As we have analyzed, in Mexico approximately 7 out of 10 private cars are not insured. Despite being a requirement on federal highways and a sign of responsibility, the desired index has not yet been reached. However, what about public service cars, such as taxis?
The answer is a little simpler, first of all, by law they are required to take out a civil liability insurance policy. That is to say, any owner of a concession card, in the CDMX, must present a valid policy to be able to circulate.
According to official data, 15.57 million trips are made on public transport every day in the Metropolitan Area in the Valley of Mexico. This includes Mexico City, the State of Mexico, and the municipalities of Hidalgo. About statistics, in practically 3 out of 4 trips the bus, truck, or combi is used. The Metro ranks second in frequency of use, with more than 4 million trips. It is followed by the use of taxis, whether on-site or free, with nearly 1.6 million trips.
Private car and taxi insurance
There is a big difference between a private vehicle and a public service vehicle. Mainly in the risk of suffering an accident. For this reason, the time spent on the street is taken into account, so the companies establish their rates according to the probability of an accident.
In addition, in public transport, there is another difference. In it, there is no link between the driver and the occupants, which will be reflected in the sum insured. Same as in the quotes consulted, it was handled with the Measurement and Updating Unit. The Measurement and Updating Unit (UMA) replaces the Minimum Wage as a reference measure.
It should be noted that in the case of taxis, for example, in Mexico City, the omission of valid insurance implies a penalty. Not having a policy implies a fine of up to 40 UMA, equivalent to $2,921.06.
What should taxi insurance include?
Once we know the context of taxis and insurance, we must go into more detail. Taxis must have at least valid insurance to cover civil liability. In other words, this covers the damages that may be caused to passengers and third parties in their persons or property.
In general terms, car insurance for taxis has coverage in three areas:
passengers
This compensation is only valid while they are onboard the vehicle, where the following are contemplated:
- Bodily injury caused by an accident.
- Medical assistance includes surgeries, hospitalization, nursing, ambulance, prostheses, and medicines required from an accident in the unit.
- Compensation for partial, temporary, or total permanent disability.
- Funeral expenses and compensation for the death of someone who dies as a result of a traffic accident on board the insured vehicle or as a result of the accident.
- In some policies, compensation for loss of luggage or belongings is contemplated.
User
Either the policyholder or driver of the car responsible for the accident, which includes the following:
- Civil liability for damage caused by the unit.
- Legal defense to the driver and the bonds or surety bonds for the damage caused.
- Medical expenses, injuries, and death.
Damages to third parties
Refers to damage to other drivers from an accident caused by the insured unit.
Important points in car insurance for taxi
Each insurance company has a section of general conditions for taxis. However, some criteria are established that you must take into account when hiring or making effective taxi car insurance. Among them:
- The coverage begins when the passenger enters the car and ends when he leaves the unit. That is, while only the service is running, without exception.
- The company’s responsibility ends when the insured sum established in the contract is exceeded. Once the limit is exceeded, the driver or owner of the unit must pay the excess. This decision will be made by the relevant authorities.
- At least in Mexico City, insured taxis must not be more than 10 years old to be hired or renewed.
- To hire insurance, the unit must have the documentation must be complete and valid. That is, with issued plates that prove it as a passenger car. Private cars cannot be subject to this type of coverage.
- Within this type of insurance, only the so-called free taxis, site taxis, airport taxis, taxis for tourism are included. The passenger service through mobile applications, such as Uber, must contract another type of coverage.
taxi insurance quote
To complete this analysis, Guros took into account the price of a 2018 Chevrolet Aveo car. In this exercise, the LS version was chosen, manual, with air conditioning, radio, airbags, and ABS.
Following the common steps for a quote. The car with taxi plates from Mexico City was located in the Juárez neighborhood of the Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office, with zip code 06600. Here we present the quote for a policy with Broad Coverage with four insurers: Quálitas, Banorte, Afirme, and The Latin.
conclusion
As we have analyzed in the case of private cars. Price is not always the main factor when choosing a product. As an example of the exercise done by Guros, where in addition to the cost of the policy, there are other differences.
While Quálitas has the highest cost, it is also the one that offers the lowest sum insured. In addition, together with Banorte, they are the ones that charge the highest deductible, in the case of compensation for total theft.
However, a low-cost policy may not be the best solution either. In it, you could sacrifice available amounts in medical expenses to the driver or compensation in case of death. As stated in the Afirme insurance quote. Hence, before choosing which company to take out auto insurance for taxis, each of the items should be evaluated and a comparison made.
