most policies a toll
free 800 number you can call if your car becomes disabled for any
reason including flat tire. I was with a friend who got a really flat tire - couldn't drive without
ruining the rim. We called the number and in 20 minutes a guy on a motor bike showed up
and changed the tire to the spare - free of charge (but gave a propina)

ALSO read the part of your policy to see who is insured - under policy Definitions: Asugurado - insured.
Some policies in Mexico only insure the person named on the cover page of the policy or people named via endorsement.
Other policies insure "the driver". If you have friends who drive your car - or your wife or husband and the policy
only insures people who are listed on the policy make sure they get listed on the policy.

Good info, Simsca!

In all cases, the driver must have a valid license.

One tip, if you want to be a cheapskate, you´ll stay in jail. Have a good attorney on the spot and pay them. It is akin to being injured in an accident and trying to shop doctors while bleeding and then blaming others while you get gangrene.

Rolly wrote:In all cases, the driver must have a valid license.

Yes thanks Rolly, I forgot to add that if you don't have a valid driver's license or the person driving your car doesn't the insurance is not valid even if you have it.

You may also want to add that: Insurance companies here don't pay for partial theft.

Insurance companies here cannot be compared to the US where you can have low deductibles. Here you always pay more out of pocket. Here insurance companies can take a long time to pay (months) whereas in the US, they pay within 2 weeks.

Hmmm...... GNP Seguros was the insurance company, Jalisco law says policies must have a minimum coverage of $360,000 pesos. Most policies cover other drivers and a news article said the car had Jalisco plates. GNP´s policy says anybody with express or implied permission is covered.

http://www.gnp.com.mx/gnp/clientes.nsf/Pagina_interior?OpenFrameSet&Frame=Contenido&Src=%2Fgnp%2Fclientes.nsf%2F%28TPNID%29%2FNT00007C76%3FOpenDocument%26AutoFramed

This should be a good lesson in what to not do after an accident.

I assume you are talking about the woman who is in jail - should have been covered by her friend's policy. Maybe she didn't have access to the policy information?

johninajijic wrote:You may also want to add that: Insurance companies here don't pay for partial theft.

Insurance companies here cannot be compared to the US where you can have low deductibles. Here you always pay more out of pocket. Here insurance companies can take a long time to pay (months) whereas in the US, they pay within 2 weeks.

Let´s rephrase that more appropriately. Insurance companies in Mexico do not insure against theft of personal property from automobiles or theft of accoutrements. On the other hand, try to collect on the theft of personal belongings stolen from a car in the U.S. unless you have proof that those objects were in your possession in the car at the time of the theft , owned by you without encumbrance and documented as having been there at the time of the alleged theft. Then, hold your breath. What nonsense to imply some sort of negative implication exists if one´s car is stolen in Monterrey vs. Detroit. This is a lamebrain assertion.

Furthermore, the notion that insurance companies take months to pay in Mexco vs. a couple of weeks in the U.S. is nonsense. I have had two sophisticated claims in Mexico against car insurance and each claim has been settled immediately and without delay.

John is being disingenuous at best.

Dawg,

Would you tell us who the insurer was you had a good experience with. I was with GNP Seguros until recently and changed agents which came with a change of insurers to HDI which I know nothing about. Next renewal I would like to specify quotes from an insurer I know someone had a good experience with.

And you are correct. I was rear-ended in the US two years ago by a woman who was probably text messaging. Both cars totaled, and her insurer has not paid any part of my medical expenses yet even though she admitted it was her fault. So all is not well in the US with auto insurance.

simpsca wrote:Dawg,

Would you tell us who the insurer was you had a good experience with. I was with GNP Seguros until recently and changed agents which came with a change of insurers to HDI which I know nothing about. Next renewal I would like to specify quotes from an insurer I know someone had a good experience with.

And you are correct. I was rear-ended in the US two years ago by a woman who was probably text messaging. Both cars totaled, and her insurer has not paid any part of my medical expenses yet even though she admitted it was her fault. So all is not well in the US with auto insurance.

Our insurance company, by whom we swear, is AXA and our agent is Jesus Tejeda out of Guadalajara whose father before him took care of us when needed years ago. When I lost my gall bladder in the wilds of Chiapas in a two bit hospital and, later, when we needed help on the Guatemala border on the slopes of the Tacaná Volcano in Chiapas after a car accident, AXA and their agent were there for us and that is, after all, what counts. The premium one pays for insurance whether for autos or health or homeowner´s insurance is irrevelant. The service at the time of need is all that matters. You get cheap with insurance premiums and when the time comes for your need you lie there in the gutter and sweat. Pay now or pay later when the price is exponentiially higher.

I also insure with AXA. The only time I needed them, the adjuster was quick to respond and took care of everything. The only things he needed from me were the policy and my license. I was at fault but paid nothing, except a fine for causing the wreck.

My friend has a policy with them also. He needed a new windshield after an accident. The repair shop did a poor job replacing the windshield. My friend complained to our AXA agent who promptly sent the car to a different shop. No questions asked, no delay.

They aren't cheap, but they take good care of their customers.

I'll get a quote from them (AXA) at renewal time. Up until now I didn't have any positive recommendations on auto insurers. I wanted to switch agents and ended up with HDI which I've never heard of. Thanks for the input.

simpsca wrote:I'll get a quote from them (AXA) at renewal time. Up until now I didn't have any positive recommendations on auto insurers. I wanted to switch agents and ended up with HDI which I've never heard of. Thanks for the input.

A splendid idea simpsca. We not only have auto insurance with AXA but we both also carry major medical insurance and two homeowner´s policies for residences we own in Ajijic and San Cristóbal de Las Casas with AXA. In recent years we had occasion to assert claims for an automobile accident in an isolated region on the Chiapas/Guatemala border and hospitalization in San Cristóbal where hospital services are, at best, rudimentary and bookkeeping by physicians and hospitals are lacking to say the least. AXA and their outstanding agent Jesus Tejeda came through beautifully in both cases and both claims were satisfactorily resolved despite the fact that they were complex and originated in this remote region of the country.

Nothing could be more shortsighted than to set out to save a few bucks on annual premiums when the important issue is service from a "friend" when you are flat on your back in the middle of nowhere and staring up at some deputy sheriff or country doctor who doesn´t know you from Adam´s housecat.

I have my insurance with Qualitias. My car was parked and a drunk hit it, the Qualitias Insurance Company was top notch, their attorney contacted us within 24 hours, (an adjuster had already been to the house) 2 weeks later, all was paid, repaired and I am back in my car. I have a 500 US dollar deductable which was paid for by the other driver. I would highly recommend them. I buy my policy online and have for 5 years.