Special Coverage Upgrade Packages

Over the years we have continued to work with our Mexican insurance companies to improve their policies to make them, as much as possible, like U. S. and Canadian policies. We are pleased to introduce additional improvements (October 2016) which are superior to coverage offered by other Mexican insurers.

We offer two optional but important upgrades to the basic Mexican Tourist Auto insurance policy, as follows:

1. A Special Coverage Upgrade, referred to generically as the “Extended” policy on our quote and policy issue system. This is an optional endorsement that significantly broadens the “Standard” policy form
2. MexVisit Travel Assistance (which includes Emergency Medical Assistance, Roadside Assistance, Travel Assistance)

Visit Extended Upgrade Comparison Chart to compare upgrade packages by insurance company:

Specially Broadening (Extended) Endorsement (optional)

All six of our companies offer an optional coverage upgrade, which significantly improves coverage versus the basic policy. When added to your “basic” Mexico tourist auto policy this endorsement modifies and improves coverage for damage and repair to the Insured Vehicle, Third Party Liability, Medical Expense coverage, and waiver of deductible if damage to your vehicle is caused by an uninsured at-fault driver.

The chart below compares the Upgrade endorsement of each insurance company.

The upgrade package offered by ABA, El Águila, and Grupo Nacional Provincial are the most comprehensive tourist auto policies available for Mexico.

Detailed coverage descriptions are available below the chart.

Comparison of "Extended" Coverage Upgrade by Insurance Company

Updated January 2018

*ACV: Real Value of the Vehicle

“Labor rates” refer to the rate per hour that body shops charge when making repairs. The rate of repair varies by company and vehicle type. Following is an example of how this can result.

Special Broadening Endorsement – Coverage Description

1. Limited GAP Coverage – If you have a loan on your vehicle, this is an excellent benefit.

   In the event a vehicle becomes a total loss or is stolen, if the amount owed on the loan is greater than the actual cash value of the vehicle, the owner is responsible to the lender for the difference, right?

   With GAP coverage, your policy will pay the difference in the loan balance above the actual cash value, up to a maximum of 15% above the vehicle’s actual cash value. This can be a huge benefit.

2. Increased Cost of Repair – Most Mexico policies cover the cost to repair vehicle damage based upon the labor cost in Mexico.

   With this coverage feature in the Upgrade Endorsement, if damage to the insured vehicle is repaired in the United States or Canada, the insurance companies will pay US or Canadian labor rates. As you can see in the chart above, the amount varies by insurance company. ABA and El Águila pay up to US $100 per hour regardless of vehicle type. HDI pays the actual cost of repair regardless of hourly labor rates. The other companies vary the hourly labor rate from USD $50 to $75, depending upon the type of vehicle.

   Without this upgrade, reimbursement for repairs made in the U.S. or Canada will be based on the labor cost as if the repairs were made in Mexico, i.e., at Mexican labor rates, resulting in a much lower amount an insured will receive toward the vehicle’s repair cost.

3. Limit of Third Party Liability – This coverage pays for damage you may cause to the property of someone else or for injury to or death of a third party.

   With the Special Coverage Upgrade, this limit is automatically increased to $300,000 by all companies.

4. Optional $500,000 Third Party Liability - All companies except Quálitas offer an optional higher limit of $500,000.

5. Partial Theft – The exclusion for partial theft in the basic policy is eliminated. Total Theft coverage is broadened to include payment for theft of parts and accessories that are permanently attached to the Insured Vehicle, excluding sound reproduction and recording equipment such as but not limited to AM/FM radios, Cassette and CD players/recorders, and CB, UHF, and VHF radios. The deductible for Partial Theft is the same as the deductible amount for Total Theft as shown on the face page of your policy. The Partial Theft deductible for ABA, El Águila, ACE, and GNP is reduced to $500. The Partial Theft deductible for HDI and Quálitas is $1,000.

6. Legal Assistance – ABA and El Águila increase the limit for this coverage to be the same as the limit of third party liability, which is at least $300,000.

   Legal Assistance coverage applies as related to a motor vehicle accident, for example, when a driver is jailed and/or a vehicle is impounded as a result of a motor vehicle accident.

7. Waiver of Collision Deductible – If you are in an accident in which the other driver is (a.) at fault, and (b.) does not have insurance, your insurance company will waive your $500 collision deductible.

8. Fixed Deductibles - The Deductibles in the Standard policy are usually 2% of the vehicle value for with a minimum of US $1,000 for Collision, and 5% for Theft with a minimum of $1,500.

   The Special Coverage Upgrade package replaces this confusing formula with a fixed or flat amount deductible of $500 for Collision and $1,000 for Theft.

9. Medical Expenses for Occupants of the Insured Vehicle – The limit of liability for Medical Expenses is increased substantially over the Standard policy. As you can see in the chart above, the limit for this coverage varies by company.

10. Extension of Liability for Towed Vehicles – The norm in Mexico auto insurance policies is that any vehicle being towed by the insured vehicle must be declared when the policy is being issued, even if the towed vehicle is not being insured for collision damage or theft.

    If, for example, you happen to be towing a boat on a trailer, or a trailer with several motorcycles or ATVs, it requires the time consuming task of including the year, make, model, vehicle identification number, license plate number, and jurisdiction that issued the license plate of the trailer and the toys loaded thereon.

    As part of the changes introduced in October 2016, ABA, El Águila, and GNP have agreed to eliminate the need to list towed vehicles if the towed vehicles are not being insured for collision damage and theft. Of course, if a towed vehicle is to be insured for collision damage and theft while being towed, it must be listed on the policy.

    These companies (ABA, El Águila, GNP) have changed the Terms and Conditions relevant to trailer in their Basic policy. The other companies have not adopted this change for towed units. This change is apart from the Special Upgrade Package.

MexVisit Travel Assistance Including Emergency Medical Evacuation (optional)

MexVisit is the best insurance package (with respect to cost) that I have seen in more than 45 years in the business. It contains an economic package of superior travel assistance and emergency medical assistance coverage and other non-emergency services, in three basic categories as follows:

• Legal assistance
• Assistance on the way
• Assistance and urgent transport

More information about MexVisit (in English).

The Quote Results screen automatically includes the coverage of MexVisit; however, you can opt out of this coverage and re-quote without it.