# US car insurance while in MX



## conorkilleen

I just got off the phone with State Farm and they told me that they will not insure me if I am taking the financed car I have into Mexico. I know I need Mexican auto insurance which I have lined up, however don't I need to maintain full coverage by a US insurance company while I am in Mexico? I plan to have my vehicle there for about one year.

What insurance company do other Expats use for their financed vehicles?


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## RVGRINGO

Since the car is financed, it is the lien holder who will require that you have it insured to their benefit. Some will allow you to take the car out of the country; some won't. If they do, it will be wise to have their written permission when you get to the border, as you will need an 'importada temporada' for the car. Remember that it must be removed from Mexico, even if wrecked. 
So, your insurer is simply telling you that they can't insure your car in Mexico and, as you know, you must have Mexican insurance, issued by a Mexican company. That may not be acceptable to the lien holder. You'll need to get them all on the same page or pay off the car before you move.


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## circle110

I have State Farm and they put my coverage "on hold" for me while I am in Mexico (which is 9-10 months of the year). It is the same coverage as if the car were garaged in the US and not driven. They charge me at that reduced rate until I call to tell them I am entering the US and then they reinstate my full coverage for the time I am in the states (minimum one month) and charge me the full rate only during that time that I am driving in the US.

My car is paid off so maybe that is the difference but you should check into it further and if it isn't a State Farm rule because of the loan situation then get a new SF agent. Like Rvgringo says, it is more likely that the lien holder would object to the car being in Mexico. 

You do not need US coverage while in Mexico as far as Mexico is concerned but if you want to keep your plate registration valid, in most (all?) states you will need to keep US liability insurance to keep that registration current and valid.


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## conorkilleen

RVGRINGO said:


> Since the car is financed, it is the lien holder who will require that you have it insured to their benefit. Some will allow you to take the car out of the country; some won't. If they do, it will be wise to have their written permission when you get to the border, as you will need an 'importada temporada' for the car. Remember that it must be removed from Mexico, even if wrecked.
> So, your insurer is simply telling you that they can't insure your car in Mexico and, as you know, you must have Mexican insurance, issued by a Mexican company. That may not be acceptable to the lien holder. You'll need to get them all on the same page or pay off the car before you move.


RV- they know they cant insure my vehicle in Mexico...what they are telling me is that if I take my vehicle into Mexico they cant insure me in the US anymore.


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## RVGRINGO

That sounds very strange. Go over that agent's head. Remember, you are in NC, where deep thinking and creativity are hard to find. We're glad to be away from there!


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## conorkilleen

RVGRINGO said:


> That sounds very strange. Go over that agent's head. Remember, you are in NC, where deep thinking and creativity are hard to find. We're glad to be away from there!


ha! I plan on that. Deep thinking is not NCs strong suit. The SF rep. lady that I spoke to had never heard of the situation before. She called one of the underwriters and then called me back with the feedback. I don't think they know what they are talking about, however I wanted to post up on here about the situation to have some ammunition/ideas for my face to face meeting with them next week. The underwriter may have thought that she was asking if I can have SF insure me "in" Mexico.

I am in Monterrey right now gearing up for a lease signing tomorrow on our rental property here.


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## circle110

I agree with Rvgringo. Now that I think about it, I talked to several State Farm agents and they all told me they could do the same thing as my current agent (who I occasionally have my differences with). None of them asked if my car was paid off or not. It appears your agent is confused. I don't think State Farm allows you to buy direct without an agent so you will probably need to find a new, less confused agent.


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## conorkilleen

circle110 said:


> I agree with Rvgringo. Now that I think about it, I talked to several State Farm agents and they all told me they could do the same thing as my current agent (who I occasionally have my differences with). None of them asked if my car was paid off or not. It appears your agent is confused. I don't think State Farm allows you to buy direct without an agent so you will probably need to find a new, less confused agent.


I called her back to discuss further and let her know that I "know" other people with the same situation and asked her if this was specific to NC. She thought that it may be. I find it baffling that they still wouldnt take my monthly premium knowing very well that they would not be responsible for a wrecked or stolen vehicle in Mexico. Sounds like easy money for them. Regardless I am meeting with them next week to discuss options. 

I will however be making more phone calls to other agents and companies to get their feedback. thanks for the insight.


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## pappabee

I'm sorry but your agent is full of something. I was an insurance agent for years and there is no rule (and I know that State Farm will do it) that says that they can not insure your car after you bring it back into the States. The can not and will not issue insurance for your car while it's in Mexico. My car is financed with Ford Credit and they issued me a notice that said that I had permission to take the car into Mexico. I had to have the car payment current and have proof of Mexican insurance with them as the lien holder. The insurance had to be for more than the existing balance due on the note.

If your agent insists that he/she is correct then you should get in contact with the regional manager for State Farm (most agencies are owned by licensed agents and not company owned but the company still has some say as to their following state regs.)

What State Farm is telling you is that while the car is in Mexico they will not insure it. In most states an insurance company can not refuse to issue coverage because the car came from Mexico. They can require an inspection to insure that the car meets all the state and federal requirements but once that's done they must issue coverage. (the still have the right to refuse coverage due to credit, driving record or police record but not for the former home of the car).


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## conorkilleen

pappabee said:


> I'm sorry but your agent is full of something. I was an insurance agent for years and there is no rule (and I know that State Farm will do it) that says that they can not insure your car after you bring it back into the States. The can not and will not issue insurance for your car while it's in Mexico. My car is financed with Ford Credit and they issued me a notice that said that I had permission to take the car into Mexico. I had to have the car payment current and have proof of Mexican insurance with them as the lien holder. The insurance had to be for more than the existing balance due on the note.
> 
> If your agent insists that he/she is correct then you should get in contact with the regional manager for State Farm (most agencies are owned by licensed agents and not company owned but the company still has some say as to their following state regs.)
> 
> What State Farm is telling you is that while the car is in Mexico they will not insure it. In most states an insurance company can not refuse to issue coverage because the car came from Mexico. They can require an inspection to insure that the car meets all the state and federal requirements but once that's done they must issue coverage. (the still have the right to refuse coverage due to credit, driving record or police record but not for the former home of the car).


^this is confusing...the car is not coming from Mexico, rather from the US into Mexico. Ford Credit needs Mexico Auto insurance as well as US coverage as well to keep my plates valid in NC. What State farm told me is that they would be able to keep the coverage for a short amount of time, however if the car is garaged in Mexico, I cannot keep my coverage with them(which I need to keep my plates and registration valid)


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## RVGRINGO

Time to shop for a new carrier, maybe a new place to register the car.


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## conorkilleen

RVGRINGO said:


> Time to shop for a new carrier, maybe a new place to register the car.


well. I really like State Farm and my agents and reps are very nice. What they are saying may be true and need to respect that to some degree, however I should do some research on the matter.

Im on hold right now with Geico


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## ReefHound

I'm wondering why you are even talking to your U.S. insurer. They have nothing to do with your car being in Mexico and it's really none of their business. They have no ownership in your car and no say over where you drive it. They have no way of knowing where your car is. They aren't notified when your car enters Mexico or when it enters the U.S. and you aren't going to be filing a claim when it is in Mexico.


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## conorkilleen

ReefHound said:


> I'm wondering why you are even talking to your U.S. insurer. They have nothing to do with your car being in Mexico and it's really none of their business. They have no ownership in your car and no say over where you drive it. They have no way of knowing where your car is. They aren't notified when your car enters Mexico or when it enters the U.S. and you aren't going to be filing a claim when it is in Mexico.


I think that answered my question. Thanks reefhound. I should have just kept my stupid mouth shut instead of stirring the bees nest.


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## pappabee

conorkilleen said:


> ^this is confusing...the car is not coming from Mexico, rather from the US into Mexico. Ford Credit needs Mexico Auto insurance as well as US coverage as well to keep my plates valid in NC. What State farm told me is that they would be able to keep the coverage for a short amount of time, however if the car is garaged in Mexico, I cannot keep my coverage with them(which I need to keep my plates and registration valid)


I understand that it is a US plated car but it is coming back to the US from Mexico. As far as keeping your NC registration goes there are a lot of factors to consider. Is NC like New York used to be (and maybe still is) where once you drop your insurance the company is required to notify DMV that the car is no longer insured and therefor can not be driven in the state? If that's the case I'm sure you can find carriers who will issue just the minimum state liability requirements to tide you over until you're ready to return to the states. Some years ago State Farm had an option for cars that were not being driven due to the owner being in the military. As far as Ford Credit goes I moved here in May of last year and dropped my US insurance without any comments from Ford Credit. All they required was that I had Mexican insurance. I even asked them about my US coverage and was told that there was no reason (as far as they were concerned) to retain both.

As far as NC DMV goes I'd check with them and see what options they can offer.

This is NOT that strange of a deal.


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## circle110

The way I understand your original question connorkilleen, is that you would like to continue insuring the car with State Farm during the time it is in Mexico (even though all claims in Mexico have to go through a Mexican insurer) so that upon returning to the US you can reinstate and continue to use SF as your carrier. That isn't strange (or stupid) at all. It is exactly what I do.

Reefhound's comment is only valid if you wish to either drop your US coverage while in Mexico or pay full price for useless insurance during that whole time since, as he said, you can't make a claim to SF while you are out of the country. State Farm does offer an option where you pay a couple of dollars a month to stay on their insurance rolls and they won't notify the state DMV of a lapse in coverage. Then a simple phone call or email will reinstate your normal coverage upon return.

What is strange is the story you are getting from your agent. He/she may be nice but apparently is not very well informed. The SF website has an extensive list of agents; just call a couple and explain your situation. I bet you'll find one that will understand. I spoke to a few who understood exactly what I was looking for. What you are looking to do is a little unusual but certainly not strange.


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## conorkilleen

circle110 said:


> The way I understand your original question connorkilleen, is that you would like to continue insuring the car with State Farm during the time it is in Mexico (even though all claims in Mexico have to go through a Mexican insurer) so that upon returning to the US you can reinstate and continue to use SF as your carrier. That isn't strange (or stupid) at all. It is exactly what I do.
> 
> That is exactly what I want to do. I will call a few agents and see what we can do. I am wondering if it is a NC issue or not. I find it odd that they would not take my money knowing very well they would not be responsible for the vehicle in Mexico. I'll give some agents a call.


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## circle110

You're right, it could be a NC issue. A well informed agent should be able to tell you if that is the case and, if it is not, they should be able to get you squared away with what you are looking for.


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## conorkilleen

circle110 said:


> You're right, it could be a NC issue. A well informed agent should be able to tell you if that is the case and, if it is not, they should be able to get you squared away with what you are looking for.


Well I spoke to another NC agent for SF and they gave me much different feedback. They said that as long as I maintained a US residence or Mailing address that they would still cover me...I would just be paying for 2 policies of insurance (Mexico and US).

I guess that solves it. I so still have a few calls out to other SF agents in NC hoping to get the same feedback.


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## RVGRINGO

What you really want is a company that will keep your insurance in a 'storage' or 'out of use' mode at a low fee, so that you can keep your plates, yet call them to reinstate full coverage whenever you wish to drive back into the USA. Shop around. If you can't find one, consider other options; particularly where you won't have to get annual inspections or pay heavy taxes on the car each year.


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## mexliving

i think your making things complicated for yourself..... purchase a usa auto insurance for 6 months or 12 months.. cancell the policy over the phone once your in mexico.... some companies charge a 100.00 cancellation fee. keep your mexico auto insurance coverage copy for future reference.....


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## circle110

mexliving said:


> i think your making things complicated for yourself..... purchase a usa auto insurance for 6 months or 12 months.. cancell the policy over the phone once your in mexico.... some companies charge a 100.00 cancellation fee. keep your mexico auto insurance coverage copy for future reference.....


Well, I'd have to say that that would be a far more complicated solution, not less.

All I did was make a 5 minute call to my agent and it was taken care of. Upon returning to the US, I send an email saying "start me up again"... which takes 15-30 seconds. Done. 
No buying and canceling of policies, no paying fees, no saving old useless Mexican policies, no applying for a new policy upon return.

I guess what mexliving says would work but why go through all that trouble when a single phone call to the right agent can solve the problem?


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## conorkilleen

mexliving said:


> i think your making things complicated for yourself..... purchase a usa auto insurance for 6 months or 12 months.. cancell the policy over the phone once your in mexico.... some companies charge a 100.00 cancellation fee. keep your mexico auto insurance coverage copy for future reference.....


I've already said I need US auto insurance to keep my plates and registration valid in NC. I spoke to a few agents so far and both told me after a candid and friendly conversation to be low key about it and just make sure I just "drive back into the US every once in a while" wink wink. Which wont be a problem since Monterrey is very close to the US.

This thread can be closed now. Thanks for everyones help.


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