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Car Insurance in Ecuador (2021-22)

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I first bought and drove my Ecuador car, a 2016 Chevy Sail, five years ago .. and at one time had vehicle insurance.

That lapsed and I was away from Ecuador for a while.  The car's battery needs to be re-energized and the motor checked, but with the news (reported on another thread) that Ecuadorians may drive on an expired license through New Year's Eve 2021, I may be just days away from getting back on the road.

So I queried my longtime immigration (and motor vehicle expert) attorney, Sebastian Cordero, to find out the rules on car insurance.  Is it required?  The answer he wrote back surprised me.

According to Sebastian, liability insurance coverage is included with the mandatory payment of one's 'matrícula' -- which technically means license plate but is interpreted to mean the annual registration/fee.

However, Sebastian added, optional coverage beyond just liability insurance is recommended.

cccmedia in Quito

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Canceling a 'matrícula' debt is possible at a bank here in Quito, but not just any bank.

I attempted to pay off the several hundred dollars (a total covering multiple years) that I owe for this when I visited my bank in El Centro, Banco Guayaquil, this afternoon.

A bank officer informed me, though, that I would have to pay it off at Banco del Pacífico a few blocks away.

I plan to do that tomorrow, as it would have involved too much time to do it today. 

See, like many Expats, my bank account in Ecuador is a savings account with no check-writing privileges.

This means I will have to withdraw the hundreds of dollars in cash from bank number-one, walk over to bank number-two .. and set up the paperwork for the deposit with a bank officer there.

In pre-pandemic days, this would potentially have meant long waits on line on the last day of the month* (June 30 in this case).  However, based on the lack of lines today, I am optimistic I can get the insurance thing done before my appointment at the dentist.

That way, I can get automatic liability insurance, and soon get back .. on the road again.

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*unless one is among the mayores (over 65), who have their own priority line.

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