Cars made in the year 2000 or newer can be insured for Full Coverage – civil responsibility (personal injuries and damage to foreign property), medical assistance, and coverage for the insured vehicle (collision and comprehensive).

Cars from 1999 or older are insured for Civil Responsibility (damage to thirds) under Panamanian law. This coverage includes foreign property and personal injuries for third parties. Your policy can also include medical assistance for the driver/passengers in your car.

The older the car the higher the premium for full coverage – this has to do with the risk of a car accident and older parts are harder to get and more expensive.

Depreciation is done 20% first year (some companies do 15%) and then 15% the rest of the years.

If you bring your car to Panama include the entry taxes as part of the value of the car.

For you to be covered your license needs to be valid. You can use any license from any country or an international license for up to 3 months; just make sure it’s not expired!

No-fault coverage does not exist in Panama.

If you are financing a car, banks will require you to have a full coverage policy. It is much better to use a broker who can assess your needs, compare different premiums, and assist you in a claim. The Law 59, of July 29, 1996 (which regulates insurance in Panama) in Article 36 states that a consumer has the right to chose who will sell him/her insurance. So don’t pay higher premiums at the bank!

AAA does not exist in Panama, but your insurance policy has roadside assistance included! This covers jump-starts, towing, a tire change, or gas delivery (gasoline costs are not included).

To get a quote for car insurance, please email forlacol@gmail.com with the following information:

- Value of the car (depreciation is done 20% the first year and 15% thereafter)
- Make
- Model
- Year

In the US and other countries banks require title insurance as a requirement to obtain a mortgage loan. Here for commercial or private loans, banks require a person to obtain fire and life insurance policies as a guarantee that if the person passes away the insurance company will reimburse the bank for the unpaid portion of the loan. The property you are buying is not sufficient collateral for banks in Panama.

You have the option of buying these insurance policies from the bank or getting them from a broker.

THE LAW

Article 36 of the Law 59 of 29 of July of 1996.

Clients of private and state banks, financial companies, fiduciaries, credit institutions, and automobile agencies, have the liberty to decide and designate their insurance companies and their insurance brokers (natural or juridical) in those transactions in which the purchase of an insurance is needed.

There are numerous advantages of obtaining life and fire policies from a broker.

THE BENEFIT OF HAVING AN INSURANCE BROKER

An insurance broker is an intermediary between the client and the insurance company and/or the bank. We believe in creating lasting relationships with our clients and in order to do so we have to provide our clients with the fastest service and the lowest premiums that satisfy their individual needs. After doing a need analysis, we give our clients a few options with different premiums for them to choose which one they find more suitable.

When it comes to bank mortgage or loans we do this on a daily basis, so we know the importance of being reliable and fast. We handle all the paperwork required by the insurance company and after the policy is emitted we take it to the bank, so it’s more convenient for our clients.

LOWER PREMIUMS

We offer term policies for mortgage loans. What this means is that unless you choose to get a permanent policy, we do policies specific for the amount of the loan. You can bring us the quote on the policies the bank offers and we will always beat that price!

VIP SERVICE

We understand that your time is valuable; this is why we design everything to fit your commodity. Many of our clients prefer to do their exams in their own country since their stays in Panama are short. To do this we have arrange a network of labs and doctors in most countries of the world. All we need to do is know where you live permanently and we will send you to one of our providers. The costs of the lab and/or medical exams will be reimbursed using as a reference the cost for those exams in Panama.

If you have a longer visit it is preferable to do those exams here in Panama. Our lab specialist and/or doctor will come to you (even to your hotel) at no cost or you can go directly to the clinic and/or lab.

Let us know to coordinate an appointment. The exams should not take more than a few minutes.

Contact our customer service department at forlacol@gmail.com or by phone (507) 6676-5151 for more information on how to get a mortgage in Panama.

• Lab and medical exams are required for insured sums greater than $150,000. Also they might be required depending on the person’s age.
• Exams can be done in your home country (if you do not live in Panama) using our medical network. Any exams done outside of Panama must be pre- approved.
• Medical and lab exams can be done in your home or hotel.
• The cost of the exams will be covered completely by the company in Panama and outside of Panama exams will be reimbursed according to the cost of exams in Panama.

Advise for People Taking Lab Exams

• The exams which require fasting means no eating or drinking for 10 to 12 hours prior to the exam.
• Do not work out the day of your exams.
• Women must make sure they are not in their menstruation or the days following it because there can be a fake positive for blood in the urine.

Courtesy of Laboratorio Clinico Fernandez. Centro Comercial La Florida, Calle 53, Marbella Tel: (507) 269-4413 Fax: (507) 223-4431