Driving Central America & South America.
Car Insurance, No Spanish for Borders and US Licence Plates
February 24, 2008 - 10:20am
Hi Guys,
A few questions which would be great if someone can give me some help on.
What has anyone done about auto insurance when travelling through central america. Is it even possible to get it? DO they require to produce insurance documentation at the borders?
I also have no spanish. Will this make border crossings impossible?
I will also be driving a car with US licence plates. Is it better to leave these on or take them off. What did you do Robert?
Any help would be much appreciated.
regards
Simon
February 26, 2008 - 9:06pm
#2
1. Insurance. I got insurance because my truck is still worth a fair amount of money. I got a policy through AIG that covers every country in latin america aside from Belize, Nicaragua, and Colombia. Costa Rica has a mandatory insurance policy on top of this, and Nicaragua has mandatory insurance you get at the border for $12. Insurance is not available at the border for guatemala, el salvador, honduras, or panama. i haven't been to belize yet so no idea there. i contacted aig through t the nelson travel insurance agency in mcallen texas who has a website at [url]www.nelsoninternationalgroup.com[/url] a 2 month full coverage policy for 15K on my truck cost $500(excluding mexico, which is a different policy). proof of insurance is never required aside from when they force you to buy it at the border.
2. No Spanish. Learn Spanish or you will get taken for a ride at the borders, and you will also not have a very good time. You don't need to be fluent, but you should have basic survival Spanish. Take two weeks at a language school in Mexico or Guatemala and you'll do better. Border guards in Honduras have been really hard on me, and I don't think I would have even gotten through the border at El Amatillo between El Salvador and Honduras without speaking basic Spanish.
3. License plates. Leave them on, though if you are paranoid take the rear plate off and put the front plate on the back after you cross into mexico. Without plates that match your registration you will never be able to cross a border. I also got big time hassled in Honduras for having my car titled in a different state than it is registered in. Retitle your car if that is the case before you go to avoid that hassle. You will of course not make it past the guatemala border without the original title.
March 27, 2008 - 10:39am
#3
[QUOTE=atg200;468]
3. License plates. Leave them on, though if you are paranoid take the rear plate off and put the front plate on the back after you cross into mexico. Without plates that match your registration you will never be able to cross a border. I also got big time hassled in Honduras for having my car titled in a different state than it is registered in. Retitle your car if that is the case before you go to avoid that hassle. You will of course not make it past the guatemala border without the original title.[/QUOTE]
Since Mexico we've been driving with our front plate on the back and the original plate stowed safely inside the car. Sometimes the cops in Mexico will threaten to take your license or your plate to hold as a "deposit" for the ticket you have to pay (aka give us a bribe).. make up some fake (but convincing) copies of your documents in case this happens, so you can just say OK and drive away! I would ONLY recommend this for Mexico, as the cops there are as dodgy and corrupt as can be.
Also, like atg200 mentioned your plates WILL be checked at every border to ensure it matches the paperwork. Taking the plates off encourages cops to pull you over asking where the plates are (even when you're missing only a front plate as all Central American countries have two plates.) However when the front plate is off it does make going through checkpoints easier from time to time (and it's funny to look at their faces after they wave you through and realize you've got a foreign plate!)
As for insurance there are lot's of companies that offer worldwide or multi country insurance as long as you're 25 or over. As far as I know they're quite expensive. My boyfriend and I are both under 25, so we went without insurance, and so far we've had no problems. We've got a really solid car, and my boyfriend's an extremely good driver. Two British guys did the entire Americas journey about 10 years ago without insurance ([URL=http://www.ihana.com]http://www.ihana.com[/URL]) and only got in ONE accident. They worked it out with the guy by going around town to check and see how much the damage would cost from a few local mechanics and settled the matter with 400$ cash. Much less than one would spend on international insurance.
Good luck on your drive down!
March 27, 2008 - 11:22am
#4
the best way to get through latin american borders without hassle is to bring a pretty girl with you and have her do the paperwork :)
Sorry, I have more questions than answers myself.
We'll be driving down from Oregon this fall, and I have already checked for car insurance and found Kim Michaels of [url]http://insuranceexchangeonline.com/auto.htm[/url].
This insurance is quite expensive, and from reading anything I can find online, it appears, it may not be needed. It may be cheaper to simply purchase insurance for every country when entering. Some countries may require you buy their insurance even if you already have one such as the one above.
Is this correct? Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in...
Dieter