To car or not tonly car....that is the question. Tis it better to rent or taxi?

[deepsea21]

Again... No interest in spooking anyone here as I have no problem driving in Cozumel or Mexico. Drive drunk, drive sober do whatever you are going to do but if you run over a Mexican citizen as a gringo and seriously injure someone you don't think you're going to just hop on a plane and leave all that behind because you purchased insurance do ya? We run over someone in the US with all our US insurance and we're not going to just drive away and leave that behind either unless we care to be hunted down and charged with leaving the scene. Do what ya will but rest assured, if a gringo on vaca injures a Mexican citizen while driving police will be involved just as they are here, your passport will be confiscated, you'll be in jail and you won't be leaving Mexico until all claims have been settled. What else can I say? The "check will be in the mail" ain't gonna get you out!

 

[deepsea21]

And that holding cell one will be transferred to will not be another tourist police cell in Cozumel as after 24 or 48 hours (can't remember) you head to the mainland with your transfer from tourist police custody to national police custody. Hello real Mexican jail with the rest of the criminals and there ain't many gringos to befriend in National Police custody in one of those jails.

 

[mediumone]

I have never, nor would I ever, rent a car without full insurance. One of the companies that I've rented from, (off airport location in CUN), offers as a part of their included coverage, PLI insurance:

"This coverage is for public liability to the persons or their properties caused by the rented vehicle. This coverage is for $750, 000 pesos".

At today's exchange rate, that's just under $35,000 USD.

Am I missing something when I think that I'm adequately covered?

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have never, nor would I ever, rent a car without full insurance. One of the companies that I've rented from, (off airport location in CUN), offers as a part of their included coverage, PLI insurance:

"This coverage is for public liability to the persons or their properties caused by the rented vehicle. This coverage is for $750, 000 pesos".

At today's exchange rate, that's just under $35,000 USD.

Am I missing something when I think that I'm adequately covered?

One of the posts above quoted an article asserting that there is no readily available insurance that will cover the "lost wages" portion of actual damages. As I presently understand it, "full" rental car liability insurance does not cover ALL of the potential components of "actual damages," notably, lost wages. So, apparently if a driver injures someone, the driver still must go through the negotiation process that @El Graduado explained. The driver will be liable for a cash payment of the difference, if any, between the full car rental insurance and actual damages (as negotiated).

 

[mmmbelows]

If you have an accident in Cozumel and someone or something is hurt or damaged, the likelihood is that the police will be called to the scene. You will need to either work out and pay a financial settlement with the injured party for the Actual Damages and get a signed agreement and receipt to that effect on the spot, or you will be taken to the police station to work it out there. If you have an insurance policy with the rental agency, they should send someone to the station to handle the settlement with the injured party so that you can be released. If the cost of the Actual Damage exceed the amount of your coverage, you will be held at the station until you come up with the difference in cash. If the insurance was voided because you were under the influence, you will be held at the station until you come up with the total cost of the Actual Damages in cash. If you can’t get your hands on enough cash (while being held at the police station) in a reasonable amount of time, you will be transferred to a holding cell until you do.

Thanks El Qraduado, I was hoping you'd chime in! I vaguely remember a post a long time ago from someone who rented through ISIS and Margarita I believe did exactly as you describe coming down to handle the issue.

If you have an insurance policy with the rental agency, they should send someone to the station to handle the settlement with the injured party so that you can be released.

What is the name of the actual policy that you are referring to? SLI, LDW, PAI? Now I see something called CSL?

CLS says "Legal Aid and Bail Bond
One of the most important coverages in a Mexican auto policy, it will cover the legal representation and cost of bail bond. If you are involved in an accident in the rented vehicle, this service is provided 24 hours all year round. The limit of the bail bond matches the amount of the third party liability. For example, if $150,000 USD CSL liability is chosen, the bail bond limit will also be $150,000. Legal assistance will be provided to the conclusion of the case. "

 

[El Graduado]

One of the companies that I've rented from, (off airport location in CUN), offers as a part of their included coverage, PLI insurance:"This coverage is for public liability to the persons or their properties caused by the rented vehicle. This coverage is for $750, 000 pesos".At today's exchange rate, that's just under $35,000 USD.Am I missing something when I think that I'm adequately covered?

As I mentioned, not all rental agencies offer the same amount of liability coverage. Avis, one of the international chains represented on Cozumel, offers 500,000 USD worth on their PLI policies. Other agencies, like the one you mentioned, do not offer enough to cover, for example, the deaths of two members of the family of four on the moto that your jeep broadsided. Just the death benefit alone would be 50,000 USD (25K per fatality in Q.R.) plus the funeral costs and other actual damages (moto, hospital costs for the two survivors, etc.) Everything over the 35,000 limit of their coverage would need to be paid in cash and a "document of forgiveness" signed by the survivors or their heirs before you were released.

 

[mediumone]

As I mentioned, not all rental agencies offer the same amount of liability coverage. Avis, one of the international chains represented on Cozumel, offers 500,000 USD worth on their PLI policies. Other agencies, like the one you mentioned, do not offer enough to cover, for example, the deaths of two members of the family of four on the moto that your jeep broadsided. Just the death benefit alone would be 50,000 USD (25K per fatality in Q.R.) plus the funeral costs and other actual damages (moto, hospital costs for the two survivors, etc.) Everything over the 35,000 limit of their coverage would need to be paid in cash and a "document of forgiveness" signed by the survivors or their heirs before you were released.

Thank you very much for your posts on this subject.

 

[ggunn]

One of the posts above quoted an article asserting that there is no readily available insurance that will cover the "lost wages" portion of actual damages. As I presently understand it, "full" rental car liability insurance does not cover ALL of the potential components of "actual damages," notably, lost wages. So, apparently if a driver injures someone, the driver still must go through the negotiation process that @El Graduado explained. The driver will be liable for a cash payment of the difference, if any, between the full car rental insurance and actual damages (as negotiated).

It's the same with any liability insurance. It has a limit to what it will pay and an offended or injured party can always sue you for more.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It's the same with any liability insurance. It has a limit to what it will pay and an offended or injured party can always sue you for more.

That's not what I was referring to. In Post # 22, @deepsea21 posted a link to an article from BudgetTravel.com that clearly asserts there is NO liability insurance readily available to a renter that covers the lost wages portion of actual damages:

"Being fully insured is important in keeping a situation from getting out of hand. But there is no readily available insurance to pay a settlement to cover their wages. That has to come out of the traveler's pockets ...."

I interpret this assertion as meaning that an ordinary liability insurance policy that you buy from the rental car company, even their most premium offering, contains an exclusion for lost wages.

Whether the assertion is true or not true, I do not know. One would have to scrutinize their rental policy.

 

[lionfish-eater]

Does this only apply to rental insurance? If someone owns a car does their insurance cover the loss of wages?

Does this also apply to a Mexican citizen who injures a visitor?
If I am hit by someone and out of work will they go to jail until they pay for my lost wages?