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Demand for Mexican auto insurance increasing; U.S. coverage does not protect drivers in Mexico.

Article Excerpt
The fact that U.S. auto insurance does not provide the liability insurance recognized in Mexico means that selling Mexican auto insurance close to the border can be a lucrative endeavor.

Last year, nearly 25 million passenger vehicles entered Mexico through the San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Tecate border crossings, according to the San Diego Association of Governments, vs. 20 million in 2000.

At present, the San Ysidro Business Association, a nonprofit public benefit corporation that represents nearly 600 businesses, lists 11 separate licensed brokerage firms with offices in the San Ysidro business improvement district. The district stretches from the border to Dairy Mart Road along San Ysidro Boulevard, about a 2.5-mile area.

But as demand from U.S. drivers for such insurance products has increased, so too have the means by which tourists and others can secure the policies.

Competition among Mexican auto insurance brokers along the border is fierce, as gas stations, currency exchange counters and other businesses completely unrelated to the insurance industry have begun selling auto insurance from easily accessible kiosks, counters and store windows.

"Frankly, in San Ysidro there's too much of (that type of brokerage) going on today. It has really mushroomed during the last five years," said P.J. Padilla, the president of Calexico-based Oscar Padilla Mexican Insurance Services, Inc., which his father...

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