This past year, something occurred in the Mexican legal system that boggles the mind.
Going from a laisser-faire attitude about its own citizens and their driving without insurance, to now requiring sometimes huge limits for 3rd party liability in certain Mexican states. Most times, Mexican Nationals, when they don’t have a liability policy from a Mexican insurance company, will just bolt or flee. Mexican law is not lax in handling those responsible for causing the accident. The “at fault” driver typically has their vehicle impounded, or if there is injury, then the owner or driver of the at fault car is jailed or held until brought before a Magistrate.
These limits are not just geared to U.S. drivers in Mexico, but also are the standard for Mexican citizens and their own personal cars.
Don’t forget that many people will drive over one state line to another, just like in the U.S., but unlike the U.S., your Mexico auto or tourist auto insurance will NOT adjust itself to the required minimum 3rd party liability limits of an adjoining state. If you are not familiar with this term, 3rd party liability, it means injuries you may cause another person, a 3rd party, not you or one of your passengers.
In addition, most visitors to Mexico, whether Paisanos or just tourists, don’t realize that most Mexican vehicles are valued close to double that of an American car, even if the same year , and model. The reason for that is the IVA, like a sales tax the Mexican Gov’t charges. This generally increases the value of the car. What does this mean to you? It means to replace a Mexican car that you have damaged, or totaled is generally significantly more than a U.S. or Canadian registered vehicle. If you don’t have enough coverage in your policies 3rd party liability limits, then you are responsible ($) for the difference.
Don’t rely on cheap insurance when in Mexico, and certainly don’t rely on some vanilla web site or even your local insurance agent who sells this on the side, when you can speak or E mail those with years of experience in this industry and get the correct answers. We are here to help you. It is what we do, it is what we are paid to do, and we are adamant about being knowledgeable about our products, and our experiences in dealing with Mexico.
To see what the actual limits for liability are for each Mexican State, go to this link. We hope this helps you become a knowledgeable consumer. Click here for posted liability limits.
We hope this helps you in your Mexico travels. If you have any questions concerning this or anything else regarding travel into Mexico. Please let us know, we will do our best to assist you.
For all of your Mexico Tourist Auto, Homeowners, Motorcycles, Boats and International Health Insurance needs, please call us at 1-800-434-3966 OR Email us at ici@mxici.com or visit us at mxici.com to issue your own policy. We appreciate your business