Traveling to Mexico with a Rental Car

It is usual for car owners, including Car rental companies, to insure their vehicles against any potential liabilities that may arise in case of a road accident. That type of insurance is, however, not enough protection because there is a lot more that can adversely affect the car and its driver besides having an accident. There are issues like theft of the car itself, theft of property being carried in the car, and even the car being vandalized and certain parts of it either destroyed or stolen.

How to be better prepared to cross the border with a rental car

It would be prudent to scrutinize the insurance cover of the car you intend to rent and see where it falls short. This is, particularly, important if your plan is to drive the rental car across the US border into Mexico. First of all, you need to take into account the laws relating to driving in Mexico. Whereas your driving license will do even when you have crossed the border, the third party insurance cover will be irrelevant beyond the Free Trade Zone.

Important points to address:

• The free area is a mere 30km or shorter and so it is advisable that you buy Mexican vehicle insurance as part of your preparation for the trip.

• You and any member of your family you have in the car could get injured and be hospitalized. It is a good idea, therefore, that you think beyond the third party insurance and ensure you have medical cover in place and that it is adequate.

• Spend some more of your own money on insurance if the package you currently have does not cater for liabilities like theft and vandalism.

Other inconveniences on the road that insurance can cater for:

Sometimes we think about accidents and security of the vehicle; and persons injured; but we ignore the inconveniences arising from any road mishaps. Your insurance company could be prompt in sending personnel to take care of the car repairs, paper work on legal issues, and so on. What you may not have envisaged is the need for you to move from the scene of mishap to any other place you had planned. You do not really want to cut short your trip to Baja or any other part of Mexico you had in your plans just because the rental car is broken down and bound to be in the garage for three days or so.

For that reason, you need to have rental car reimbursement as an addition to the basic auto cover. Such reimbursement covers your extra expenses like:

• Any costs you incur to get from one resort to another or any other place in your itinerary

• Paying your alternative rental company directly

• Other incidental costs as stipulated in your insurance policy.

Note that this reimbursement policy is usually relevant even to people who already have comprehensive cover. To be safe as you travel to a foreign country, the best thing is to check your policy document in detail and, if you have time, discuss the scope covered with your current insurance provider.

What the reimbursement cover will not pay

• Do not apply for reimbursement if you bump onto some object in some private compound

• Do not apply for reimbursement if the item you are referring to is not on your policy

In short:

• The particular expense against which you are making a claim must be directly tied to an incident that occurred on the road while you were driving the rental car.

• Also remember that the level of insurance policy you buy is calculated on the basis of the items covered. So, if you chose to limit your policy cover in the first place and you paid a relatively little amount, you will, likewise be limited in the items the insurance will compensate you for. You may click here to purchase your Mexican insurance policy.

All in all, that rental car coverage that deals with your compensation is very crucial even when everything about your Mexican car insurance is in place, because you could find yourself without a car for even weeks if the damage to your rental car was huge. In fact, your model of car might require spares parts that are scarce in Mexico and that could also delay the repairs.