TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » General Discussion

Having grown up in a place & time when NOT having your home insured, simply wasn't done, it's inconceivable to me to not carry coverage on my home & its contents. Many I've talked with scoff at the idea of HO insurance in Baja under the guise that "Cement block construction doesn't burn!"....to which I reply, well the contents certainly DO! Not to mention the very real possibilities of hurricane damage, theft, vandalism, etc., etc.

Do you have it? Yes? No? Please share your thought process on how you came to your own personal decision. This might be a good thread to compare various Insurance companies, their level customer service, rates & experiences & keep it all corraled together.

HO covers more than just fire losses. Theft can be a problem in some areas as well as liability if someone claims you or your property damaged them.

Had a fire in a outbuilding a few years ago and the insurance company paid way more than I expected. Not in position to name the company (don't have the policy with me) but the agent, Alanas Agency in San Felipe did a great job. Since I had to leave for a trip, even paid me the settlement before getting the paperwork for me to sign from the carrier.

Should we answer this before or after we give our our addresses and locations?

I agree with Bajalou. We don't have a casa yet, but I would definitely get H.O. insurance. Depending on the policy, don't some of them cover hurricane damage?

I know that in our area (Washington state) flood and earthquake insurance are option on our policy, but VERY good ideas to have. In some areas, banks won't finance the house unless it has flood insurance.

We'll have to make the decision to buy home insurance or not after we get a little better handle on what our final retirement budget is going to look like. Our priority is going to lean more toward a good health insurance policy. After a lot of research we've decided to maintain a U.S. policy and that will be expensive, so depending on what's leftover we'll make a decision about home insurance.

Yes, we got H/O insurance for our peace mind. It covers fire, theft, vandalism, with full glass coverage. I think it's a bit pricy, but will look into it more when we are there full time. Our agent got it through AIG (boy, I feel safer already!).

While in Baja for 4th of July week, heard a story about vandalism in a vacant house where they went in and took all the copper pipes out of the walls (for resale???), but didn't turn the water off. House had 2' of water in it when the neighbors went to investigate. I don't need that!!

I heard a rumor that Mexican and American firefighters and police are reving up due to an anticipated increase in earthquakes in so. california/mexico and people are buying earthquake insurance which is cheaper in Baja. We felt the 4.0 on the 11th while near Rosarito.

I have not got around to house insurance yet. In Canada everyone gets it. Can not have a mortgage on a house without it.

My house is solid cement and in a very protected gated community. What could go wrong?? Famous last words. Vandalism and hurricanes?

Any recommendations on insurance companies in Cabo San Lucas. How much does it cost? What does it cover?

Larry

Does anyone have advice on buying house insurance? I am looking to get insurance on a vacation home in Cabo San Lucas. Any companies to recommend?

A friend of mine down there said to try these guys...

http://www.caboinsurance.com/

Yes, if you can get it for your particular situation, what ever that may be.. now I'm renting, and had asked about it.. but we don't have that much down here.. so opted not now..

But, if we owned a house I would for certainly want the "protection"

Thanks

I'm still up in the air about Mexico Home Insurance. After Jimena, there were so many stories of insurance refusing to pay for "covered" damages.

My neighbor has a Mexico Homeowners policy (Don't know who with) and had some roof damage from Jimena. He claimed the policy specifically covered hurricane damage. They constantly blew him off, never sent an adjuster, and finally offered him $150 dollars for "clean up". After months of fighting with them, he gave up, accepted the $150 and promptly cancelled the policy.

I'd have to hear some good examples of a specific company who provided good service and paid when they were supposed to before I spend the pricey monthly fee.

Woo, "situation" would include living in area's prone to exactly what you are referring too

I believe in many cases in an area which experience this type of damage would make a difference in 1. If one can even get a policy and 2. If one would see coverage extended in the event of loss.

As if was off topic and out of Baja, I didn't want to bring up FL and Insurance coverage

But, most insurance coverage has in my experience been along those lines when any type of "loss" is experienced by the policy holder..... things just seem to change, when you want your coverage to become effective in order to cover your loss

Most Insurance Companies are as a whole driven by "bottom lines" ....

But, I would investigate it in the area where on is located, and would not rule it out until one has determine that effective coverage can not be obtained..

Just what you and Legs are doing ...

Really very reasonable approach in my book, had a house fire once...

I had a house fire once, too....in a rental & I didn't have renters insurance!

Wesson, I think you either read my post wrong, or I wasn't clear in how I wrote it. I DO have HO insurance, always have on all property I own. The fire years ago in the rental was a very expensive lesson for both my room-mate & myself. We lost a lot, but thankfully in the states, we were able to claim the loss on income taxes. It's genetically encoded in me to insure my property & possessions.

That said, HO insurance in Mexico marches to a totally different drummer & set of ethics than it does in the states.

I've only submitted one claim (Hurricane Marty) against a Mexican policy. Unfortunately, my claim was....to the penny....the amount of my deductible!

After Hurricane John, the Mexican insurance industry took such a hit in payouts that the entire industry either went bankrupt or raised their premiums to a prohibitive point. The entire industry as a whole, has increased premiums & upped the deductible a LOT! Most Mexicans do not carry either home nor auto insurance, it's simply too expensive! Qualitas Insurance decided to get totally out of the HO insurance business after Hurricane John, unfortunately, they felt no moral obligation to INFORM the owners of all the HO policies they'd sold! I found out by accident & went into the Qualitas office here in La Paz.

BajaNomad Forums - "Peace, Love & Fish Tacos"

When they pulled out my folder & there was a note clipped inside the front cover stating they has been unable to contact me, despite the fact they had both my cell phone & P.O. Box mailing address, I hadn't had any missed calls nor mail from them! They chose to bail DURING hurricane season & CONDUSEF (the insurance regulatory commission) chose to believe Qualitas when they told them they HAD notified me personally....despite the immediately destroyed note in my folder to the contrary! It was my word against Qualitas' word & I lost. I, and many other others, were uninsured for months without our knowledge! I canceled my vehicle insurance immediately, despite the fact they refused to refund the remaining time on the policy. My personal experience & feelings about Qualitas' ethics were reinforced after the infamous flood at the La Paz Mini Storage yard in September 2007.

BajaNomad Forums - "Peace, Love & Fish Tacos"

It took Qualitas 2 months to fly a rep down from TJ because the local Qualitas office refused to send a local person out to the yard. The first payouts that I heard about after the flood were after 2 1/2 months after filing the claim!

I'm now insured with Seguros Atlas...."http://www.segurosatlas.com.mx"....but haven't had to file a claim for casa or vehicle, so have no idea about how they handle claims.

I do know that to get hurricane coverage, you have to go with the full coverage, i.e., you can't pick & choose...it's all or nothing to get hurricane coverage.

Each of us has different circumstances....

• full or part time occupancy
• financial (could we afford to replace a total loss out of pocket), weighed against annual premium cost
• different locations mean different potential threats....I'm not worried about flooding here on top of my hill, but I'm much more exposed to hurricanes & they hit this area regularly

Wooo's location is more remote & isolated, but hurricanes aren't all that common in his area. Bottom line is that we each have to make our decisions based on our own personal circumstances & location. Then, too, there's the risk of whether or not we've chosen a good stable company who will pay out fairly in the event of a claim. IMO, kinda like playing the slots with insurance companies down here! Knowing all this, I still choose to insure my property & possessions. If there ever comes a time to admit how stupid my decision was, I'll be sure to get back to you!

No, I understood your post, as it was perfectly clear.. yes or no on insurance, in my case I decided no, and factors which influenced the decision making process

Just shared my thoughts and/or experience which helped me arrive at mine and/or our decision not to obtain renters insurance.

And closed off with in agreement that finding out as much as possible to make an informed decesion, is a very prudent approach.

If my words were unclear, that was not my intent, was only trying to share

Contents burn. They do so at a very high temperature and in a concrete building(firebox) you have a significant potential of spalling and cracking. The amount of structural degradation can/will depend on the quality of the original construction.
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Originally Posted by LIG

I have not got around to house insurance yet. In Canada everyone gets it. Can not have a mortgage on a house without it.

My house is solid cement and in a very protected gated community. What could go wrong?? Famous last words. Vandalism and hurricanes?

Any recommendations on insurance companies in Cabo San Lucas. How much does it cost? What does it cover?

Larry

I live in Punta Banda. My house is insured through MAPFRE. You have to pay close attention to the wording of the policy It was insured as typical building materials which
includes concrete block as typical.
My house is stud framed with sheetrock and stucco, after reviewing I did not have enough coverage.
Things we would think are part of the structure are considered personal property so you have to include them as such .
I can not comment as to the effectiveness of the policy as I fortunately never have filed a claim.

I believe it depends on how much of your wealth you have invested. If it is an amount that you can easily recover from in case of loss, save money by not having insurance and possibly come out on the positive side.
However, if most of your retirement funds are invested in that dwelling, I wouldn't think of doing without.
In our case, we could never again build our house.

Originally Posted by edinnopolo

I believe it depends on how much of your wealth you have invested. If it is an amount that you can easily recover from in case of loss, save money by not having insurance and possibly come out on the positive side.
However, if most of your retirement funds are invested in that dwelling, I wouldn't think of doing without.
In our case, we could never again build our house.

Agreed

We bought homeowners insurance from a local broker in Loreto a little over a year ago and it has already paid off. A few months ago we had a break-in while we were in town, it was a quick "grab and run". They got a good laptop, a Nikon DSLR camera and a variety of hand and power tools. They got in through the garage side door. We called our insurance agent, she helped us file the police report and prepare the insurance claim. About three weeks later, the claim was paid. I submitted a list of all the items taken and also documentation of what the new replacement cost would be, mostly from internet ads, no original receipts required. I claimed the items to be between 2 - 3 years old and the insurance company paid full retail less 30% depreciation. With careful shopping I was actually able to replace all the items for less than what the claim paid.The annual cost is a little over $600 USD and even covers hurricane damage. I'm sold.

Which insurance company carries the policy???