The Complex Relationship Between Your Texas Car Insurance and Intercontinental Travel

The Complex Relationship Between Your Texas Car Insurance and Intercontinental Travel

With the holidays in the making, there's only one thing people are talking

about. Alright, two things! The first is, of course, what the jolly old fat man is going to be leaving underneath your Christmas tree. (Which reminds me, is anyone else scrambling to find those last minute gifts for friends and co-workers you don't really know that well but need to acknowledge on Christmas?) After the Christmas shopping extravaganza, however, conversation inevitably swings to where you're going on vacation and…your car insurance?

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, your Texas car insurance should be at the heart of your travel plans-especially if you're hopping the border and taking your car with you!

One of the coolest parts of living in Texas is being close enough to the Mexican border that you can ferry your car across with very little trouble (and without having to clean out your bank account!). With the ridiculous prices car rental agencies are charging these days, it makes more sense to take your car with you than to leave it at home!

The catch is, your Texas car insurance is no good through most parts of Mexico. Not because your insurance company is trying to be cheap by not covering you when you're out of the country, but because differences in currencies and the complexities of trying to file an out-of-country insurance claim makes most Mexican auto repair companies just say no! That goes for just about anywhere else in the world you go too. Your Texas insurance isn't going to be any good in Venezuela, Ireland, England, China, Russia or South Africa either!

If you're planning on taking your car with you when you travel abroad, you're going to have to make other arrangements when it comes to your car insurance. It's as simple as that.

For the record, traveling without any car insurance when you're overseas isn't a good idea either. I don't know whether customs would require you to show proof of insurance before they'll unload your vehicle without impounding it (I've always found it easier to rent a car when I'm overseas) but I can tell you if local law enforcement in Mexico or Central and South America catch you driving without car insurance they'll throw the book at you without even taking a second to feel guilty about it. There may be some places your Texas car insurance just won't go, but there are other companies willing to sell you a short term vacation insurance policy and keep you from bumping heads with the local polizia.

Since you probably don't want to spend your vacation in a Tijuana jail (or any other kind of jail, for that matter) you'd be very, very wise to make sure you're covered before you hop the first interstate out of town.

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• The Complex Relationship Between Your Texas Car Insurance and Intercontinental Travel - Dec 21, 2009 - 10:37:22 PM