Insurance costs - No clue

[mrpoose]

I have started looking at class B RVs but have no idea what I can expect to pay for insurance. I am probably willing to pay $30-40k for a rig, but am now just serious enough to wonder insurance costs. Any rule of thumbs? I would be a pre-rookie class B owner or any RV for that matter. Thanks!

[mikeehlert]

Perennial question and it all depends on the vehicle, company, and location. At that price you are in the used market and is paying don’t have a loan company to deal with.

Find a good general insurance agent and have him shop the various companies.

[InterBlog]

Insurance rate also depends on two other factors besides geography and the vagaries of any given year's rate structure:

(1) Whether it's a boilerplate market policy vs. agreed value

(2) Whether it's a "vacation" policy vs. "full time"

If you are looking for a less expensive rig, are willing to settle for an off-the-shelf "vacation" policy, and have a spotless claims record (i.e., no claims), I suspect that you would be able to snag a policy for less than a thousand bucks a year. Perhaps considerably less.

In contrast to that scenario, I have an agreed-value, "full-timer" policy, not because I full-time, but because I use our rig for more activities than "vacation", and "full time" is the only other non-commercial policy status that is offered by the industry (I own a small business and I sometimes work out of the van - and I'm putting all these terms in quote marks because the way the insurance companies define them is not the same as people use them in common speech - I'm omitting details for brevity). So I'm paying more than a thousand bucks a year in Texas.

= two general points of reference FYI.

Edit: The fastest way to navigate this question would be to get an agent. I use Ron Jarvie of Overland Insurance (RV specialists). He brokered my somewhat unusual policy (unusual because full-time policies are almost never written for vans).

https://rvins.com/contact.htm

[jrobe]

I was pleasantly surprised with my State Farm policy. My $100k + Sprinter RV policy cost me about the same as I pay for my car with the same exact coverage.

[avanti]

I don't think I understand this "full-timer" vs. "vacation" stuff. Are you saying that your insurer issues policies that limit the use of the vehicle to "vacation use" or some such? I guess that is done with antique and collector vehicles, but I have never heard of it in an RV. Our rig is just another vehicle on our State Farm policy with no usage restrictions.

I generally have a bad opinion of "agreed value" policies (although I understand that you seem to have a special goal in mind). Insuring anything for more than its fair market value makes little sense. You are just gambling--You "win" only by having an accident. Odds are probably better at your nearest roulette table.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by jrobe

I was pleasantly surprised with my State Farm policy. My $100k + Sprinter RV policy cost me about the same as I pay for my car with the same exact coverage.

Same here for our Chevy Roadtrek, but I noticed the collision and especially the comprehensive coverages were far more expensive than our daily driver, while liability was far less. Overall it evened out. Makes sense.

No special limitations on use, ordinary ACV policy.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by avanti

I generally have a bad opinion of "agreed value" policies (although I understand that you seem to have a special goal in mind). Insuring anything for more than its fair market value makes little sense. You are just gambling--You "win" only by having an accident. Odds are probably better at your nearest roulette table.

They are most commonly used with a home built or vintage unit that has undergone a significant renovation or restoration. An appraisal and/or receipts are typically required to support the valuation.

It’s not about insuring for more than fair market value, but about establishing a fair market value for a rare or unusual vehicle in advance of a loss.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

An appraisal and/or receipts are typically required to support the valuation.

Maybe I don't really understand.

Why would the insurer require an appraisal? If you wish to pay for a ridiculous amount of insurance that they would only end up paying in a complete loss, wouldn't they be happy? Seems to me that it would be analogous to life insurance. They will happily sell you as much as you want. No?

[mrpoose]

Thank you all for your responses! Boy, do I still have a lot to learn. What you all have shared is AWESOME! Any other lessons are very much appreciated. All of us are smarter than one of us, right? Thanks again!!

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by avanti

Maybe I don't really understand.

Why would the insurer require an appraisal? If you wish to pay for a ridiculous amount of insurance that they would only end up paying in a complete loss, wouldn't they be happy? Seems to me that it would be analogous to life insurance. They will happily sell you as much as you want. No?

As I said, agreed-value not a common type of policy, and it’s mostly used for high end custom builds and restorations. And no, they won’t insure for any arbitrary amount you want like life insurance. You have to prove what it’s worth, and they have to agree to that valuation. I'm on a fiberglass "egg" trailer forum, and it's been used by folks who have done frame up restorations of vintage Boler and Trillium trailers. On this forum I could see it making sense for a vintage Westfalia project, or a high-end custom upfit of a stock van. For a garden-variety, off-the-shelf Class B, no.

If I had just spent $30K restoring a vintage Westfalia with an unrestored market value of, say, $5K, yes, I might want a higher agreed-value policy. It’s not just about a total loss. Let’s say a tree limb falls on the vehicle, and let’s say the repair estimate is $7K. An agreed-value policy would cover the repair. An ordinary ACV policy would total it because the repair exceeds the unrestored value of similar vehicles. They pay out the $5K and take the vehicle as salvage. The alternative is to forgo making a claim and pay the full $7K repair out of pocket.

It also serves as protection in the event of collision damage in which another party is at fault. The higher valuation has been established, which the other party’s insurer must recognize, and your insurer will meet any deficiency in the other party’s policy limits under your uninsured/underinsured coverage. (Don't know about other states, but AZ only requires $10K property damage liability, which is a joke.)

Of course all insurance is a form of gambling, and the house always wins. Since an RV is a non-essential luxury item, you could argue against taking out a loan or carrying any kind of insurance beyond required liability.