Car insurance

]b]Does anyone know about Mariners Insurance? They are out of Puerto Vallarta and advertise in the Guad Reporter. They claim to be the largest Latino insurance company and tell me they have insurance adjusters in Ajijic and Chapala. Any info would be very much appreciated. Since we now have our MX plated vehicle we gotta get it insured! Thanks in advance.[/b]

The most important aspect of insurance is your agent. Is he/she local? Can you meet him/her face-to-face? Will he/she be her to go to bat for you when you have a claim? We recently were in an accident. I don't know what we would have done if our agent hadn't been local. Think about it.

David wrote:The most important aspect of insurance is your agent.  Is he/she local?  Can you meet him/her face-to-face?  Will he/she be her to go to bat for you when you have a claim?  We recently were in an accident.  I don't know what we would have done if our agent hadn't been local.  Think about it.

I totally agree with David. We have had a couple of recent experiences and the local agent was invaluable in assisting with the claim process.

Boy howdy!

Also don't go cheap and not buy legal/bonding stuff.  This is what keeps you out of jail in Mexico in an accident.

Z

Not necessarily keeps you out, but will get you out. The basic rule is; in the case of an injury accident ALL participants must spend 48 hours in jail.

David wrote:Not necessarily keeps you out, but will get you out.  The basic rule is; in the case of an injury accident ALL participants must spend 48 hours in jail.

Unless you know someone who knows someone who knows someone  ;>)

Anyone have an agent and company they are happy with? Time to renew and I am aliitle confused about the different legal $$ amounts required for liability that different agents are quoting me.

Thanks bob

Is the agent located in Ajijic or Chapala? Do you have a contact #?

Bellon insurance across from Superlake and Handy Mail. 766-5151, speaks English. Excellent customer service and if something happens you call Bellon first. He saved me 2000 pesos over my last agents quote and I got twice the liability coverage for 2000 pesos less.

SunshineyDay wrote:Anyone have an agent and company they are happy with? Time to renew and I am aliitle confused about the different legal $$ amounts required for liability that different agents are quoting me.

I now have Parker as an agent and ANA as an Insurer for my Mexican plated cars. I am extremely happy with both. ANA paid out a stolen car claim in 31 days and delivered the cheque to Parker while I was out of town, so I didn't have to drive into Guadalajara, and I had lots of assistance from Parker in terms of the steps and documentation needed. Remember with insurance, cheaper is not always better, and unlike some products, you can't discover the quality until it is too late. Agents like Qualitas because their rates are lower so clients are happy with the cost, not considering what could happen when there is a serious claim. The local Qualitas rep has no power to make any decisions, they all come from Mexico City or Guadalajara, and having met with all the top guys in Guadalajara and some in Mexico City, I repeat that I would not insure with Qualitas if it were free. The stories would fill a book, but I do not worry about the police coming to my house and hauling me off to jail because the insurers lawyer failed to show up in Court and the other party (who was at fault) got a judgement against me without me knowing. Sometimes you don't even get what you pay for.

S&S is selling Qualitas now also.

Z

Yes. That's why I contend that the most important part of your insurance is your agent! A couple of years back someone here railed on Allianz as a poor company. Yet only two months ago Allianz paid for my entire back surgery and hospital stay and gave be a discount on my deductible! On the other hand a well known car insurance company sent an incompetent attorney to deal with a car accident. Go figure. Get a good agent first. Good agents sell only for good companies.

Anyone can screw-up, any company can screw-up. The measure of their value is what they do after the screw-up. In my experience Qualitas has demonstrated their core values by continuing to screw-up, after they were aware of the issues. Enough said.

Remember that an agent represents only one company, the company he works for; while brokerage houses like Parker, can compare insurance companies and choose the one they believe best serves your, not their needs.

I always choose a broker I trust to help me choose the best insurance company for me, not for them. There are several great brokerage houses lakeside. I have had wonderful luck with "Parker Insurance Services" since about 1997. And over the years when they have suggested that I change insurance companies, I have followed there advice.

Any insurance broker recommending a particular company wouldn't have anything to do with their commission rate by any chance?

David wrote:Yes.  That's why I contend that the most important part of your insurance is your agent!  A couple of years back someone here railed on Allianz as a poor company.  Yet only two months ago Allianz paid for my entire back surgery and hospital stay and gave be a discount on my deductible!  On the other hand a well known car insurance company sent an incompetent attorney to deal with a car accident.  Go figure.  Get a good agent first.  Good agents sell only for good companies.

That was me David, and the agent was Parker.  We had 2 claims that Allianz denied, Parker said they couldn't help. One claim was $18,000 USD the other 35,000pesos.  Hired Spencer to represent us, and both claims paid within 60 days.  after 6-8 months trying to get Parker to resolve I agree at this point, agent is everything. Since Insurance companies seldom reverse position that quickly, it must be the agent. 

I thought so but wasn't sure. When we went to pay the bill at Angeles del Carmen the Allianz rep at the hospital said they wouldn't pay for this and that. I called my agent and he said, "that's bullsh*t, your policy has no upper limit!" He came in less than 10 minutes and got it resolved completely. One nice thing Allianz did was reduce our deductible by $6,000 pesos! Simply for using a hospital in their network.

Glad your surgery went well, wish we had the same agent.  While fighting thru this, I would walk into Parker and ask to see my agent, during normal business hours.....1st question....do you have an appointment, she isn't in, you need to make an appointment, was the usual response.


   Here is to getting back on the golf course soon...   

That doesn't speak well of Parker. I had them for a couple of years but never had a claim in that time. In the last few months we've had the surgery and a car accident. Our agent was key to getting both resolved promtly and successfully.