US Cell Phones in Mexico - How to Report a Mexican Insurance Claim

Make sure to check with your US cell phone carrier to make sure you can use your cell phone while in Mexico!

If you need to make a Mexican auto insurance claim, your cell phone could be a great help. So make sure you have cell phone service in Mexico before you leave on your trip.

Congratulations - you bought your quality Mexican auto insurance from our website - but now you need to do one more thing to make sure you can easily contact the Mexican insurance company in case of an auto accident or if you need travel assistance. You need to make sure your cell phone will work while you are in Mexico, and you need to know how to dial phone numbers in the proper format for Mexico!

Did you know that many US cell phones need the 'international dialing feature' turned on in your US cell phone account before you can dial calls in Mexico?

Most cell phones will automatically receive calls while in Mexico - with roaming charges if you do not have an international plan - but many cell phone providers do not automatically allow you to dial out from your cell phone while in Mexico. In order to have the ability to dial out while you are in Mexico, you need to contact your US cell phone provider to turn this feature on. It should be a free feature, but you still need to contact them to activate this feature. (Supposedly this feature is not turned on by default because when cell phones get stolen, the cell phone carrier does not want the thief to be able to make expensive international calls).

Nationwide Calling Plans - Plus Mexico - Flat Rate with No Roaming in Mexico

Many US cell phone carriers now offer special plans that include calling to Mexico and calling from within Mexico service for a flat monthly fee of around $15. This feature can be turned on for 1 month, then cancelled the following month, so this type of plan is highly recommended for any month you are traveling to Mexico. If you do not add the Mexico calling pan to your account, you can expect to pay around $1 per minute for Mexico roaming fees, whether dialing out or receiving calls. So if you think you may be on your cell phone for more than 15 minutes, you should probably order this service for the time you will be in Mexico.

How to Dial Out with Your US Cell Phone While In Mexico

Dialing a Mexican Toll Free Number

This is extremely important - because your Mexican auto insurance claims phone number is a Mexican toll free phone number. Mexican toll free numbers are dialed with 01-800-XXX-XXXX. You absolutely must dial the 01 at the start of the number in order for the number to work. All toll free phone numbers in Mexico use this format whether you are dialing from a cell phone or land line. As stated above, you must also have 'international dialing' activated on your US cell phone by your cell phone carrier in order to place calls on your US cell phone while in Mexico.

Please see our other pages about reporting Mexican auto insurance claims in Mexico.

You may also want to consider renting a satellite phone if you plan to travel in remote areas of Mexico.

Dialing a Mexican Local Number

As long as you have 'international dialing' turned on by your US carrier, this is very easy. You just dial the Mexican phone number without any area code - it should be a seven digit number.

Dialing a Mexican Long Distance Phone Number

As long as you have 'international dialing' activated by your US company, you will need to dial 01, then the area code and phone number. 01 is the Mexican prefix for all long distance calls within Mexico.

Dialing a Mexican Local Cell Phone

There is a different format for dialing to a Mexican cell phone, whether you are using a US cell phone or a Mexican land line. For local Mexican cell phones, you dial 044, then the Mexican area code and phone number.

Dialing a Mexican Long Distance Cell Phone

When dialing to a Mexican cell phone that is out of the local Mexican area code - long distance to a Mexican cell phone - you need to dial 045, then the full Mexican area code and phone number.

Dialing to the US from Mexico with Your US Cell Phone

If you are in Mexico with your US cell phone, and you wish to call someone in the US, you will need to dial 001- followed by the full US area code and phone number.

Blackberries, I-Phones, and other Mobile Data Devices

You definitely want to contact your carrier before bringing your mobile data device to Mexico. There may be very expensive data roaming charges in Mexico, and you could get a whopper of a bill if you start using the internet services on your device while in Mexico. There are many international plans that each US carrier offers which include flat fees, so you will want to contact them before leaving for Mexico. If you find yourself in Mexico and you forgot to contact your carrier, it is recommend that you turn off your data service while in Mexico in order to avoid racking up a monster bill.

Test Your Cell Phone Once You Are a Few Miles Across the Border

To be safe, we highly recommend testing your cell phone once you are a few miles south of the border (if you are within a mile or two of the border, you may actually still be accessing a US cell tower, so wait till you are out of range of the US cell towers). If you make a few test calls successfully, then you will know that you can use your cell phone if an emergency pops up while in Mexico. You may want to try a test call to the Mexican insurance claims phone number as well just to make sure your phone can connect to the claims office. It is better to sort out any phone technical issues prior to an emergency!