Do people who come to visit me in Northern Baja need to get a release from their lien holder when they get car insurance for it to be legal?BajaGeoff - 7-6-2006 at 01:38 PM
Hello Cathart,
We always strongly recommend that our customers get permission from their lein holders before taking a car to Mexico. Technically, the lein holder is
the owner....so if the vehicle is not supposed to be taken into Mexico it could potentially result in denial of the claim. Thankfully we have never
had that situation arise. Most lein holders are easy to work with and above all just want to make sure the vehicle is being insured properly when
taken to Mexico. Often times we will issue a policy and then send a copy of it to the lein holder to satisfy the requirement. Other lein holders
strictly forbid the vehicle to go into Mexico and it is often written into their contract, so it is important that your friends do their homework.
Hope this is helpful!David K - 7-6-2006 at 05:06 PM
Geoff, once in a while someone on the Internet will panic tourists who did not know to (or bother to) get a tourist card. 'He' is saying without one,
their insurance coverage is void.
Unless the insurance companies are run by immigration of Mexico, I don't see how a company can deny paying on a claim.
Will GE refuse to pay a claim if they discover somebody was in Santo Tomas (or Puertecitos, etc.) without a tourist card?BajaGeoff - 7-7-2006 at 10:38 AM
Hello David,
We always like to err on the side of caution and would rather that our customers have proper documentation and permission from their lein holder
should a claim arise. It is more of a formality than anything.
Whether or not a claim would be paid on a vehicle that was forbidden to be in Mexico by the lein holder remains to be seen. Thankfully, we have never
run across this situation in the years that we have been in business.
Tourist cards are really a seperate issue since it pertains to the person and not the vehicle. GE would most likely pay a claim on a vehicle even
though the person may not have proper documents. I don't really see it as a reason for denial. If it were mainland Mexico and a car was impounded for
not having a vehicle permit that is a different story. Mexican insurance really has no recourse for vehicles that are confiscated for not carrying the
proper temporary vehicle importation documents.Bruce R Leech - 7-7-2006 at 11:24 AM
I don't think it is good practice to advise people to brake the law in Mexico.
I always get a official letter of permission from whom ever owns a vehicle that I am driving In Mexico. and yes I have had occasion where I needed it.JZ - 7-7-2006 at 11:39 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGeoff
Technically, the lein holder is the owner
That's not a valid statement. There are a lot of sticks in the bundle of "ownership."Bruce R Leech - 7-7-2006 at 12:22 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by JZ
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGeoff
Technically, the lein holder is the owner
That's not a valid statement. There are a lot of sticks in the bundle of "ownership."
can you elaborate on this some more BajaGeoffBajaGeoff - 7-7-2006 at 01:59 PM
From dictionary.com:
Main Entry: lienholder
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a person who retains legal possession of a piece of property until the person to whom he/she has advanced money for use of the property
has satisfactorily repaid the debt
That seems pretty self explanatory to me....BajaGeoff - 7-7-2006 at 02:27 PM
Please understand that I am not trying to be a smartass about this, nor do I want to split hairs over the definition of "ownership."
Our underwriters require us to obtain lienholder information from our customers for a reason. It is always, always, always better to have the proper
documentation in order while travleing in Mexico, and a letter of permission from the lienholder is just one piece of the pie. It is being done with
the best interests of our customers in mind.Bob and Susan - 7-8-2006 at 05:58 AM
lienholder is actually the legal owner
the registered owner is the one who gets to pay all the fees insurance and repairs...
who has the better deal??
if you fail to pay the lienholder can just drop by and tow the item away....
that's because he's the actual owner...BajaNomad - 7-8-2006 at 08:01 AM
Lien holder:The person or entity that possesses a legal claim on the property of another. In insurance, it generally refers to a lender on real or
personal property.
