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From the San Diego Union Tribune, 1-2-2012
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TIJUANA -- Starting Jan.1, Baja California motorists must meet a requirement that will sound familiar to drivers north of the border: They must have liability insurance.

The state passed a reform in 2011 that makes such insurance mandatory. Minimum coverage will cost approximately 860 pesos a year (about $62) for damage to third parties of at least 260,000 pesos (about $18,632).

“From the moment you drive the public streets of the State of Baja California it’s mandatory to have an insurance policy, no matter if the vehicle license is current or not, if the vehicle is from another state or even if the car does not have a license ,” said Arturo Alvarado, a tax collector.

The state is asking drivers to contact their insurance company to obtain information about the various auto liability coverage options. The state will not offer auto insurance.

“You run the risk of losing everything (in an auto accident),” Alvarado said. “That’s why it’s so important to have liability coverage. There are so many cases when someone hurts someone else but doesn’t have the ability to pay for the accident.”

Starting in January, every motorist that obtains or renews their vehicle registration and license will have to present proof of valid insurance.

More information is available at:

-- Baja California government office in the Río zone

-- By phoning (664) 172-3017 or (800) 027-3999, if dialing from Baja California

-- State government’s official site

Omar.millan@sandiegored.com

Will drivers license insurance coverage suffice ?

Originally Posted by LLL

Will drivers license insurance coverage suffice ?

As long as it is written for Baja/Mexico.

See the attached link:

Mexican Driver's License Insurance - Baja Bound Mexican Insurance Services

Originally Posted by LLL

Will drivers license insurance coverage suffice ?

They say it will, but that will only cover people with a foreign address. It isn't available to Nationals, and what is available to them is expensive. Generally speaking, they won't buy it, so this whole BS joke will revert to just another extortion aid for the police....as though they need more help.

Originally Posted by DENNIS

They say it will, but that will only cover people with a foreign address. It isn't available to Nationals, and what is available to them is expensive. Generally speaking, they won't buy it, so this whole BS joke will revert to just another extortion aid for the police....as though they need more help.

Unless the insurance is alot higher for nationals a basic liability insurance policy can be had for as little as $100 per year. That's less than $10 a month for insurance. Is this what your talking about as being expensive?

Liability insurance for my BCS-plated car has averaged about 1500 pesos /yr. For some folks that may be hard to come up with at one time, but not as hard as paying out of pocket for an accident. My neighbor was hit by another uninsured driver a couple of years ago. Both cars were totaled and hauled to the impound yard. The other guy was declared at fault and ordered to pay my neighbor 12,000 pesos for her very old car. She had minor injuries (black eye, bump on the head, sore shoulder) but didn't require hospital treatment, or he'd have had to pay for that, too.

Originally Posted by BohemiaBeerBash

Unless the insurance is alot higher for nationals a basic liability insurance policy can be had for as little as $100 per year. That's less than $10 a month for insurance. Is this what your talking about as being expensive?

Which Mexican insurance company will underwrite a Mexican National to drive a Mexico plated vehicle for that low price?

Originally Posted by DENNIS

Which Mexican insurance company will underwrite a Mexican National to drive a Mexico plated vehicle for that low price?

I was asking you a question? I have no idea what mexican insurance companies charge their own citizens. I was seeking an answer comparison.

The rates for any & all coverage are the same for Mexican nationals as for foreigners driving Mexican-plated vehicles. This is not an area I've seen "gringo" pricing structure applied.

Originally Posted by longlegsinlapaz

The rates for any & all coverage are the same for Mexican nationals as for foreigners driving Mexican-plated vehicles. This is not an area I've seen "gringo" pricing structure applied.

I thought it might be similar. If you can't afford $10 a month how can one afford the price of gas for driving around? I would think Carpooling would be in order there....

Originally Posted by longlegsinlapaz

The rates for any & all coverage are the same for Mexican nationals as for foreigners driving Mexican-plated vehicles. This is not an area I've seen "gringo" pricing structure applied.

Wrong. The policies sold to drivers of current foreign plated cars, such as California, who have a stateside address......the drivers license policy being just one such policy...... are not available to clients who don't satisfy this criteria. That would be Mexican Nationals or anyone else who drives a Mexican plated vehicle.
This will also exclude National drivers of cars from the states if the driver has no corresponding DL....stateside drivers license for stateside plates.
The stateside mailing address is mandatory for these policies, so that would rule out most Nationals living in Mexico.
As well as the DL policy, one can get a liability policy on a particular vehicle as well for the same price, although the driver will be restricted to that particular vehicle.

The high price of insurance for Nationals is one of the reasons "hit 'n run" is a national pastime.

At this point, BeerBash, it doesn't sound like anyone's going to believe anything I say, so go do some real homework.....and be careful who you listen to here.

Dennis, you lost me. I don't doubt that insurance rates may be high for Mexicans driving foreign-plated cars, but wouldn't they be a minority? Legs and I and others are talking about insurance for cars registered in Mexico. To my knowledge, as a foreign resident, I don't pay any more or less for liability insurance with my BCS-plated car and BCS license than I would as a Mexican resident. My policy is with Grupa Inbursa, a large company that writes insurance all over Mexico.

BohemiaBeerBash, buying gas is a budget priority, because there are clear immediate consequences to NOT having it. You can't go anywhere. Buying insurance isn't a budget priority, because (until now), there are no consequences to not having it unless you're at fault in a relatively serious accident. It's the same reason many low-income people don't pay their property taxes, don't revise their real estate deeds when someone dies, and so on. I think the new law is an attempt to circumvent that way of thinking.

Originally Posted by kate

Dennis, you lost me. I don't doubt that insurance rates may be high for Mexicans driving foreign-plated cars, but wouldn't they be a minority? Legs and I and others are talking about insurance for cars registered in Mexico. To my knowledge, as a foreign resident, I don't pay any more or less for liability insurance with my BCS-plated car and BCS license than I would as a Mexican resident. My policy is with Grupa Inbursa, a large company that writes insurance all over Mexico.

BohemiaBeerBash, buying gas is a budget priority, because there are clear immediate consequences to NOT having it. You can't go anywhere. Buying insurance isn't a budget priority, because (until now), there are no consequences to not having it unless you're at fault in a relatively serious accident. It's the same reason many low-income people don't pay their property taxes, don't revise their real estate deeds when someone dies, and so on. I think the new law is an attempt to circumvent that way of thinking.

Maybe this is why they have toll roads in mexico; to keep all the uninsured motorists off the road. LOL!

Yes, I know some people might be underemployed or use their cars infrequently enough to not justify paying for insurance but this is not like the states where you have to cough up 3-4 times just for minimum insurance. That was my point. I guess in Mexico everyone believes they have the right to do whatever they want until La Policia show up.