All of this is true.
I have two fond memories of the Mexican police. First, my grandather (born/raised there â heâs Mexican as they get) arguing with a cop. Cop really wanted a bribe. My grandfather would have none of that, and begged the cop to either let him go or write the ticket. After a good 30 minutes, the cop realized he was wasting his time.
The other was when my great uncle and I launched a rented VW bug at a railroad crossing in the middle of nowhere. He gave me the âslow downâ signal (he was parked by the crossing) but it was too late - we got some air. He must have been really confused to see me (21 and obviously not from Mexico) and my crazy uncle who spoke perfect Spanish with a perfect British accent. Miraculously we did not damage the vehicle and he let us go on our merry way to nowhere.
I havenât checked but I am pretty sure my Australian car insurance doesnât cover me in Indonesia or New Zealand and I am surprised anybody would assume otherwise.
Merica!
I am told, by people who actually lived there for a decade (though it was decades agoâŚ) that in the American city of Chicago:
If, when pulled over by a police officer and asked to present your driver license and vehicle registration (this was way before mandatory insurance laws) there âjust happenedâ to be a folded $20 bill sandwiched between those two items, that the result was always a verbal warning and nothing more.
The $20 bill never came back, howeverâŚ
Because there isnt an ocean between the two. Also itâs not true of Canada.
Lastly donât rent a car in Mexico and take it into Belize or Guatemala. Itâs against the rental agreement you could end up in a heap of trouble.
Being from Alaska I was wondering about car insurance and Canada as I drive through it at least once every few years. Iâll have to look into it a little more and then if you are covered in Canada why wouldnât you be covered in Mexico?
âŚIâm off to Google!
So much for NAFTA, then. You canât have free trade without free movement within the free trade zone, and you canât have free movement if you need to do paperwork to cross a border. There are reasons why the EU, which really is a free trade zone, has a great many rules and regulations, such as the one specifiying that you canât sell car insurance in the EU unless itâs valid across the entire EU.
ISTR somebody telling me that the Mexican border agents wouldnât let them into Mexico without comprehensive insurance (not just liability) Which you canât easily get for an older car. So there was a little business on the border selling paperwork which LOOKED like a rider policy for comprehensive insurance in Mexico. It had the words in the contract that the authorities were looking for but they were quit up front that it guaranteed NOTHING and wouldnât pay you anything in case of an accident.
My policy covers driving in Canada and I never sought a supplement to do so. Iâm guessing that the EU causes all car insurance to cover all car travel within the EU. Not an insane thought at all.
but understand, if you have to make a claim against said insurance? expect 6-9 months of wait and wait.
most of these thieves/sanctioned by government companies I mean, are a US company agenting the policies through a mexican company.
I LOVE Baja, I spend as much time there as I can. Usually on a motorcycle. - this summer a pal of mine decided to âtestâ the Mexican Insurance by destroying his bike.
it is a long, difficult PITA to make a claim, and get it paid out.
and? there is NOTHING< absolutely NOTHING you can do to have a backup plan, better company, etcâŚ
But? back to your point, yes, if you go to Mex, buy Mexican insurance.
I knew someone who had their new car stolen in Baja. It took a few months and another trip down to find a local lawyer who could bribe the police to make a report, but they did finally get relief.
I think I have to defend the âMericansâ who think this is supposed to workâŚ
Itâs perfectly reasonable to assume that when countries manage to agree to international treaties to mutually recognize their drivers licenses, they can also make their insurances work together.
For most European and some surrounding countries, there has been a system in place since 1949 that makes car insurance mostly âjust workâ across borders. This got started with UN help long before the EU got involved.
In fact, I could start driving right now. After about 48 hours of driving (according to Google; not counting any breaks), Iâd be in Tehran. And if I crashed into somebodyâs car there, my insurance would pay for the damage.
(The only problem is that I donât currently own a car, but that can change).
There is a similar system in place between Arabian countries, and maybe in other regions as well.
Exactly. And before 9/11 the formalities of Americans going to either Canada or Mexico were minimal â you didnât even need a passport (just photo id), and the only place where there were significant customs checks was returning to the US from Mexico (because of fears of smuggling drugs or humans into the US).
FTFY 
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