Key Takeaways
A basic plan can protect other people and property, but it may not pay to fix the insured car after a crash.
A comprehensive plan can pay to repair the insured car, pay for total loss, pay for theft, and often pay for glass, with deductibles.
“Channel change” means buying through a different route, such as an agent or the insurer’s head office. The price and service can change even if the insurer stays the same.
A teen driver raises risk. Safety research shows teen drivers crash far more often per mile than older drivers. That makes “damage to the car itself” more important, not less. [4] [5]
Flood cover can exist inside comprehensive vehicle-damage cover, but the exact wording in the issued policy always matters. [1]
Story & Details
What this article is about
In early January two thousand twenty-six, a driver is choosing a Quálitas car insurance upgrade for a two thousand fifteen Chevrolet Spark in Mexico (North America). The key question is simple: stay with a plan that mainly pays for harm done to others, or move to a plan that also pays for damage to the Spark itself.
The life setup makes the choice feel urgent. The owner is an Argentine citizen (South America) with permanent residence in Mexico (North America). He has spent close to a year working in the Netherlands (Europe), and the same pattern may repeat. Travel is planned for mid-January two thousand twenty-six. While he is away, a teen family member will drive the car under a time-limited driving permit that runs for six months. The car is used for normal daily trips in a city in Veracruz, Mexico (North America), in a residential area with a “forest-like” name that is still part of the city.
The offer at the insurer’s headquarters: one payment, one year
At the insurer’s headquarters, the quoted annual price for the comprehensive package is seven thousand six hundred eighty-one Mexican pesos, paid once for one year of cover. The Spark is described as private use, normal use, model year two thousand fifteen.
The explanation at the desk focuses on what changes when comprehensive vehicle-damage cover is added. The talk is not abstract. It is about what happens after a crash.
Deductibles: the owner’s share, not the yearly price
A deductible is the part paid by the owner in a claim. It is not the yearly price of the policy. The quoted example uses a vehicle value of eighty-three thousand Mexican pesos.
For repair after a covered crash, the deductible is described as five percent of the vehicle value. In the example, that is about four thousand one hundred fifty Mexican pesos. After that share is paid, the insurer pays the rest of the covered repair cost.
For total theft, the deductible is described as ten percent of the vehicle value. In the example, that is about eight thousand three hundred Mexican pesos. After that share, the insurer pays the rest of the covered amount for the stolen vehicle.
For glass, the deductible is described as twenty percent of the glass and installation cost. A simple example is given: if the glass job costs one thousand pesos, the owner pays two hundred, and the insurer pays the rest, using the insurer’s provider network. Quálitas contract wording also describes a twenty percent share for glass claims in some policy forms. [2]
What stays the same: liability, medical help, legal help, roadside help
The headquarters explanation describes a third-party liability limit of three million Mexican pesos per event. It is described as covering damage to other people and other property, with no deductible for that part in the spoken explanation. Quálitas policy language also commonly ties liability to the vehicle’s use with the owner’s consent, which is why many people say “the car is insured, not one named driver.” [1]
Medical help for people inside the car is described as five hundred thousand Mexican pesos per event, split among occupants, with a maximum of two hundred thousand pesos per occupant in the spoken explanation.
Legal help is described as legal support and lawyer assignment if needed.
Roadside help is described as a “plus” style: ten towing services per year, each up to four hundred kilometers, and extra items like jump start, lockout help, and tire help a limited number of times per year, plus fuel delivery with a small money cap in the spoken explanation.
A driver death benefit of one hundred thousand Mexican pesos is also described.
What changes: paying for the Spark itself
The practical difference between limited and comprehensive is the Spark.
A limited package is described as covering theft plus the same core protections, but it does not pay to repair the insured vehicle after most crashes. A comprehensive package adds vehicle-damage cover and glass. That is why it can pay for repairs when the loss is not “too big,” and it can pay for a total loss when the damage is severe.
Partial loss and total loss: a percentage rule, not a feeling
The explanation given is a common one: if repair cost is less than the total-loss threshold, the loss is treated as repair, and the deductible applies. If repair cost is more than the threshold, the loss can be treated as total loss, and payment follows the insured value rules, with deductible.
A Quálitas contract form defines partial loss as repair cost that does not exceed seventy-five percent of the insured sum, and defines total loss when damage exceeds that threshold. [3] The key point is that the threshold is written into the contract wording tied to the issued policy form.
The short label that matters: total-loss-only vehicle damage cover
A confusing label comes up in real sales conversations: a total-loss-only form of vehicle-damage cover. It sounds like “damage cover,” but it can pay only when the event is big enough to count as total loss, not for smaller repairs. Quálitas public product wording describes this kind of “total loss only” structure. [1] For a teen driver, this detail matters because many real-life crashes are repairable, not total losses.
Flooding: what comprehensive vehicle-damage cover can include
Floods and water can turn a small car into a big bill. Quálitas public product wording for vehicle-damage cover includes flood-related events in its described covered risks, including engine damage tied to flooding in its listed items. [1] This supports the statement that comprehensive vehicle-damage cover can include flood risk, when that cover is truly part of the issued policy and exclusions do not remove it.
“The car is insured, not the driver”: true in spirit, but license still matters
The headquarters message is clear: the policy follows the car, and any licensed driver can drive with permission. That is a common structure for auto insurance. Still, claim handling and assistance terms often require a valid driving license or a valid permit at the time of the event. This becomes important when a teen’s driving permission is time-limited. Keeping that permission valid is one of the simplest ways to prevent avoidable claim disputes.
Why a teen driver changes the math
Teen drivers have much higher crash rates per mile than older drivers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that teen drivers have crash rates nearly four times those of drivers twenty and older per mile driven. [5] NHTSA also publishes age-based crash involvement rates that show elevated risk for young drivers. [4] This is not about blame. It is about probability, and probability is what insurance prices and what budgets must survive.
In this case, that risk makes “paying for the Spark’s own repairs” a central need. A plan that pays only for harm to others may feel cheaper, but one repair bill can erase years of savings.
Agent versus head office: the real meaning of “channel change”
“Channel change” means buying the same insurer’s product through a different route. One route is the insurer’s head office. Another route is an agent.
At head office, the requested paperwork is heavy: invoice copy, registration copy, owner identification copy, proof of address not older than three months, the car for inspection, plus email and mobile number. The headquarters staff also states that they do not already hold those documents when the existing policy was handled by an agent.
The agent route, as described, has two practical advantages: the agent already holds the file, and the comprehensive plan is about five hundred pesos cheaper. Head office claims an advantage in direct administration and follow-up. On paper, the contract can be identical in both routes, but the real-life experience can differ in speed, error risk, and how fast a correction or endorsement is handled.
The clean way to compare is to demand that the plan name, coverage lines, limits, and deductibles match exactly. If they match, the cheaper route with the faster paperwork path becomes more attractive. If they do not match, the cheaper price may be buying less protection than it seems.
A tiny Dutch lesson that fits this situation
A short trip life detail sits behind this insurance choice: working in the Netherlands (Europe). Here are two Dutch phrases that can help in an office setting.
“Mag ik de polis zien?”
Simple use: a polite way to ask to see the policy document.
Word-by-word: Mag = may, ik = I, de = the, polis = policy, zien = see.
Tone: polite and normal for office talk.
“Heeft u dat op papier?”
Simple use: a calm way to ask for something in writing.
Word-by-word: Heeft = have, u = you, dat = that, op = on, papier = paper.
Tone: polite and firm, useful when details matter.
Conclusions
As of early January two thousand twenty-six, the strongest protection for this situation is a Quálitas comprehensive package that truly includes vehicle-damage cover and glass, not only theft and liability. The quoted deductibles explain why: a fixed share paid by the owner can be far easier to handle than paying full repairs out of pocket.
Between agent and head office, the better choice is the route that issues the same coverage with the least friction before mid-January travel, and with the clearest written proof of the exact cover, limits, and deductibles. The teen-driver risk makes the details more important, not less.
Selected References
[1] Quálitas product page on personal cars and pickups (coverage descriptions, including flood-related items): https://www.qualitas.com.mx/web/qmx/autos-y-pickups-personales
[2] Quálitas policy form example mentioning a twenty percent share for glass claims (PDF): https://www.qualitas.com.mx/documents/19189400/21589262/Seguro%2Bde%2BAutomoviles%2By%2Bcamionetas%2B27-01-2022.pdf/a20d676a-4a7e-2773-3b36-9d803b51861b?t=1676014615861
[3] Quálitas contract form defining partial loss and total loss with a seventy-five percent threshold (PDF): https://www.qualitas.com.mx/documents/19189400/21605586/QJ01%2B1116-NA.pdf/14195330-7a09-32ed-f49c-b7db172105ca?t=1722663924536
[4] NHTSA overview page on young drivers and crash involvement rates (United States, North America): https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/young-drivers
[5] Insurance Institute for Highway Safety research page on teen driver crash rates (United States, North America): https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/teenagers
[6] CONDUSEF video on its auto insurance simulator (Mexico, North America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn5spOV7bs8
Appendix
Agent
An agent is a licensed seller who places an insurance policy with an insurer and helps with buying, renewal, and changes, depending on his service style.
Broker
A broker is a seller who can compare offers from more than one insurer and place the policy with the best match for the driver’s needs.
Channel
A channel is the buying route, such as direct with the insurer or through an agent; price and service can change by channel even when the insurer stays the same.
Comprehensive Cover
Comprehensive cover is a higher level of auto cover that can include damage to the insured car, theft, liability to others, and often glass and broader roadside help, with deductibles.
Deductible
A deductible is the owner’s share of a covered claim; it can be a percentage of vehicle value for damage or theft, and a percentage of the glass and labor cost for glass claims.
Flood Cover
Flood cover is protection for water-related damage when it is included inside the vehicle-damage section and not removed by exclusions in the issued policy.
Glass Cover
Glass cover pays for broken or stolen windows under the policy rules, usually through approved providers and with a special deductible percentage.
Liability Cover
Liability cover pays for injury or property damage caused to other people, up to a stated limit per event, often without a deductible.
Limited Cover
Limited cover is a mid-level style that often includes theft and liability to others, plus legal, medical, and roadside help, but does not usually pay for repairs to the insured car after a crash.
Partial Loss
A partial loss is damage that can be repaired and stays under the policy’s total-loss threshold; payment depends on having vehicle-damage cover and paying the deductible.
Premium
A premium is the price paid to buy the policy for the coverage period, such as one year; it is not the same as the deductible.
Provisional Permit
A provisional permit is a time-limited authorization to drive; keeping it valid helps avoid legal trouble and helps avoid claim disputes tied to driver permission.
Total Loss
A total loss is damage so large that repair cost crosses the policy’s defined threshold, or the vehicle is not recoverable; payment follows the policy’s total-loss rules.
Total-Loss-Only Vehicle Damage Cover
Total-loss-only vehicle damage cover pays for damage to the insured car only when the loss qualifies as total loss under the policy; it does not pay for smaller repairs.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 