Your NOB (“North of the Border”; the US and Canada) car insurance will not cover you in Mexico, so if you drive in anything other than a rental car in Mexico, you will need to get Mexican car insurance.  (When you rent a car in Mexico, typically insurance is included, but make sure to ask.

Contact an agent for Mexican automobile insurance well in advance of your need, so you can feel comfortable with your agent and your policy.  Whether or not you will need US car insurance when driving in the US or Canadian car insurance when driving in Canada is a complicated question, so please make sure you understand all implications before you cancel any NOB car insurance.

I’m not aware how health insurance works in the different provinces in Canada, so I won’t comment on health insurance coverage for Canadians in Mexico.  However, if you’re a US citizen and come to live in Mexico, you should have Mexican health care coverage.  There are some very good policies at much lower rates than in the US (huge understatement) that will cover you in very good hospitals in Mexico and, if you travel to the US, will cover you in very good hospitals in the US until you are stable enough to be transferred to Mexico.

Whether or not you should cancel your US health insurance, especially if you have Medicare, is a very tricky and complicated question, so please make sure you understand all the implications of your actions well before you take them.

• If you will drive a US- or Canadian-plated car in Mexico, get Mexican car insurance from a reputable agent.

• Get some form of Mexican health insurance, whether full coverage, medical evacuation or something else you’re comfortable with.