November 11, 2000

Mexican insurance companies are regulated.

The National Insurance & Surety Commission (Comision Nacional de Seguros y Fianzas) regulate Mexican insurance. Mexican auto insurance policies written specifically to cover tourist has the formal name of Special Tourist Automobile Insurance Policy.

What this means is that all Mexican insurance companies must write tourist auto policies using the same Specifications or Risk, and General Conditions. Simply stated, no Mexican insurance company can claim to issue policies with "better" risks coverage and "better" conditions.

The differences are in "amounts" the insured obtains. Many insurance brokers advertise low premiums to induce greater sales. While the risk coverage is included meet the Specifications or Risk, and General Conditions, what the difference may be is the amount allocated per risk. Liability coverage, for example, may be lower than policies with higher premium.

If a driver could be assured that an accident would be a minor "fender bender" the low cost insurance would probably be sufficient. Care needs to be taken in the purchase of insurance that the coverage is adequate, otherwise a low cost insurance policy could turn out to be the worst bargain. It should be noted that it is no different in the US, policies covering the minimum liability and low benefits for other risks, are good for compliance with statutory financial responsibility laws, but may come up short in an actual accident incident.

As regards which Mexican insurance company to purchase insurance from, what is of importance is to check out the company's payment of claims, financial ability and reputation for service.