Seeking RV Insurance for 4WD New SMB

[BogusBlake]

Originally Posted by BogusBlake

We'll see what a real agent says...

Ha. The very first thing the "real agent" I called this morning said was "What's a Sportsmobile?" (facepalm)
On the bright side, he was very receptive to learning about it and is trying to find some coverage that will fit. I'm not holding my breath. My boss said it's cool if I "camp" in our parking lot. Heck, we have shore power and water hookups! Maybe that counts?

Originally Posted by daveb

the lady said "this big huge thing just kept coming at me".

I think I saw that movie. Don't tell my wife...

[jage]

Luckily my state has single party recording laws, so all my conversations with Progressive are taped- like the one where the representative assures me that while there is a 4" lift limit for normally insured vehicles, there is no such clause in my "RV" coverage. Hopefully I will never have to dig them out, but after they (Progressive) ganked me with the "$500 aftermarket equipment" cap on my F250 policy (my custom made aluminum truck cap got totaled) I was increasingly unhappy with them.

Everything is back on Farmers, where I have an actual agent, execpt the SMB (waiting for policy expire to check prices again) and the big enclosed, which is independently insured with GMAC, despite the fact that Farmers actually covers trailer+contents, unlike Progressive.

[BogusBlake]

After a few days, I was successful in getting appropriate insurance for my van!
Here's how it went down:
After Progressive, who insures all my other vehicles, indicated that they would not offer a policy to cover the van, I called local agents for State Farm, Allstate, and Farmers. After discussing what I had and what use I intended, only the Farmers agent was interested in figuring things out.

They understood and confirmed in writing:
- that a camping van is different from a cargo van or an RV.
- that I intend to use the van for regular personal vehicle activities
- that I intend to take the van off of improved roads
- the extent of modifications to the van (from what was delivered to SMB from Ford)
- the added value these modifications represent

Lucky for me, the three previous owners of my van were very diligent in keeping receipts for items purchased and labor performed. I scanned all of these and sent this to the insurance agent, who then took that to the underwriter.
We then filled out a "Customization Report" which specifically lists the major items and systems which differ from the Ford factory equipment (camper conversion and it's elements, 4x4 system and it's elements, bumpers, etc). This report also includes the total replacement value of the customizations. I signed it and now it's part of the policy documents. If I ever add another big ticket item, I should send them a copy of the receipt to add to the file.

In WA, there is typically a $10k limit on the customization they will insure. But my documentation was awesome so the underwriter and agent authorized my customization coverage up to the balance of my purchase price minus the current value of the base vehicle.
Now that we had documented what I have, the underwriter took about 2 days to contemplate it all, then confirmed that they would offer me a policy. I then chose coverage limits and deductible amounts, paid the down payment, and I was set.

At the end of the day, the premium cost is about 50% higher than my 2004 Tacoma 4x4, but I have higher coverage limits on the SMB.

Now to go get weighed and smogged!

[geoffff]

Interesting that Progressive won't insure you. I have our Sportsmobile insured by Progressive. Did you specify that you wanted a "Motorhome" policy?

Progressive has our van insured under a "Motorhome" policy, separate from the "Auto" policy we have for our other cars. Progressive lists my van as Make/Model = "Sport/Sportsmobile" (rather than "Ford/Econoline").

-- Geoff

[scottman]

Originally Posted by geoffff

Interesting that Progressive won't insure you. I have our Sportsmobile insured by Progressive. Did you specify that you wanted a "Motorhome" policy?

Progressive has our van insured under a "Motorhome" policy, separate from the "Auto" policy we have for our other cars. Progressive lists my van as Make/Model = "Sport/Sportsmobile" (rather than "Ford/Econoline").

-- Geoff

Same here, in fact I got the hookup for progressive from my lender usaa and its all available from my same account info from usaa.com. Did I mention I love usaa yet?

[BogusBlake]

Yeah, I have all our other vehicles with progressive. I tried to do an RV policy with them but they wouldn't cover me if I drove the van to, or parked at, work which is a dealbreaker for me.

My boss suggested that I just plug into shore power when I'm at work and say I'm camping.
At the end of the day, I'm happier when it doesn't feel like anyone involved is trying to pull a shenanigan.

[geoffff]

Originally Posted by BogusBlake

Yeah, I have all our other vehicles with progressive. I tried to do an RV policy with them but they wouldn't cover me if I drove the van to, or parked at, work which is a dealbreaker for me.

Gotcha -- that does sound like the clincher. Has to be a recreation vehicle, not an everyday (commuter) vehicle.

[jage]

Originally Posted by BogusBlake

I'm happier when it doesn't feel like anyone involved is trying to pull a shenanigan.

Yeah, no sense in getting into an avoidable battle about whether or not you drive it to work... haha, I work at home, am I stuck?

[radin2son]

This thread started almost 2 years ago and nothing has been resolved, but it did get me to look at my policy.

Just before we purchased our NV SMB, I called my Farmers' agent in Tucson to see what he needed; he had no clue what a NV or SMB was. After we wrote the check at SMB west, we faxed him everything he needed and spoke with him on the phone. He still didn't grasp the SMB concept, so I emailed him the NV info from SMB's web site. I said the dreaded word, camper "conversion," not camper van. As a result, we have been underinsured for 9 months to the tune of $30,000. Basically, I had an auto policy with the maximum $10,000 for the conversion.

I called him yesterday and clarified that the NV SMB was purchased new as a camper van from a Nissan dealer. This seemed to make a difference. He increased the coverage by 30,000, only to have the computer reject it. $10,000 was the maximum amount allowed for a conversion.

He then decided to go with a motor home policy. My car/van policy was cancelled and a motor home policy was set up with Foremost Insurance Company out of Grand Rapids, MI. They are owned by Farmers'. When he plugged in the NV info, it automatically came out as 2012 Sportsmobile Class B. This is a depreciation, not full replacement, policy that costs $667 annually. $500 deductible, free glass replacement and reasonable expense for towing. The latter means no mileage limit/$ amount but whatever it costs to get it to a place to be repaired.

This I hope is helpful.

[rawdawg]

In So Cal I went with AAA and received a replacment value policy with a milage cap of 6000 miles.
So a 95k full coverage policy is running about 485.00 per year