5C's Que Pasa

~woke up to a very cool 3C/37F this morning.  Sure nice to have both the furnace and the fireplace heating the house up.

~got our Mexican Travel Insurance ordered yesterday.  A quick effortless phone call to San Xavier Mexico Insurance Nogales @ 1- 888 – 377  1570.  Lupita pulled up our file ( we have been dealing with them for 14 years ) and told me it would cost the same this year as it did last year.  $642.91 USD for the RV and $252.53 USD for the HHR toad.  Next spring I will send these figures plus proof of our time in Mexico and get the entire amount refunded through our B.C. vehicle insurance policies.  I even make a profit, they refund me more than I pay out.  Bonus.

~I know someone is going to ask,”how to I prove my time in Mexico”?  We always provide the statement from the RV Park we stay in during our last night in the USA showing the date in and the date out and ask them to add both of our vehicles license plates to the statement.  I usually also have a final purchase receipt of something that is dated.  We do the same for our first night in Mexico, getting a statement with date and license plates.  It is a good thing to keep the first few toll booth receipts as well as the vehicle import receipt you will get.  Then do the same thing again when you leave Mexico and enter the USA next spring.  By turning in all of these receipts, we have always received a full ( and more money yet ) refund.

~I forgot to mention, San Xavier will both email and snail mail you your Mexican Insurance papers.  Nice to have that out of the way with one quick phone call.

~I also managed to get the ball rolling on our Travel Medical Insurance.  I write about this every fall and if you need more information you can check my posts from past Septembers and Octobers when I blog about getting ready to leave and all the to do’s.  Colin and I are relatively healthy and take no medications other than natural supplements.  We don’t feel the need for constant medical coverage and only purchase travel insurance from the day we leave until the day we arrive on the Isla.  I do suggest adding a few extra days in case of unexpected delays.  Last year we were stuck in Las Vegas with engine problems for 2 days so I always add on 3 -4 days for the just in case scenario.  We also pre purchase our return from Mexico to Canada, again adding a few extra days.  You can call and change your return dates for a small fee.  We deal with a local insurance company who deals with TIC Travel Insurance.  The policy we get is called ‘Take Flight, Single-Trip Plan”.  Should something happen to us in Mexico we will go to the local hospital and pay for the service we receive and then would get our provincial B.C. Health Care to reimburse what they would have paid for the same procedure here at home.  The following is a copy/paste from the government web site.

Out of Country Emergency Medical Care

The cost of medical care outside Canada can be much higher than the amounts payable by MSP and extended health care plans. For complete protection, additional medical insurance should be purchased from a private insurance company, even if you only plan to leave the country for a day. Check the exclusions and limitations of your private insurance policy carefully to ensure that the policy meets your personal needs.

If you have extended health benefits through your employer you should contact them to determine the policy provisions prior to purchasing additional medical insurance.

When you receive medical services outside Canada (or in some instances outside B.C.), you will need to claim reimbursement from MSP using an Out of Country Claim Form. The completed form should be returned with:

• an itemized account, including the dates of service and details of services performed, and
• either the unpaid bills or the original receipts if the bills have been paid.

Note: Out of Country claims must be submitted within 90 days of the date of service. In-patient hospital claims (and any associated medical claims) must be submitted within six months of discharge.

Payment for physician services will be issued in Canadian funds only and will be paid at the same rate that would have been paid if the services were received in B.C.

~this is the direct link to the exact medical form you will need.  Print it out now and travel with it.

~Colin’s newest acquisition arrived yesterday.  Long time readers will remember how badly he has suffered with ringing in his ears, not nice for a musician.  While in Mexico we saw the miracle worker chiropractor Diego.

Diego suggested that Colin hang from a high beam a few times per day to stretch his neck and shoulders and it works.  That along with a few other exercises has eliminated the ringing in his ears.  The hanging however has pulled tendons in one of  his key guitar  fingers so he needed a new way to stretch.  Gotta love this guy, he is always searching for the answer and never gives up.

He bought an inversion table.

No that is not me, ours is till in the box and it is heavy.  We might just leave it in the box until we get to Mexico.  We bought in online through Amazon and last week we paid $120.00 before taxes with free shipping.  Today it is on sale for $ 155.22.  I am looking forward to trying it out.  Lots of great information on the positives of using this therapy here.

~we have hired a writer to do the writing part of our tommie Award submissions.  I could do it, but I am long winded and each entry has to discuss a huge amount of information in only 250 words.  So we hired Albert.  One of the new odd categories that is available this year is “Out of the Box”.  So we came up with the open line of the entry yesterday, ‘built in a box for out of the box living’.  I think that sums up our lifestyle perfectly.

It was built in a factory

...and we certainly don't lead an ordinary life.

Tags: 319, emergency, health, insurance, Isla de la Piedra, Mazatlan, Mexico, Stone Island, Tommie awards, travel, Tres Amigos RV Park