Moving to the Dominican Republic? Get the FACTS on Dominican Auto Insurance before you make your decision. Share your insurance experiences with others.

The Dominican Republic has the worst drivers in the world! There are more deaths per capita related to motor vehicles accidents than any other country in the world. That’s the sad and ugly truth about the Dominican Republic. It’s not a matter of IF you get into an auto accident, it’s WHEN!

The Dominican Republic has the worst drivers in the world! There are more deaths per capita related to motor vehicles accidents than any other country in the world.

So, needless to say, you’re going to need auto insurance if you drive here. Unfortunately, what you are used to as auto insurance, is not necessarily the same as Dominican auto insurance. You see, everything is just a little bit different here in the Dominican Republic.

First the GOOD NEW! You can get auto insurance and it’s basically CHEAP! (Well compared to the prices you would be paying in North America).

What’s the catch? How did I know you would be asking that?

There is no Safe Driver Discount

But it’s actually either better or worse than that, depending on how you look at things. The price you pay for your car insurance is determined by the value of your vehicle. It has nothing to do with your driving habits.

So is this good or is this bad? Well, if your an alcoholic, and get in 3-4 auto accidents per year, this is GREAT NEWS!

Because your insurance rates will be the same as the person who has never got in a single accident in the last 50 years!

It will take 5x longer to fix your vehicle than quoted

Remember, it”s not IF you will get into an accident, it”s WHEN.

I dont care how good of a driver you are, you cannot avoid the drunk guy on the motorcycle, driving on the wrong side of the street AT NIGHT, dressed in black, with no tail lights or headlights.

So once you wreck your car, you’ll probably have to get your car towed and report the incident to your auto insurance company. They will seem very sympathetic and make all sorts of promises to you.

“Oh, we are so sorry, but you’re in good hands”, sound familiar?

It’s not as bad as it seems, we’ll get this taken care of right away and you’ll have your vehicle back in no time”.

Haha! Check back in a few months.

If an insurance company needs to order a part for your vehicle from the USA, Japan, or China, it’s going to take even longer. I’ve personally had to wait 6 months for the insurance company to order the correct parts.

You see, if you order a body part from China (or even the USA for that matter), the shipping cost could vary between $400 and $50. Why would an insurance company opt to pay $400 to send they part via plane, when it’s just as efficient (for them) to order it by boat? So it takes an extra week or month! Who cares?

The Police here are licensed criminals

You may be sent to the local police department to get an accident report. Hahaha! You’ve heard of “Protect and Serve”?

Well in the Dominican Republic the purpose of the police is to “Steal and Intimidate”! These people are worse than useless! You’d be better off finding the local drug dealer to help you out instead of the local police. Oh wait, it”s kind of the same thing.

Anyways, you’re going to get the run-around. They ain’t going to do nothing for you unless you pay them off! The amount you pay is determined by two factors.

  1. How lazy they are that day
  2. How much it cost to send their girlfriend to the salon

And dont expect this to happen in one trip. You”ll be making multiple trips back and forth to get the cooperation from these wonderful people.

Your auto insurance company will lie to you

Oh, what a shock! You’ll hear things like “your car will be ready next week”. Which really means “Give it 2 or 3 more months”.

Or they’ll say things like “all the parts have been ordered and they’ll start working on your car Monday”.

Translation “what an idiot, I haven’t ordered a thing and it’s my lunch time right now“.

And here”s the best one.

“Yes Mr Customer, we know it’s been 4 months since your car got wrecked and you submitted your claim. I’m sorry we’ve done nothing, but your insurance premium is now due“!

So, what are my options when it comes to auto insurance?

I’m glad you asked! Unfortunately, I dont have a great answer for you. If you live here in Punta Cana, or specifically the Dominican Republic, iyou are bound by the rules and culture of the people here.

If you shop around, you can find higher priced insurance as well as lower priced insurance. The different, however, is miniscule. Generally if you pay more, the company will guarantee you a rental car for 15 days while your vehicle is being repaired. If you pay less, you might only get a rental car for 10 days.

In the end, the point is really mute. Suck it up and accept it! It”s going to take months to have your car repaired! So the different between 10 and 15 days is really pointless.

I also find it somewhat annoying that even during those 10 to 15 days that you get a rental car your insurance company will not insure it! You can expect to pay $30-$60 dollars per day EXTRA to insure your FREE RENTAL CAR!

Dominican Auto Insurance Companies

I hope you have better luck than me. I”ve carried insurance with a few of these carriers. Each time they suck and I move on to another insurance company hoping to find something better. So far, no luck. But for your enjoyment, here is a list of local Dominican Insurance Companies.