# mexican car insurance



## rbpilot (Jul 18, 2012)

Has anyone input for Mexican car insurance online??
Thanks


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

rbpilot said:


> Has anyone input for Mexican car insurance online??
> Thanks


I put "car insurance" in the Google Custom Search box at the top of this forum page and got "About 4,960 results (0.31 seconds)".


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## rbpilot (Jul 18, 2012)

*clarification*

Meant online purchase of insurance and printing the policy prior to driving to Mexico.
I had done the search in 2.3 seconds and not seen any information.
thanks


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Costco has it and you can print policy in English and Spanish, mine is about $350 a year for a 2011 Subaru Limited....


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

rbpilot said:


> Meant online purchase of insurance and printing the policy prior to driving to Mexico.
> I had done the search in 2.3 seconds and not seen any information.
> thanks


Do a Google search for Mexican Insurance sold in the US. You will find many suppliers.


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

Be very careful when you purchase Mexican Auto Insurance. The insurance companies are not regulated in the same way that they are in the states. Since it is very hard to sue for damages here the insurance has many loop holes regarding collision. The most important thing (IMHO) to remember is that when you have an accident you must contact your insurance company right a way.

With Mexico's tort system they tend to hold everyone and then release the ones who they prove not guilty. The one who is left is in trouble.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

Three or four times I've used the on-line services offered by Lewis & Lewis out of Los Angeles. They represent Qualitas, one of the major Mexican insurers. The on-line procedure is very user-friendly, and your policy is e-mailed for almost immediate printing. The rates are competitive with any of the other websites I've investigated.
Make no mistake, however, that if you have a claim, you deal directly with Qualitas in Mexico, not with Lewis & Lewis.

We had a (very fortunately) minor traffic accident in Oaxaca and it took the Qualitas rep. 3 or 4 hours to arrive from a town 75 km away.

Another year our car was stolen in Zihuatanejo, then found a couple of days later, totally wrecked. It took Qualitas almost 5 months to settle that "write-off" claim with me.....three months after we had returned home to Canada. On several occasions I had to appeal to Lewis & Lewis to try and get some action out of Qualitas, which L&L reluctantly did......but that's the limit of L&L's involvement.
I insured again with Qualitas/Lewis & Lewis a couple of times after that. Better the devil you know.....


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## rbpilot (Jul 18, 2012)

thanks for the help and info
roy


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## telcoman (Feb 11, 2010)

Unfortunately you never know how good they are until you have a claim. I have used Lewis & Lewis, Don Smith & San Xavier in the past. Never had a claim. I do have a list of the ones I believe to be reputable on my web site. You will find it listed under the FAQs posts on this page (Recreation Vehicles). I based it on reports from others, but without any persoanl experience, you take your chances.

I should mention that Lewis & Lewis includes medical coverage in Mexico, but it also costs a bit more.


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## Scooterbum (Feb 1, 2013)

I will be purchasing a Mexican plated car in the next few weeks. I have a valid US drivers license.
Do Mexican auto insurance company's require a Mexican (state) issued drivers license ??
I am a permanent resident. I have called a few issuers of Mexican insurance and have not as yet received a "straight" yes or no answer.


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## ABCinATL (Jun 19, 2010)

If you are a permanent resident it would be easier / less hassle for you just to get a mexican drivers license. In the DF you don't even have to take any test (written, driving or otherwise) - I think it is probably the same across Mexico but could be wrong.

If you have an accident or get pulled over, having a Mexican issued drivers license could save you some hassle (in my opinion). I could see it now, them giving you crap over not having a Mx-issued drivers license, saying insurance does not cover in case of accident, etc. You know how it can be sometimes in Mexico...many things open to how they want to interpret things. Just get the mexican DL as a pre-emptive thing, not that expensive anyway.

Good luck.


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## PanchodeSMA (Jul 25, 2013)

chicois8 said:


> Costco has it and you can print policy in English and Spanish, mine is about $350 a year for a 2011 Subaru Limited....


Costco? I searched their site and only found a relationship with Ameriprise for US insurance. I searched Google and got lots of companies offering coverage and making all kinds of claims. Would like to buy from someone reputable.


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

I've heard that Mexican Auto Insurance Online - Baja Bound Mexico Insurance Services is good. You can do the policy online or call them. I'm moving next month, and will be insuring my van through them.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

PanchodeSMA said:


> Costco? I searched their site and only found a relationship with Ameriprise for US insurance. I searched Google and got lots of companies offering coverage and making all kinds of claims. Would like to buy from someone reputable.


This is the Costco website to buy tourist auto insurance from:

https://www.bonitawest.com/Costco/frm_Home.asp

Remember this type of insurance is for tourists not for folks/expats who live in Mexico...


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


Scooterbum said:



I will be purchasing a Mexican plated car in the next few weeks. I have a valid US drivers license.
Do Mexican auto insurance company's require a Mexican (state) issued drivers license ??
I am a permanent resident. I have called a few issuers of Mexican insurance and have not as yet received a "straight" yes or no answer.

Click to expand...

_We have carried insurance on our Mexican car bought at the Baruqui Dealership n Guadalajara since 2004 when we bought it. Our insurer is AXA and our outstanding agent in Guadalajara is Jesus Tejeda. Two things:

* When we bought the car we held California driver´s licenses and no Mexican licenses. That was no problem for AXA and we were fully insured as, in those days, FM-3 visa holders and residents of the Lake Chapala area. We have since attained "Inmigrado" status - the equivalent of today´s residente permanente. We now both carry Mexican driver´s licenses but in our first few years here we carried California licenses with no problems whatsoever.
* Having a local agent to go to bat for you is extremely important. A couple of years ago we were involved in an accident in Chiapas near Tapachula right on the border with Guatemala on a lonely back road on the slopes of the Tacaná Volcano. This is a semi- outlaw area and a bad place in which to have an accident and be stranded. While we were recovering from the accident, the local hillbilly cops wh had shown up ostensibly to help, stole my wallet by picking my pocket and, when we complained to the federales about the crooked local cops, they demanded whatever money we had left to give us a ride back to our hotel. Then the taller that fixed our car or the tow truck driver - we don´t know which- stole everything in the car including the jack. When we found ourselves in that unpleasant situation and wanted to make sure the insurance company took care of us, we called our agent in Guadalajara who coordinated with the Tapachula AXA agents and we were taken care of by that team of agents. We believe that, even if you pay a little bit higher premium, you always want a local agent in Mexico rather than some U.S. agency or hands -off Mexican agent who tells you to deal with the insurance company for occasions when the sh*t really hits the fan.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

[_QUOTE=ABCinATL;1088154]If you are a permanent resident it would be easier / less hassle for you just to get a mexican drivers license. *In the DF you don't even have to take any test (written, driving or otherwise) - **I think it is probably the same across Mexico but could be wrong.*_

You are indeed wrong. I hold driver´s licenses issued by both Jalisco and Chiapas states. In both of those states you must take written tests to be issued licenses and, unless you have a current valid license from another state or foreign jurisdiction, you must take a driving test as well. You also must pass an eye examination. Both Jalisco and Chiapas issue licenses for four year terms requiring a renewal for another four years at the expiration of the term. In the case of Chiapas, they will only issue a license for a term not exceeding the renewal or expiration date of any temporary residence visa you show them. 

In the corrupt transiito office in Chapala, Jalisco, it is my understanding that they will accept a bribe in lieu of the driver´s test but that is just what I have heard from others whom I trust implicitly. Since I had a current driver´s license from California when I applied for Jalisco license, the driver´s test was waived.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

Hound Dog said:


> We have carried insurance on our Mexican car bought at the Baruqui Dealership n Guadalajara since 2004 when we bought it. Our insurer is AXA and our outstanding agent in Guadalajara is Jesus Tejeda. ........
> * Having a local agent to go to bat for you is extremely important.......We believe that, even if you pay a little bit higher premium, you always want a local agent in Mexico rather than some U.S. agency or hands -off Mexican agent who tells you to deal with the insurance company for occasions when the sh*t really hits the fan.


I assumed the original poster 'way back was a tourist wanting a short-term policy that could be purchased over the Internet. As far as I know, the agent in Los Angeles I recommended is not authorized to sell car insurance to residents of Mexico. And anyone purchasing such insurance through a US agent should understand that, in the event of a claim, that US agent won't be providing much, if any, assistance. Your claim will be handled by the Mexican insurance company.
In the case of Qualitas, ("our" Mexican insurance company, on a policy purchased on-line through Lewis & Lewis in Los Angeles) they have a toll-free number that connects, presumably, to their Mexico City head office. In our case, "the system worked", both for our accident in Oaxaca and, two years later, when our car was stolen in Zihuatanejo.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

[_QUOTE=HolyMole;1344857]I assumed the original poster 'way back was a tourist wanting a short-term policy that could be purchased over the Internet. As far as I know, the agent in Los Angeles I recommended is not authorized to sell car insurance to residents of Mexico. And anyone purchasing such insurance through a US agent should understand that, in the event of a claim, that US agent won't be providing much, if any, assistance. Your claim will be handled by the Mexican insurance company.
In the case of Qualitas, ("our" Mexican insurance company, on a policy purchased on-line through Lewis & Lewis in Los Angeles) they have a toll-free number that connects, presumably, to their Mexico City head office. In our case, "the system worked", both for our accident in Oaxaca and, two years later, when our car was stolen in Zihuatanejo.[/QUOTE]_

HolyMole:

Your partial quote of my comment and response presumes I am responding to the OP who does, in fact, seem to be a tourist but I was actually responding to later thread poster Scooterbum who inquired as to whether or not a Mexican driver´s license was required for insuring a new Mexican car he was purchasing in Mexico and I was stating in my post that, no, a U.S. or other recognized foreign driver´s license would suffice for residents in this country whether temporary or permanent and whether driving a Mexican or foreign plated car. My further advice to Scooterbum was that, when purchasing insurance for a Mexican plated car, Mexican residents should (in my opinion from 12 years of experience) use local agents rather than agents operating out of the U.S. or elsewhere out of the country. Of course, that option is not available for tourists who must have their Mexican car insurance intact for their foreign car before entering the country if they are wise and may need to buy insurance on line or at the border

One thing that puzzles me about your continued use of Qualitas and Lewis and Lewis after your experience in Oaxaca, is that, in an earlier post, you state that (1) it took Qualitas´adjuster three to four hours to get to your accident site - a distance of some 75 kilometers, (2) it took Qualitas five months to settle your claim and (3) when you appealed to Lewis and Lewis to intercede on your behalf, they did so only reluctantly. Yet you continue to use Qualitas and Lewis and Lewis as "..the devil you know...." That is certainly your privilege but the Oaxaca incident as you relate it does not inspire confidence as three to four hours for the Qualitas adjuster to travel 75 kilometers is unacceptable in my book, especially on a rural road in Oaxaca, five months to settle a claim for a totaled car sounds outrageuos and there is no way your agent should have expressed reluctance to intercede on your behalf. 

Since, in Mexico, as in the U.S., you can´t leave the accident scene until the adjuster has done his job or any claim will not be honored and you may end up in the pokey , the adjuster´s taking five hours to travel 75 kilometers makes for a touchy situation for you since rural roads in Oaxaca State can be downright dangerous if nightfall comes while you wait for the adjuster. When we had a one car accident on the cuota from Minatitlan to La Tinaja in Veracruz State, we waited two hours for the adjuster to drive some 200 kilometers and one reason he took so long is that he got lost with poor drections from the CAPUFE* people helping us. We were freaked that we might be out on the lonely stretch of cuota in the middle of the Veracruz swamps as night fell with a disabled car, three dogs and a car filled to the brim with our belongings. Fortunately, we got out of there before dark but four hours could have resulted in our having become sitting ducks on a very dangerous and deserted road. in the dark. Serious and dangerous stuff. 

I realize that tourists don´t have the same options that Mexican residents have but in the case of someone like Scooterbum, resident in Mexico and buying a Mexican plated car, I say, if you are buying a Mexican plated car, shop around for the best local agents repesenting the most reputable insurance companies, not some foreign agent getting you the best premium discount from his office in the U.S. from where rural Oaxaca State may as well be the other side of the moon. 

* CAPUFE _(Camino y Puente Federales de Ingresos y Servicios Conexos)_ , is the agency that manages federal toll roads and removes debris and renders help to motorists in need. In our case in Veracruz, we had run over an obstrucion in the roadbed which the CAPUFE representatives were on their way to remove which was our good fortune. Tourists and residents alike should keep in mind that CAPUFE also administers the toll road insurance program which iinsures motorists against defects in toll road roadways as in our case with ahzardous debris in the right-of-way. Had we changed out flattened tire and driven on toward Lake Chapala, we would have had no claim with CAPUFE bur since we waited for the CAPUFE adjuster to assess the damage, CAPUFE paid for all damages to our car. Be sure to any claim for damages.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

The last sentence of my post just preceding this one should have stated that it is imperative that you hang on to those toll road receipts as you drive the cuotas throughout Mexico until your journey ends as those receipts will be needed for any insurance claims against CAPUFE for defects or debris in the roadways. If you stay put and have those receipts, CAPUFE will respond and help you with utmost courtesy.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Hound Dog said:


> The last sentence of my post just preceding this one should have stated that it is imperative that you hang on to those toll road receipts as you drive the cuotas throughout Mexico until your journey ends as those receipts will be needed for any insurance claims against CAPUFE for defects or debris in the roadways. If you stay put and have those receipts, CAPUFE will respond and help you with utmost courtesy.


I think they have Green Angels that will give you enough gas to get to a Pemex for a fee and arrange to tow your car someplace close if you keep the receipt when on a cuota. Also they are mechanics and have a few extra parts and know first aid.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


AlanMexicali said:



I think they have Green Angels that will give you enough gas to get to a Pemex for a fee and arrange to tow your car someplace close if you keep the receipt when on a cuota. Also they are mechanics and have a few extra parts and know first aid.

Click to expand...

_Yes, the Green Angels will help you with a tow or sufficient gas t get to a gas station and refill and there are shade tree mechanics all up and down that freeway who will tinker with your car and may actually rubber band the thing thereby mobilizing it but that is not the point of my post. All Mexican toll roads managed by CAPUFE carry insurance covering motorists whose vehicles are damaged or incapacitated on the toll roads as a result of roadway hazards inflicting that damage such as unrepaired in the roadway falling off of other vehicles not yet removed by CAPUFE patrols which, when inadvertently run over by the insured´s vehicle, damage that vehicle and perhaps even incapacitate it as in our case. If the motorist wishes to avail themselves of any insurance claim with CAPUFE once the motorist has been damaged on a toll road as a result of road hazards the responsibilty of CAPUFE, the motorist must:
* Have the toll receipt covering the stretch of highway on which the accident took place.
* Remain at the scene until CAPUFE has been notified and CAPUFE´s adjuster has visited the scene and assessed the damage with a formal report assigning blame to CAPUFE´s negligence. In our case in Veracruz, CAPUFE was on its way to remove the hazard, which was a piece of metal having fallen from a passing truck, but we ran over that obstruction before they could get there and they acknowledged responsibility for that event. They helped us change the tire as we had no jack (the jack having had been stolen), assessed the damage as such as that the car could be driven on to Guadalajara for repairs rather that require repairs locally and provided us with a written report and the name of the CAPUFE repair shop in Guadalajara assigned to do CAPUFE work.
* Had we driven on or been rescued by the Green Angels and left the scene before the CAPUFE adjustor did his work, CAPUFE would have been absolved of any responsibility and we would have had no claim against the insurance company. That claim, as it turned out, came to a substantial amount of money because of unseen damage to the undercarriage. 

It is essential that the motorist wait at the scene until the CAPUFE adjustor arrives and does his work and to fail to do so will result in the motorist´s relinquishing any right under federal toll road insurance coverage. We waited and CAPUFE could not have been more couteous and accomodating and took good care of us with the Guadalajara taller with no red tape. Now, we were stuck there and couldn´t leave but had we done so, that is fine since ir was a single car accident but the CAPUFE insurance would have gone ¡_POOF!. _

BY the way, as an aside, that day we were driving from San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas to Orizaba, Veracruz because there is a hotel in Orizaba that will take our dogs. This is about a seven to eight hour drive. Even though this is not such a long drive, we left early in the morning with the intention of getting ito Orizaba by mid-afternoon and it is damn lucky we did so as the accident happened about 1:00PM, well before dark giving us a lot of time to get the hell out of that God-forsaken swamp before dreaded nightfall in the middle of nowhere. Ha we left San Cristóbal with the intention of pulling into Orizaba at dusk, we may have been waiting for that adjustor in the pitch black darkness. We take long drives often over desolate roads and advise the reader to always assume something like this could happen to you as well. You do not want to be out there during the night if at all possible.


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## PanchodeSMA (Jul 25, 2013)

I contacted my US carrier, USAA, and they recommended Bravo 800-442-7286.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

......One thing that puzzles me about your continued use of Qualitas and Lewis and Lewis after your experience in Oaxaca, is that, in an earlier post, you state that (1) it took Qualitas´adjuster three to four hours to get to your accident site - a distance of some 75 kilometers, (2) it took Qualitas five months to settle your claim and (3) when you appealed to Lewis and Lewis to intercede on your behalf, they did so only reluctantly. Yet you continue to use Qualitas and Lewis and Lewis as "..the devil you know...." That is certainly your privilege but the Oaxaca incident as you relate it does not inspire confidence as three to four hours for the Qualitas adjuster to travel 75 kilometers is unacceptable in my book, especially on a rural road in Oaxaca, five months to settle a claim for a totaled car sounds outrageuos and there is no way your agent should have expressed reluctance to intercede on your behalf. 


* CAPUFE _(Camino y Puente Federales de Ingresos y Servicios Conexos)_ , is the agency that manages federal toll roads and removes debris and renders help to motorists in need. In our case in Veracruz, we had run over an obstrucion in the roadbed which the CAPUFE representatives were on their way to remove which was our good fortune. Tourists and residents alike should keep in mind that CAPUFE also administers the toll road insurance program which iinsures motorists against defects in toll road roadways as in our case with ahzardous debris in the right-of-way. Had we changed out flattened tire and driven on toward Lake Chapala, we would have had no claim with CAPUFE bur since we waited for the CAPUFE adjuster to assess the damage, CAPUFE paid for all damages to our car. Be sure to any claim for damages.[/QUOTE]

You've done your homework, Hound Dog. Your point about me sticking with Qualitas is well taken. I thought I'd better check my own records to see if I had perhaps exaggerated some of the details, but no, it seems my recollections were correct.
To clarify a little:
Our accident in January/06 was right on Route 200, the main coastal highway, on the outskirts of Rio Grande Tututepec, Oaxaca, a town maybe an hour west of Puerto Escondido, which was our destination. It happened at 1:20 pm on a Saturday afternoon. My car collided with a taxi. We used the taxi driver's cellphone to contact Qualitas at their toll free Mexico City number, who then contacted their closest agent, a fellow living in Pochutla, a town maybe 110 km further east. He arrived at 5 pm....so approximately 3 1/2 hours later. He was a man in his 60's, driving a very beat-up old Volkswagen and was wearing a grease-stained t-shirt....like he'd perhaps been working on his car at the time he got the call. Or maybe the Volks had broken down on the trip from Pochutla. Anyway, since there were no injuries, it was a beautiful day, the damages were not extremely serious...... and this was Mexico........ we weren't too angry about the delay. To his credit, he knew exactly what he was doing, and was able to have us back on our way after an hour or so of arguing with the cabbie. Total charge to me? 100 pesos in return for using the cabbie's cell phone. But you're right: if it had happened after nightfall, on a remote road somewhere....
The second experience with Qualitas, when our car was stolen and totaled in Zihuatanejo in Feb/07 was as i described earlier. The final outcome - a cheque from Qualitas for what they considered the fair write-off value of the vehicle - took five months. I kind of expected inefficiency from Qualitas, but what I found most aggravating was Lewis & Lewis reluctance to get involved in speeding up the resolution of my claim. I wasn't getting timely responses to my e-mails from Qualitas' English-speaking agents in Tijuana, (that's the Qualitas office who processed my claim), and had to plead with L & L in Los Angeles to contact Qualitas to find out why they were taking so long to respond to my e-mails. At all times, Lewis & Lewis made it clear that they had no involvement in handling my claim - it was a Qualitas policy.
If other tourists have had better experience, with their US agents actually going to bat for them on a car accident in Mexico covered by a Mexican insurance company, I hope they will share that information on this Forum. We expect to be driving down again this fall, and will be purchasing car insurance in the next couple of months.
Thanks for the info on CAPUFE. It's news to us.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

HolyMole:

I´m pleased the information on CAPUFE was helpful although Highway 200, a mighty lonely road in many places, especially Guerrero and Michoacan, does not come under their jurisdiction. If you are on a toll road in the future, these guys are like a Godsend and CAPUFE provided great service to us with the utmost courtesy. Remember, hold on to those toll gate receipts at least until the next toll gate. CAPUFE´s service on toll roads, follow-through with assigning a convenient taller for repairs and handling insurance claims expeditiously was exemplary unlike many public service agency responses in Mexico (or the U.S. for that matter and forget France).

As you are aware from experience, the true test of the mettle of a good insurance agent is when the insured has a claim, especially a complicated claim where the insurance company may have some weasel room to get out of paying. The case that tested the mettle of our AXA Guadalajara agent, Jesus Tejeda, came about when we were living in our seasonal home in San Cristóbal de Las Casas and I had to have an emergency gall bladder operation. While the physicians and hospitals in Guadalajara near where we live on Lake Chapala are outstanding and highly rated, there is not a single hospital in all of Chiapas that meets the minimum criteria of AXA for a top rated hospital and in San Cristóbal the hospitals are considered by AXA to be marginal at best or even unacceptable altogether so, when I was forced to have my operation in that city´s Colonial Hospital or fly back to Guadalajara when I was near death´s door, San Cristóbal it was. Since I was compelled to pay cash for the operation and follow-up hospitalization in San Cristóbal and claim reimbursement from AXA later and I needed legal facturas from all physicians and clinics and hospitals for proof of payment acceptable to AXA to comply with their reimbursement criteria and since just about everybody in Chiapas, including the most reputable doctors, hospitals and pharmacies is a tax cheat, getting legally recognized facturas which must be reported to Hacienda for tax purposes, was almost impossible. Every service provider in this fiasco wanted to give me ordinary, non-reportable receipts so they could cheat the tax man and getting actual, legally recognized facturas was like pulling teeth. 

That´s where my agent became essential.

First of all, my agent offered to have me flown to Mexico City or Guadalajara for the operation at the expense of the insurance company but, as I was too sick for that alternative, when I informed him I was compelled to have the operation in San Cristóbal, he immediately warned me that, since there were no accredited hospitals there, I would have to pay and apply for reimbursement and that it was imperative that I acquire true, legal facturas for all services rendered in order to affect a claim. Well, somtimes I was able to get the correct paperwork and sometimes I wasn´t since when they cheat the tax man in Chiapas they are serious about it. As a result, the paperwork I submitted to the insurance company was a hodgepodge of legal facturas and normal, informal receipts and my agent went to his superiors at AXA and worked miracles with that messy claim, getting me maximum reimbursements on almost all expenses through his hard work and personal commitment to maximize his service to me. To me, this guy earned his commission many times over and I shudder to think of what would have happened to me if I had had some discount local or foreign agent hiding behind his desk when he saw me showing up with that paperworks from a hospital in the middle of nowhere.

Never underestimate the value of a good insurance agent, I say.


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