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On our way through Tecoman a motorcycle ran into the side of Bill's toad. The biker suffered a broken arm and Bill's right door was punched in but still usable. We are presently camped outside the police impound while waiting for the slow mexican arm of the law to work. There is much confusion between insurance and mexican regulations and the man hurt in the accident. Nobody seems to know what to do so things are moving slowly. The accident occured Monday at 11:10 am and we are still here Tuesday for another noisy night beside a busy highway. We are told that all the paperwork should be done tomorrow morning and Bill's car released then. We will carry on with our trip after this occurs.
Continuation of Larry's account: This morning Wed. Dec3rd we drove to the local store (bodega) to do some shopping. Marilytn had the papers to pay the fine. The first bank we went to said we had to go to another bank. We went to the other bank and they said we had to pay in Colima, another city 40km from here. We came back to the compound with the groceries. Phoned the police and they said we could pay here. So....Bill is going back to the bank to try again. The Bureaucracy here is incredible. We are in contact with lawyers in the states, the owner of the insurance company, the police, the adjuster and our interpreter. We get sent here, then there, then back to here or whatever. It is now 1:05 and I am not sure if we are further ahead from this time yesterday. We are getting to know the city of Tecoma pretty good from all the running around we get. Our insurance company says we are fully covered and there is no problem. There may be no problem....but we are still here and cannot leave. So....tell me....is there really no problem....... It is now 6 pm Dec 3rd....At 2 pm Bill, Larry and our interpeter left for the court house because we heard the lawyer and adjuster were there waiting for something. We found them and the mother of the accident victim. The mother said she was very afraid that she would have to pay her son's expenses for the hospital and was getting nothing from the insurance company for the motorcycle or her sons loss of wages. We talked to the adjuster and lawyer with her and the adjuster said she would not have to pay anything to the hospital, the insurance would pay 1200 pesos to have the motorcycle repaired but because they could not prove her son had a job and made money, they could not pay any compensation for lost wages. She then said rather than fixing the motorcycle she would rather have the cash. The adjuster said they could not pay her money, they had to pay the victim. We then asked the adjuster, "what are we waiting for at the court house?", (they have been here all day long)...they said we are waiting for the judge's boss to come from Colima (40km away) to sign the release papers for the insurance settlement. The judge's boss would not be arriving until after 6 p.m. so we decided to save some time and take the papers along with the papers showing the fine was paid to the local federal police and get the release papers to release Bills car. We said we were told we had to take them into Colima to get the papers....they said no, they can do that here.... So, we drove the mother back to her home to look after some kids with the promise (and 30 pesos for cab fare) to return to the court house at 6 pm when the judge was suppose to arrive. We then went to the federal police station to confirm this.....The policeman (a very nice and helpful man) said no....we must go to Colima to get the release....he than showed us the letter of orders stating exactly that.....Now we are back at the police compound campsite to pass the others the news that we are here for yet a 3rd night, get a bite to eat and then head down to the courthouse around 6:30 and wait again... Billy and John arrived back from the municipal offices around 9:30 p.m. They were very tired but in their hand they clutched the release papers from the judge. Billy relates the long wait they had then finally seeing the judge. There were many arguments back and forth with the lawyer and adjuster and the judge and our interpeter Jaimi. Finally the judge (after pacing back and forth and in a foul mood) said "NO, YOU WILL HAVE TO COME BACK TOMORROW AND SEE ME AGAIN!"......It was when handing Billy's papers back to him that the judge noticed Billy's T-shirt......the shirt said "Cabela's Fishing Gear and Outfitters" and he asked Billy if he fished and if he liked to fly fish..... Well of course Billy liked to fly fish and the two of them talked fishing for a bit...... Then the judge said "come on...lets go into my office and get this problem settled". So they went into the office and 10 minutes later they had their papers signed and stamped. They could now go.... It is now 7:20 a.m. Thursday camped outside the police impound. This morning we need to take all the papers including the release from the judge, the receipt for paying the fine and drive to the city of Colima to the state Federal Police office where Billy will get the impound release papers. He can then take these papers to the impound here in Tecoman and pay the compound storage fees and his car and truck will be released....We will then be free to go...We will leave here in about an hour.... It took us about an hour to drive to Colima on a nice highway with very nice scenery. We arrived at the Federal Police station and went to the office of infractions. We were the only ones there (I was surprised) and the clerk took our papers, reviewed them and sat behind his desk for 10 minutes. He then came back with the papers filled out and said the commandant needs to sign the release but he is away today and will not be back until tomorrow. He says normally the vehicle cannot be released unless the papers are signed but he will phone the impound and tell the man that it is okay to release the car. What?....that's it? We were done within a 1/2 hour and on our way back to Tecoman. When we arrived back at the compound Billy went in and gave the papers to the man there, paid the compound fees of $300 pesos ($30.00 cdn) and we could leave...Yeeeeaaaaaa. We packed up our stuff, topped up our water tanks and were off to Playa Pasquali which was only 20 or so Km. away......We were free!!!! We celebrated our freedom with a wonderful spaghetti and meat balls meal prepared mainly by Sherry and John. The accident occured at the corner of Calle Insurgentes and Libriementos at the "Tree of Life" statue. We have renamed the intersection..."Billy's Corner"!!!
The rest of our winter vacation passes with no further problems. We travel all over the mainland from the West coast to the East coast and through the interior. We arrived in Yuma on March 12, 2009. Bill and Marilyn had several quotes done on the car there. They began their negotiations with the insurance company at that time. Today is March 31st, 2009. We have been in Yuma for 3 weeks. All the paperwork has been sent in and the insurance company is still reviewing the information. We are waiting to hear back from them. Still no replies. April 5th. After phoning the insurance broker we were notified that the lowest estimate that was sent in was approved and all that remained was for the check to be signed and mailed. Marilyn was told that when the check gets mailed she would be e-mailed saying that it was on the way. April 10th. Nothing yet. May 1st: Phone broker in the U.S. They said they were waiting for the cheque to arrive from the Mexican office and would e-mail Marilyn as soon as it arrives. They also said something similiar about 2 weeks ago. May 8th: We've finally received cheques from the insurance company(s) and looks like they will cover the cost of all repairs. The cheques are in the bank and we're waiting for them to clear (2 weeks). I've attached a final page of info for your web site for all those people who are interested in how things turned out. Looks like big thanks are due to Betty (again) for suggesting we all buy the "Diamond Policy". It made a difference in the amount they would pay for shop rates ($30 compared to $65 per hour). Bill phoned Marty Adair when we finally received the cheques and talked to him about our feelings on the 'Mexico Incident' concerning the Lawyer and Adjustor and how they treated the victim's family. We told him we figured they were only out for their own good and that it wasn't making a very good name for Ada Vis Global to have people like that representing them in Mexico. Marty said he would pass our comments on to his father, E.B. Adair and that they appreciates our feedback when incidents like this happen. The final outcome and settlement of the insurance claim.As you all know, after our accident in Mexico, E.B. Adair, CEO of Ada Vis Global Mexico Insurance Services, the broker for our Mexican Insurance which was purchased through Vagabundos del Mar, advised us that we should wait until we returned to the U.S. to get our vehicle repaired. As our car was still totally mobile, we did just that, completing our mainland trip and returning 4 ½ months later to Yuma in the U.S. It was required that we contact Ada Vis Global Mexico Insurance Services within 24 hours of arriving in the U.S., which we did with a direct phone call to their 1-800 number (1-800-909-4457). The person we dealt with was Madline Galaz. Madline advised me she already had a file open for us and would send (fax) documents for us to complete and return to her. Some of the questions and information we had to provide were the following: 1. Did you contact Mexican Insurance company using the 800 number provided to report claim while still in Mexico.
Please explain. *NB* the 800 number did not work in Mexico from a cell phone which was all we had at the scene of the accident!
However after much phoning and confusion we did finally get hold of Vagabundos, then Ada Vis Global Mexico who in turn notified the
Mexican Insurance company, Seguros El Potosi S.A. on our behalf.
2. Did you contact Ada Vis within 24 hours of returning to the U.S. (We did using the 800 number) 3. Fill out all questions and the accident report IN COMPLETE DETAIL, include any witness statements if available. *NB* Since it is very difficult to remember what you filled out on a Mexican form thrust at you by an adjustor at a time of stress and confusion, the "complete detail" part of this was an interesting request 5 months later! This is important stuff to remember so if you can, write out on a separate piece of paper anything you fill out on any forms so you'll have it when you need it later. Fortunately, my daily journal entries as well as photos we had taken at the accident scene all came in very handy for recalling details of the collision. Digital cameras are invaluable. We had photos of the names of the streets at the intersection, photos of the vehicles in the intersection, photos of the car, photos of the motorbike damage and vehicle licence plate numbers, photos and names of the adjustor and police and even the name and photo of the company's vehicle that took away the motorbike to "compound". Anything you can document is extremely helpful later on. The one thing we were not totally sure of was THE NAME OF THE VICTIM who broke his arm. He wasn't exactly talking at the scene! However the police had his name which later showed up in a court document, so we were able finally to provide it to Ada Vis. It is noted that although we repeatedly requested a copy of the police report as well as a copy of the adjustors report over the course of the four days that we were detained under compound, these were "not available" as they needed to be "completed" in their office. Consequently, on leaving Tecoman we never were privy to these reports. Also, our prime witnesses, Betty and Larry who were immediately behind us at the intersection, were never asked to give a witness report. Even though they personally witnessed the motorcyclist hit us and offered to the police to provide a report, it was turned down as "not necessary"! Later, on filing our documents with Ada Vis, I did ask Larry and Betty to provide a witness report which we included with those documents. 4. Names of adjusters, ORIGINAL ADJUSTOR REPORTS, copies of receipts/statements made or taken are required. *NB* We did receive, after his reluctance but at our insistence, a business card from the adjustor, so we were able to scan this and send to Ada Vis via e-mail. (See notes above regarding reports) Madeline Galaz said she would have "Kathy" at the Mexican Insurance Company try to obtain these reports. We don't know if they ever did. 5. In most cases a Police report should have been taken. ORIGINAL POLICE REPORTS are required. (They require more reports if your vehicle has been stolen so be aware!) *N.B.*(See notes above regarding reports) Madeline Galaz said she'd have "Kathy" at the Mexican Insurance Company try to obtain this report as well. Again, we don't know if they ever did. 6. 3 COMPUTER GENERATED ESTIMATES from repair facility or auto body shop in your area. (These we obtained in Yuma and provided via Fax) *NB* On the Diamond Program our Mexico Insurance Binder policy states a flat shop rate of $65 per hr for repairs made in US or Canada. However, in the final settlement letter received from Ada Vis they state the maximum hourly rate paid by the Mexican Insurance company (Seguros El Potosi S.A.) for Vagabundos Del Mar members is . $30 per hour for auto and truck and $40 per hour for motor home repairs"quote....There will be no exceptions to these rates". Also, "Mexico Insurance Companies will not pay for any state or federal sales tax applied to any parts or labour charges". However, in the estimates we had provided, the shop rates were quoted at $48 to $58 per hour. Because we had the Diamond Program the higher shop rate was paid by a separate insurance company who provide coverage for the Diamond Program and our deductable was a fixed $500. Without the Diamond Program your deductable is 5% of the insured amount; $600 min. for cars, $800 min. for trucks & Vans, $1000 min. for SUV's and Van conversions, and min. 5% of the insured amount for Motor Homes, etc. Read your policy! For our final settlement, they paid on the lowest of the three estimates we had provided- minus the deductable. 7. 5 CLEAR PICTURES of damages *NB* We provided these via e-mail 8. Clear copy of Mexican Insurance Policy the claim is against. *NB* We provided this via Fax 9. Copy of current registration and proof of U.S. (Canada) Insurance coverage for vehicle involved. *NB* We provided via Fax 10. Clear copy of Drivers License of both insured drivers of insured vehicle. *NB* Scanning our Drivers Licences produced shiny glare so we took digital pictures of our drivers licences and attached them to our e-mail to Ada Vis. 11. A copy of your latest Tourist Visa and if applicable , the Vehicle Importation Permit to enter Mexico. *NB* We are all fanatics about keeping copies of our documentation as we travel so we had all kept copies of our Tourist Visas and Vehicle Import Papers when we entered Mexico. Of course after experiencing the accident, we were also diligent in keeping copies of stickers and papers on leaving Mexico as well so we were able to provide this info via Fax. All told we faxed a total of 22 pages to answer these questions and in addition we e-mailed pictures, witness statement, drivers' licences, copy of auditors business card and our account of the accident report...all to Ada Vis for their review. Ada Vis made a recommendation to the Mexican Insurance Company based on our estimates and documentation then forwarded all the documents to Seguros El Potosi S.A., the Mexican Insurance Company in Mexico for their review and final approval. As Ada Vis Global Enterprises 800 number works in the U.S. and Canada, I would recommend regular follow up on any claims made. I think I spoke with Madeline Galaz at least nine times over two months waiting for our claim. Bill and I, after talking with two separate collision repair shops at home in Canada and receiving their estimates via e-mail, decided to purchase a passenger door from the auto wreckers in Yuma (no rust!) and take it back with us to have the car repaired in Canada. We checked with Ada Vis to confirm that it was OK to have the repairs done at home (as our policy said repairs could be made in either the U.S. or Canada) and we were assured this was fine. Ada Vis confirmed that the repairs would be paid in U.S. dollars based on the U.S. estimates we provided. We returned to Canada and had the car repaired, still waiting for settlement of the claim. We must admit we were quite sceptical that we would ever see a dime in payment. However, this week our cheques arrived; one from Ada Vis written on an American Bank, the other from the Mexican Insurance Company Segurios El Potosi S.A. written on a Mexican Bank. The cheques are now on deposit, waiting two weeks for them to clear. The time frame from filing our claim by fax on March 15th to receiving our payout on April 4th was almost exactly 7 weeks. Our little car looks just like new again......well almost.....it's been quite an experience. We're all very glad to now be back at home safely with all of this finally resolved. Thanks to our great travelling companions it was all a fabulous adventure!! Marilyn & Bill The above report gives you an idea what can take place when you are involved in an accident in Mexico. Larry and I were the witnesses and can tell you that Bill was not at fault in any way. The investigating Federale Police officer told us that we would only be delayed a couple hours. Why were we delayed three and one half days? Were we delayed because the adjustor told the police that our tow vehicles were not covered? Within a few minutes of arriving at the scene of the accident we had our doubts about the professionalizm of the adjustor. It soon became apparent he and the lawyer involved were going to bleed this event to fill their own pockets first. We had the feeling that they both could speak and understand English but they chose to speak Spanish only. It was obvious that the judge wanted nothing to do with the adjustor and the lawyer. They did not have a good reputation. We seemed to be caught in the middle of a power struggle. Although, we do not blame Ada Vis Global or Vagabundos Del Mar for any of the events that took place, they and their clients need to be made aware of what really takes place when an accident takes place in Mexico and how stressful it can be on the clients. This was a minor accident and no one seemed to know what to do. Can you imagine where we would have been if the accident was a serious one? Although we all felt the delay of over three days was a bit extreme, we were a group of four couples who were seasoned Mexico travelers. We all kept our wits and went with the flow of events. The federale police officers helped us as much as they could. Their hands were tied and could not speed up the legal proceedings. We just had the misfortune of having to deal with a lawyer and adjustor that did not have our best interests in mind. |
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