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yodave

Oct 31, 2010, 3:23 PM

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auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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I have a US plated car with a "tourist" insurance policy issued by ANA Seguros by way of an agent with Lloyd's Seguros here in SMA.

She issued me a USA liability insurance policy(by National Unity Insurance Company)earlier this year to cover me for the minimum liability requirements in every state in the US.

While preparing to buy this policy again for another trip NOB, I noticed in the fine print at bottom that it said "this policy is only valid when Mexican citizens or persons who reside FULL TIME in Mexico are operating the designated vehicle"

This has thrown me a bit-I always thought that if you had an FM3 you were considered to be a FULL TIME resident of Mexico, but alas the new FM3 not only doesn't have your Mexican address on it, it actually says on the back that the holder of the card is a TEMPORARY RESIDENT of Mexico!!!! Yikes!

Has anyone out there had to go through proving they are Full Time residents since the new FM3 has been issued?

The only thing I can think of is putting together a dossier of copies of property tax payments over the years, copy of my old FM3, bills over the years with my name and address on them, etc etc. and presenting them to my agent and have her sign a letter ascertaining she is in receipt of proof of my full time residency.

For the record, in a phone call late Friday night(I was panicking)to my agent she said I had nothing to worry about that I would be covered.

Any experiences out there with this? Suggestions? Help and muchisimo gracias!

Peter

Oct 31, 2010, 3:36 PM

Post #2 of 12 (5103 views)

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Re: [yodave] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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I don't think there is a problem there. A temporary employee can still be full-time. I believe it has more to do with the amount of time spent in Mexico rather than the level of visa. With an FM3 I have not left Mexico at all for more than 3 years and I am considered full-time resident. Are you out of Mexico very often or for extended periods of time?

chinagringo

Oct 31, 2010, 3:41 PM

Post #3 of 12 (5100 views)

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Re: [yodave] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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Yodave:

Not only should you be considering the fine print on the policy but you might want to consider the source of your information, the agent. According to some first person information posted on chapala.com, Llloyd and ANA Seguros are not exactly known for taking care of claims in a timely manner nor do they honor the terms of the policies. In the particular instance I am referring to the policy holder totaled his HONDA Fit hitting some cows. From his description, Lloyd basically said that they were only the agent for the policy and it was up to ANA. If my memory serves me correctly, he was dealing with it for three or four months before receiving a partial payment on the total value. The particular agent at Lloyd did very little in the way of going to bat for the policy holder or backing up what was said at the time of issuance, according to his description.
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

RickS

Oct 31, 2010, 4:05 PM

Post #4 of 12 (5086 views)

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Re: [chinagringo] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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"...Lloyd basically said that they were only the agent for the policy and it was up to ANA."

Neil, I don't profess to be an expert on this subject but it is my understanding that this is exactly the situation with respect to purchasing auto insurance for Mexico. One buys from a 'broker' and thereafter any and all contact, especially in the case of a claim, is with the insuring company.... in this case ADA.

Based on our NOB experiences and expectations we might think that the selling entity (Lloyd in this case) would/should 'go to bat' for us but this is not customarily the way it is going to play out in real life in Mexico.

If you know of a 'broker' who does get involved 'after the fact' then I'd like to know who they are. I've used a couple of firms over the years (Lewis & Lewis and San Xavier to be exact) and thankfully have not had to use them, but both of these firms made it clear that, if I had a claim, I should deal with the underlying Mexican Insurance company and not them. I was not offended.... it's just how it works.

YMMV

chinagringo

Oct 31, 2010, 4:17 PM

Post #5 of 12 (5084 views)

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Re: [RickS] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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According to what I have read, there is such an agent in the Lake Chapala/Guadalajara area by the name of Jesus Tejeda:
Jesús Tejeda Mejorada
Insurance Agent
Seguros AXA
www.axa.com.mx <http://www.axa.com.mx>
jtejeda17@hotmail.com
Tels/Fax (52 33)- 35 63 13 00 con 8 Líneas
Celular (52 33) 36670499

Granted I am going by what his customers have to say but I don't think I have even read such glowing reports about an insurance agent anywhere! Apparently he writes medical and home owners in addition to auto.
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

Reefhound

Oct 31, 2010, 4:42 PM

Post #6 of 12 (5077 views)

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Re: [chinagringo] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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The key thing to remember is that whether your agent "goes to bat" for you or not, the agent is not the one who ultimately decides how a claim should be paid or not. They may argue your case and commiserate with you but they cannot overrule the insurer's claims adjusters.

DavidHF

Oct 31, 2010, 5:08 PM

Post #7 of 12 (5068 views)

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Re: [Reefhound] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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What Reefhound says is true. However, there are agents at Lakeside that do nothing to assist their clients. Jesus Tejeda is as good an agent as I ever had NOB.

dongringo_catemaco

Oct 31, 2010, 7:48 PM

Post #8 of 12 (5045 views)

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Re: [DavidHF] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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About 2 years ago, I tried buying temporary insurance on the border (Matamoros and Reynosa) for my then US plated car with Mexican insurance to cross into the US. No way Jose! I finally gave up and rented a Mexican car with a US waiver which also required head stands. Perhaps the situation has changed. Anyone have any experience in that regard?
Visit Catemaco News

chinagringo

Nov 1, 2010, 8:30 AM

Post #9 of 12 (4992 views)

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Re: [DavidHF] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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I understand the point that people are making about an agent's responsibility but of greater concern (at least to me) would be the negative reports about how this particular insurance company handles claims. Isn't one of the premises of insurance of any type: just how one is "made whole again"? Again, I repeat that the particular claimant claimed that the company failed to make them "whole" according to the terms of their policy. It wasn't clear just how much they were forced to personally eat in the way of damages but suffice to say that they were not pleased and made their displeasure known. From the conversations on chapala.com, numerous people in the Lake Chapala area either pulled their policies from Lloyd or simply did not renew to the benefit of Jesus.
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

Moisheh

Nov 6, 2010, 2:36 PM

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Re: [chinagringo] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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IMHO there is only one Agent for tourist insurance who will "go to bat for you" Jim Lewis of Lewis and Lewis is that person. He wrote the policy that is sold by Lewis and Lewis. They have the highest liability coverage and the best legal aide coverage. Here are 2 examples; We had 2 vehicles in Mexico. I only carries road assistance on the one. Somehow the policies got mixed up and my vehicle had no road coverage. I had my truck towed to Hermosillo and called the insurance company to cover the tow. He pointed out I did not have that coverage. One call to Lewis and Lewis and the coverage was back dated. 2 years ago we had a glass claim. I wont go into all the details but the insurance company was treating 2 broken windows as 2 claims even though the 2 were broken in the same accident. One call to Jim Lewis and the problem was fixed. Most sellers of Tourist Insurance are not real agents. Heck anyone can become an agent and have a web site up and running in less than 48 hours. Some outfit out of Scottsdale provides that service. Bad insurance at high prices. Others sell policies that have huge deductibles. Some have added disclaimers that they wont pay if you are involved with an illegal road block (cartels). Most people never read the policies and only talk about the great service when they bought the policy. The sign of a good policy is one that provides the coverage when you need it not how easy it is to buy online.

Moisheh

dongringo_catemaco

Nov 6, 2010, 7:19 PM

Post #11 of 12 (4795 views)

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Re: [Moisheh] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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Bravo Moisheh
"The sign of a good policy is one that provides the coverage when you need it not how easy it is to buy online."

Ignoring insurance sellers, the smaller the town, the fewer insurance adjusters attend accidents. Usually there is only one or two and they handle multiple companies. They generally know the requirements of insurance sellers, and I would probably be sued for repeating what they told me about the inadequacies about many insurance companies that I never heard of.

Stick with the big companies and ignore the promises of agents.
Visit Catemaco News

Moisheh

Nov 6, 2010, 8:02 PM

Post #12 of 12 (4782 views)

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Re: [dongringo_catemaco] auto insurance coverage in US when traveling from Mexico

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I could tell Mexican insurance stories for hours. One person in our town had a van that was "toast". One of our friends is an I-car certified instructor. He looked at it and in 2 minutes stated: It cannot be fixed. The adjuster came the next day on the bus!! He wanted to write it off. I was translating for the van owner. After a long discussion he agreed but tried to use the value of a bare work van for a luxury van. I was adamant and won my case. Then the adjuster asked for 20 pesos for the bus ride back to the city!!! Many times the adjusters decide over a beer and Tacos who is at fault! Of course there are also some companies who are professional.

Moisheh