Your Greensboro car insurance coverage protects you when driving anywhere within the 50 United States and, most likely, covers you when traveling into Canada. You should not, however, expect it to provide you with any protection should you decide to drive in Mexico. There may be exceptions. The only way to be certain of what your car insurance policy covers and does not cover is to speak personally to your local insurance agent or broker to get precise details.
Travel to Canada
While most U.S. car insurance policies will cover you when traveling to Canada, it should be noted that typical minimum Canadian liability amounts are $200,000 ($50,000 in Quebec), while minimum liability coverage for drivers in North Carolina is $115,000, broken down as follows:
- $30,000 bodily injury (per person)
- $60,000 bodily injury (total per incident)
- $25,000 property damage
If you’re currently carrying only the minimum amount of liability for a policy bought here in Greensboro, now, before your travel into Canada, would be a good time to review your policy and its limits. Experts agree that the minimum liability amounts required in most states, including NC, are way too low for the real world and should be increased to $100,000/$30,000 for the bodily injury aspect of the policy. Property damage limits should be raised to $50,000 or more. Just think about the costs involved in paying the medical bills and repairing or replacing damaged property caused in an accident deemed to be your fault.
Travel to Mexico
American car insurance is not recognized in Mexico and, since the Mexican government doesn’t require their drivers to even have any liability coverage, chances are that if you’re involved in an accident where you’re not found at fault, you still will likely be out of luck in trying to receive any payments for medical bills or property loss. The solution to this is to purchase a Mexican insurance policy for your time while driving in that country.
Traveling Abroad
When traveling abroad, whether to Europe, South America, Asia or Australia, understand that your car insurance will be of no value to you in those places. Since you’ll likely be renting a vehicle if you choose to forgo the use of public transportation, the most likely option is to buy the vehicle insurance sold at the car rental agency. You may also be able to get some coverage from your credit card company.