What your US policy does and does not do
Almost every US auto policy stops at the border. Some extend physical damage a short distance into Mexico — commonly around 25 miles — and even those do not extend liability, which is the part that matters.
Check your own declarations page before you assume anything. If it says nothing about Mexico, it covers nothing in Mexico.
Tu póliza de Estados Unidos no te cubre en México. Pregúntanos antes de cruzar.
What Mexico actually requires
Mexican law requires liability insurance issued by a company authorised in Mexico. A US policy, a US insurance card and a US carrier’s name mean nothing to a Mexican authority at the roadside.
The required coverage is liability — damage and injury you cause to other people. Coverage for your own vehicle, legal assistance and medical expenses are usually available as well, and on a trip of any length they are worth having.
What happens after an accident without it
This is why the coverage exists and why people who have needed it never skip it again.
- An accident causing injury is treated as a criminal matter in Mexico until fault is determined.
- Without recognised insurance, the vehicle is commonly impounded.
- The driver can be held until financial responsibility is established.
- A policy from an authorised Mexican insurer, and the legal assistance that usually comes with it, is what resolves that quickly.
The trips people forget
- A day in Ciudad Juárez. The distance is short; the border is still the border.
- A weekend in Chihuahua or on the coast.
- Driving a rental or somebody else’s car across.
- A work trip in a company vehicle — commercial use has its own requirements.
Before you go
- Buy the Mexican coverage before you cross, not at the bridge.
- Carry the policy in the vehicle, printed.
- Check that the dates cover the whole trip, including the day you come back.
- Make sure the vehicle on the policy is the vehicle you are actually taking.
- If the car is financed, check whether the lender requires anything in writing.
We write it, and we shop it
We sell Mexican auto insurance, and we shop it the same way we shop everything else — across several authorized Mexican carriers rather than whichever one comes up first. The limits, the deductible and what the legal assistance actually includes are not the same at all of them.
A short trip can be written in minutes. Call or text us with the dates, the vehicle and where you are going, and you will have it before you leave.
Sí, vendemos seguro mexicano y lo cotizamos con varias compañías. Llámanos o mándanos un mensaje.
- A US policy does not cover liability in Mexico. Mexico does not recognise it.
- Mexican law requires liability from a company authorised in Mexico.
- An injury accident is a criminal matter there until fault is settled.
- Buy before you cross, carry it printed, check the dates both ways.