5C's Que Pasa

Those of us who travel to Mexico all have a variety of vehicle insurers we use.  Since our very first RV trip into Mexico, which happened to be the Baja, we have always used Bob from San Xavier Insurance.  He and his staff have always been efficient and we have never had any problems in over twelve years.  We did have a claim once from an incident north of Puerto Escondido which we were unable to report until we reached Acapulco.  The investigator came, told us to do what we had to do re the repairs and they would pay all.  They did so with no questions asked.  So of course year after year we call them for our annual six month insurance policies, one for the HHR, our tow vehicle and one for the motorhome.

Yesterday I ordered our six month policies.  The one thing they do state on their form is that the stated value must not exceed market value.  So unlike the insurance we pay on our motorhome here in Canada which is full replacement value we value our 2001 rig at $90,000.00.  Our tow vehicle, a 2006 HHR, we dropped to a value of  $10,000.00.

So our cost for a six month policy on the RV which also includes medical expenses of $5,000.00 per person cost us $692.09.

The policy for the toad, our tow car, which also includes the $5,000.00 medical clause, cost us $252.53.

The most important thing to note at this point is that if you are from British Columbia, Canada ( sorry I can’t speak for any other Canadian Province ) you may claim a refund on your B.C. insurance if you are in Mexico for 3 months or more. There are certain receipts that must be a part of the refund request.

Last season, 2010 – 2011, we paid $275.84 for the car & $752.03 for the RV with San Xavier Insurance.  Once we returned this past April we put in a refund request from both ICBC and Aviva, our two vehicle insurers.  If you check out my July 5th post, you will see how we came out ahead.  We made a profit of $386.97 once the refunds less the costs were calculated.  As I said in my July post, it does pay to travel to Mexico.  Who knows how much I’ll get back in April 2012, but you can be sure it will be a profit!!  Of course that means we are paying way too much money on insurance costs here in Canada in the first place.

So what are you waiting for!!!  Book your trip to Mexico.  At least start the planning of your trip……………..

Tags: insurance

….well it does seem that fall is in the air but we are back to heat  here in the valley so one day at a time.  However up on the mountains they did get a dusting of snow at Big White, one of our many ski hills!

The most important and very very big news is that one of our RVer friends Jessie won the gold. Not just any gold medal but a world champion gold!!

Congratulations Jessie & Doreen!!

Here is the link for the write up.  What more can you say to the duo who won the Badminton World Federation Senior Championships?  Way to go ladies!!  Looking forward to seeing you in Mexico, Jessie!

My personal big news is that I nailed the Mexican Peso at its peak for the year and have locked in 55,000 pesos at a great rate.  The exchange rate over last year will pay for our new palapa!!!!!!!  I ordered them on Saturday at the locked in rate.  Before some of you get all excited, we always pre buy mucho pesos, as we don’t get into Mazatlan much ( maybe once a month or even less ) and there are no ATM machines on Isla de la Piedra!  I need pesos for plants and more plants and my weekly 90 minute massages, and veggies and water and shrimp, etc.  Who needs to leave the Isla?  Everything is always delivered to our door!

Last night ( Sunday night ) we had a low of 6.9C, today a high of 22C but oh, oh, oh…..a low tonight of 0C with frost!!! Best go out and cover the tomatoe plants.  I’m on my own. Colin left at 7AM and won’t be home till close to 11PM tonight.  Just another normal September day for us.  But just wait till you see what a normal November day is for us.  Stay tuned!!

Tags: friends

Right along with the very cool temperatures arrived friends Terri & Mike.  They are in the area doing research for a book they are updating.  We met this couple several years ago while RVing in Mexico.  I guess you could say we knew them before we met them.  How so you ask?

Mike & Terri Church are the authors of several travel books.  They have written a book which has become known as the bible of Mexican RVing.  We heard of the book, bought it and have used it extensively over the years.  It is now in it’s 4th edition.  We originally met them several years ago in Acapulco and have seen them a few times this past year.  Right now they are working on the third edition of Pacific Northwest Camping Destinations. Their website, Rolling Homes Press has all the information about their books, as well as a new Facebook page they have recently started.  This is a great way to keep abreast of where they are and what the latest news is.  These books are a great help to any RVer, whether travelling to Alaska, within the USA, Mexico and even Europe.

As Terri & Mike are always on the road somewhere in world we keep in touch via the internet, and now Facebook, although we personally don’t do Facebook I can still read where they are and the que pasas.  After a quick tour of Holiday Park Resort ( after all they are researching this area right now ) in the chilly wind and overcast sky we settled in to do some serious wine tasting.

Fortunately Mike is a good supervisor and the meal got to the table in perfect condition.

We chatted before, during and afterwards....

RVing was one of our topics and Mike & Terri believe that we will see more RVers this winter in Mexico.  They have been doing seminars all summer at various rallies in the US and say that the number of people asking about Mexico is way up.  The previous year inquiries, were much less.  Starting this Thursday they will be at the Snowbird RV Show in Abbotsford, B.C.  This will give all the BC RVers a chance to meet Terri & Mike and ask their own questions.

We discussed many things but focused on India.  Colin and I have been there twice and Terri & Mike are heading there in November.  Suddenly we had this huge urge to go meet them in Delhi but managed to suppress ourselves.  We still are heading to Mexico.  It was a delightful evening and the hours passed too quickly.  We never even got around to solving the worlds problems!!

Adios amigos! Sorry we won't be India or Paris with you but we'll catch up in Mexico or Arizona in 2012! Viaje seguro!

Fortunately our weather is back to sun and warmer temperatures so the Church’s will have great conditions for their last few days here in the Okanagan.  One thing I forgot to mention is that their website has a link for travel updates.  This is great because you are always able to get the latest information.  It was a great visit but now we are back to work, work work…..

Tags: friends, Mexico

Who knew?

Seriously, who knew that yellow roses and grape tomatoes would become such great pals and reproduce so well?

We keep eating these and they keep growing. The bush is always full, almost like a magic garden.

The tomatoes are delicious and the roses are beautiful, lucky me.

The weight of the tomatoes on this bush made the bush fall over...they still taste good.

Tags: garden

……if your RV insurance arrived and it was 50% less than usual?

Let me explain.  We have our RV insured for full replacement value.  We use a combination of a private insurance company and the Crown corporation ICBC to insure the motorhome.  The ICBC portion has been $669.00 for several years.  However Aviva with whom we have the motor home all risks policy has been $1645.00  Our choice to pay so much.

Yesterday we received Aviva’s annual invoice for a mere $765.00.  I noticed that discrepancy immediately.  Was the lower rate due to our RV turning 10 years old?  Was it because we were such good customers?  So I had Colin call our broker who said that perhaps we should leave well enough alone and that likely if there was an error in the pricing of the policy the motorhome would likely be covered!! The broker said she would call Aviva head office and tread lightly.  She called us back within 5 minutes, there had been an error and we had to pay the full $1645.00.

So my question to you is, “What would you do?” !  Would you have left it at the $765.00 and just continue on and hope that nothing happened but that if something did happen, hope that you would be covered in full.  Or would you have done what we did and follow up??

Tags: insurance