We discuss the Importance of Obtaining Travel Insurance for Tourists Traveling to Mexico. Also International Medical insurance, Automobile, Boat, Homeowners, HOA Insurance and even Business Insurance in Puerto Vallarta with Michael Keller of Guardian Insurance, Mexico.

Listen to The Podcast

This week, I have a special guest, Michael Keller of Guardian Insurance Mexico. But before we get to that conversation, let’s see what’s happening in Puerto Vallarta this week, December 6^th, 2017.

How Did the Virgin Mary Become Our Lady de Guadalupe?

We are half way through the Pilgrimage to the Church of Our Lady de Guadalupe and a couple of you asked me about how the Virgin Mary got the name, Guadalupe? What’s with that? Okay. Fair enough. Here goes, it has a lot to do with the Aztec language.

When Juan Diego came to Bishop Zumarraga, to tell him that he had seen and spoken with the virgin Mary, he explained that she spoke to him in

his native Indian tongue. When he asked her who she was, what was her name, he explained to the bishop that she said she her name was

 

Subscribe On iTunes & Leave a Good Review

Subscribe On Android Devices

Send Barry an Email

 

Coatlaxopeuh (pronounced quatlazupe) in the Nahuatl (Aztec language). Which as a matter of fact, can be interpreted as meaning “the one who

crushes the serpent,” and that it may be referring to the feathered Aztec serpent Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood, and those priests are the characters that just loved to cut out the hearts of their human sacrifices. So that would make some sense that she would introduce herself to Juan Diego as a serpent crusher, right?

When the Bishop heard Juan Diego pronounce the word, he assumed the name was the more familiar Guadalupe, a famous Spanish Convent. So, anyway, Guadalupe stuck. That is one of many interpretations of the event and the origin of the name Lady of Guadalupe. By the way, if you haven’t done so yet, I tell the story of Juan Diego in last week’s podcast, so if you missed it, check it out. You will understand what the heck I’m talking about right now.

 

Progress Report on Parque de Los Azulejos

I’ve been keeping abreast of the goings on at Parque de Los Azulejos, and it’s looking so good! I have some photos coming from my buddy Nancy

Paige and you will find them in the show notes. I have a schedule of the workshops in the park which are a great way for all of you to learn from

the master, Natasha Moraga herself, the art of Mosaic Tiling. A skill you can take home with you and put to use, long after you return from paradise. You will also have the opportunity to make your mark in the park at the same time. I have links to all the upcoming events and workshops in the shownotes and you can always find Natasha at the booth at the Olas Altas Farmers Market on Saturday Mornings, so see her and buy a personalized tile for the Holidays, right there in person, or do it online at www.tileparkpv.com. Make your mark in the Park. I can’t wait to see what they have done when I get back next month. It’s so exciting I’m telling you! Parque de Los Azulejos. Great!

Workshops for Tile Park PV

 

There’s so much to talk about, but let’s get to our our topic and to our guest, Michael Keller.

Guardian Insurance Mexico, with Michael Keller

Back in June I had an interview with Pamela Thompson Webb of Healthcare Resources PV, and if you haven’t had a chance to listen to it, I

suggest you do because it’s one of the most downloaded episodes in the collection, and we talked about the importance of getting travel insurance when you travel to Mexico, and it’s so reasonable as you will see soon when we get to Michael. But healthcare, especially emergency healthcare in Mexico is not free. It’s not even reasonable, it can be very very expensive. Listen to this story from this July, …..

I got this article from Fox Channel 59 in Indiana, it reads….

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. – An American baby, born premature in Mexico, is being held hostage by a Cancun hospital, according to the grandparents trying to get him home. Michaela Smith and Larry Ralph Jr. planned a dream vacation to Mexico. But now the trip has turned into a nightmare.“Our daughter is stuck in Cancun, with our first grandchild and we can’t get him here,” said Elaine Smith, Michaela’s mother.Michaela was 28 weeks pregnant when she and Larry left for Mexico. Michaela’s parents say she checked with her doctor before moving forward with the plans they’d already made to leave the country. She was told traveling up until 30 weeks would be fine, so she went ahead.“They should’ve been home today,” said Elaine. But Michaela went into labor Tuesday morning, giving birth to Baby Beckham, born 12 weeks early. He weighed just two pounds, eight ounces. “A baby born at 28 weeks, in the United States, has a 96 to 98 percent chance of survival in that first year,” said Larry Ralph Sr., father of Larry Ralph Jr. Junior has been frantically working to get Michaela and his newborn baby out of Mexico.

Shortly after his birth, her parents say the nightmare began. “Literally they’re being held hostage down there,” said Larry Sr. “We just want to get him somewhere and get him stable. We need to get him in America.”

Michaela and Larry Sr. handed over nine thousand to the hospital for the first day of care and then another four thousand for various “fees.” Then they say hospital staff refused to release the baby to an air ambulance until they paid the bill in full.“Larry went that whole evening without seeing the baby,” said Larry’s father, Larry Ralph Sr. “They demanded pretty much he pay another $4,000 and that got him access to go back and see the baby.”The total kept changing, but was last pegged at $30,000, just two hours after they were told it would be $27,000. And even that total doesn’t include the money the four grandparents spent on the air ambulance.“The Medivac was paid for to St. Petersburg Hospital, that was around $18,000,” said Larry Sr. But that plan fell apart as well.

 

The grandparents learned from their first medical flight company that no Florida hospital would take Beckham because of his mother’s Hoosier Healthwise insurance.“I would’ve never thought that we would’ve had a problem getting him in a hospital here,” Elaine said. “We would’ve thought Florida would’ve been our best chance.”

They were on the phone with Congressman Trey Hollingsworth’s office all day to find a hospital that will take him since it’s an emergency. Hollingsworth’s office issued a statement saying, “Indiana’s 9th Congressional District office has been working with the family throughout the day seeking a solution to get this newborn home, to the United States, for necessary medical care. Representative Hollingsworth continues to assist and looks forward to greeting this new Hoosier as soon as he is home and healthy.”

The family also reached out to Senator Donnelly’s office on Wednesday. His office got back with them on Thursday told the family they’ve reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. Meanwhile, the cost of Beckham’s care in Mexico keeps climbing.

The family said they didn’t want to ask for money, but with nearly $30,000 spent out of pocket just on the hospital, they decided to start a GoFundMe to help bring Beckham home. “I love you Michaela,” said Elaine as she spoke to her on the phone. “We’re gonna get you and Larry and Beckham out of there. We will do it.”

At last check, the medical jet has landed in Cancun, and they are working on getting the family in an ambulance and on the medical jet now.

They hope the hospital will release him without incident, but worry they’ll continue asking for money they don’t have. Once the medical jet leaves Cancun, it will stop in Pensacola to go through customs, and then it will head to Indianapolis. If all goes well, they should be back in Indianapolis by 6 p.m.

The new jet costs nearly $30,000 to bring Beckham all the way to Indiana, a cost the family must pay for up front.

 It ended up that the family put together that Go-Fund Me page to raise the almost $60,000 it cost. Did the couple have Travelers insurance? Nope.

There are dozens of articles like this. Foreigners traveling to Mexico, thinking that everything is cheap, even medical care and then a medical emergency hits and wow, your whole world is turned upside down.

So, I wanted to get this interview out to the casual vacationer, but I also know that many of you are in Vallarta for the winter. You know who you are. Snowbirds. You need to know what types of coverage should you have while you are down here in the tropics, away from home for so long.

I also have lots of listeners out there who are thinking about making a permanent move to paradise, and they have been asking me questions as to what types of medical insurance, homeowners, automobile, business, all sorts of coverage you can buy in Mexico.

So, I thought I would bring on my friend Michael Keller of Guardian Insurance Mexico to tell us what is available, and what you should know about buying Mexican insurance policies.

Michael is an American who found a way, to make a living on his terms, in Mexico. He developed a skill set, and employed it, and is making a living

at it, where many expats struggle to find meaningful, good paying jobs and work out of the States, and in Mexico. To me, that’s just as amazing as some of the policies that are available to expats in paradise. Lo let’s go to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and talk with Michael Keller of Guardian Insurance, Mexico. ….

 

Listen to The Show

All right, I hope that you have a better understanding of Mexican Insurance policies, and why you need a really good broker/agent, to help you should you ever have a claim while you are in Paradise. I have all the information for Michael in the show notes for this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show.

Well, that should do it for this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show.

Website Guardian Insurance Mexico

Guardian Insurance Mexico Facebook Page

Next week, I’m going to have a special couple of travelers, Listeners, David and Lucia Garcia from Miami Florida, and they are going to talk about traveling with their two young Daughters in Puerto Vallarta. We are going to find out what’s it like to travel in Paradise with your kids. So stay tuned for that next week as well as more on the ground reports from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, with travel tips, great restaurant and excursion ideas and more.  Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.

And remember, if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you must go to Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through him, right from his website. Remember the value for value proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe you can come on-board and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again, contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message. Don’t forget his maps, his DIY tours and his revitalized Happy Hour Board. I have links to all of those in the show notes.

 

And once again, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe and give me a good review on iTunes if you would. That way we can get the word out to more and more people about the magic of this place. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember I made it easy for you to do just that with each episode I create. But if you haven’t been to my website, you really need to have a look there.  I have the links to the places we talk about, interesting pictures and the more all right there in my blog-posts and show-notes for each episode of the show so check them out for sure if you haven’t already all-right? All right.

So, thanks again to Michael Keller of Guardian Insurance, Mexico. Check out his contact info in the show notes of this episode of the show at puertovallartatravelshow.com. and thanks to all of you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos!