Seeking RV Insurance for 4WD New SMB - Page 18

gcvt · 10-20-2015, 09:07 PM

Finally settled with State Farm today, after 19 weeks. They finally stopped playing games with their comps and came back with an acceptable number. Just a little paperwork to complete and I'll be actively shopping for a new SMB.

I'll also be shopping for a new insurer.

shenrie · 10-21-2015, 05:44 AM

^^^ what a nightmare

glad to hear youve at least settled and can begin the hunt for a replacement. just sorry to see you gotta part with that beautiful 5 series to do so

im on the hunt for new insurance as well. going to look into safeco myself. i use them for my motorcycle insurance right now anyway, so maybe i can start a safeco bundle?? insurance is a pita...im so sick of getting quotes.

arctictraveller · 10-21-2015, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcvt

Finally settled with State Farm today, after 19 weeks.

Glad to hear you finally settled, I hope it was fair. I met with my State Farm agent yesterday, and came away feeling like I was grossly underinsured. She called an underwriter while I was there and used your solar panel example to ask about my coverage. The underwriter really wouldn't budge from the standard "we really can't tell you anything untill you file a claim and then each claim is taken individually, your results MAY vary" I read into that to mean they could be worse too. I brought the van and pointed out the new solar panels, Aluminess goodies, winch, tires, wheels, rebuilt dif's etc. She pretty much said if the factory installed it, it's covered, if not I may be out of luck. She took a couple photos directly into the sun and said she would add them to my file. She also asked about getting an appraisal, the underwriter didn't really think it would do much, but said it couldn't hurt. So, I think I'm in the market for a new company. Best would be one that will write an agreed value policy, but I think those are few and far between. As I suspect several folks here will be shopping for new insurance, I'd love to hear what you find out. Meanwhile, I intend to take about a hundred photos, keep using my alarm, steering wheel lock, fuel pump cutout and possibly getting a guard dog

gcvt · 10-21-2015, 08:13 PM

shenrie - yeah, it was a nightmare. I knew insurance companies were shady, but not this shady. Guess I'll be looking at safeco as well.

Jeff - sounds like a good thing that you went in and reviewed everything with them.

arctictraveller · 10-22-2015, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcvt

Jeff - sounds like a good thing that you went in and reviewed everything with them.

I did that based your experience, I just wish I'd walked away feeling better, but it sounds like your on your way to a new SMB

gcvt · 10-22-2015, 11:15 PM

Jeff, I guess I can only hope that my experience spurs more people on to do what you recently did.

The company that does the valuations for State Farm is Mitchell, so when you're talking to State Farm about a total loss claim, they ALWAYS just say, "We'll contact our vendor for you." I have to wonder how many other major insurers use Mitchell, or other companies like them.

I can't say for sure what happened here, but when I called my local agent to add my new Infiniti to my policy, I reminded her that I'd been going back and forth with their claims specialists for over four months. She did not sound pleased. That phone call took place on Friday 10/16. On Monday 10/19, I received my 7th valuation and that's the one we agreed upon. Funny thing is, this 7th valuation doesn't have Mitchell's name on it. It just says State Farm. Hmm.

Ben10281 · 10-23-2015, 07:48 AM

Glad to hear it go resolved! Looking forward to hearing about the hunt for a new van!

gcvt · 10-23-2015, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben10281

Glad to hear it go resolved! Looking forward to hearing about the hunt for a new van!

Thanks Ben. Just went and saw my agent to pick up my check. Glad it's done.

AKSeeker · 10-23-2015, 10:37 PM

Greg it's good to hear that the ordeal is over and now you can move on towards finding or commissioning the replacement SMB the way that you really always wanted it! For the education of the rest of us, can you share the percentage of the final settlement value check versus a realistic replacement cost of a comparable, or what you believe was the realistic market value of your rig?

gcvt · 10-24-2015, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKSeeker

Greg it's good to hear that the ordeal is over and now you can move on towards finding or commissioning the replacement SMB the way that you really always wanted it! For the education of the rest of us, can you share the percentage of the final settlement value check versus a realistic replacement cost of a comparable, or what you believe was the realistic market value of your rig?

It's difficult to say because this was a very unique situation. I got a smoking deal on it from "rallypanam" so the settlement ended up being about 42% up from what I paid...minus the solar system. Comparables are even more difficult since they're all over the place; I'm looking at all makes and models - not just SMB. My budget for a new van could be anywhere from $20k-$30k. Just depends on what I fall in love with.