Newbie all the way around - insurance question

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pturner

New member
Joined
Aug 5, 2016
Posts
3
Hello everyone!
We sold our house & have been renting a one for a year., but my husband & I have finally took the plunge & bought a 2011 Carriage Cabo 361. We will pick up it up on Monday, so I'm trying to obtain full timer insurance. We will mostly be in the same place, as we have full time jobs near Branson, MO, though will occasionally travel to FL & TX as we have family there. My question is this -- what should I be looking for in regards to full-timer insurance? Are there certain things that I should absolutely make sure is included? I just received a quote through AMAC for $1253 for a year's coverage for the unit only. For now, we have coverage for our vehicle somewhere else. Is this a reasonable quote? I'm not sure what I"m look looking for in this policy, so any advice would be helpful to this newbie.

Thanks!
Patti Turner
 
Other Than Collision $500 Deductible $840.00
1 Collision $500 Deductible $337.00
1 Personal Effects $3,000 Included
1 Full Time Protection $100,000 Each Person / $300,000 Each Accident $58.00
Vehicle 1 Total $1,235.00
 
Insurance requires some knowledge and planning to buy correctly. Otherwise you get whatever a sales agent thinks might be suitable, and many of them these days are just phone reps cranking out quotes. They may not take the time to ask you about your situation to help determine what you really need.    More on this in a bit.

It is a waste of time to compare your rate quotes with others, whether same insurer or different. There are far too many individual variables to make that a worthwhile endeavor. You need to get your own quotes and shop around multiple insurers.

You probably want these types of coverages:
Vehicle Liability: Pays if your vehicle injures somebody else or their property. You select the max dollar amount, per person and per accident. It should be enough to pay for a person's hospitalization and possible disability, plus any vehicles or property your vehicle caused to be damaged.
Collision: Pays you to repair or replace your vehicle if it is involved in an accident. Based on the value of the vehicle.
Comprehensive: (aka Other Than Collision) Pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it is damaged other than in a collision, e.g. fire, theft, flood, etc. Based on the value of the vehicle.
Personal Property Loss: Pays for your other property which is in or on the RV, e.g. clothing, computers, tools, etc. Also covers accessories you added to the RV, e.g. tow bar, awnings, etc. Many RV policies include a small amount for this, but it is rarely sufficient if you have a major loss, e.g. a fire.
Personal liability: Covers you if you  (not the vehicle) personally cause harm to somebody or something, e.g. your campfire burns the picnic table or a visitor falls down the steps and breaks a leg.  This sort of coverage is included in most home owner policies but if optional in vehicle/RV packages.  If the RV is your only home, you may want to include it.

The max coverage amounts for each thing are a major factor in the rates, so choose wisely.
 
Garry's right, everyone is different.  And every company prices different people different ways.  However...

If you brought that quote to me I'd start the discussion with the deductibles.  The first question being: "what amount would you be comfortable paying in the event of a collision?"  I'd look at what you could save with a higher deductible, provided you're comfortable paying a higher amount in the event of a loss.  I approach collision as MAJOR repair / replace coverage, if you "self-insure" for the first $1000 or more you're likely to see improved rates.
Next, I'd suggest looking at your comp deductible.  The first question here is, "Does this apply to glass breakage?"  Many policies have a separate or even $0 glass deductible.  I typically suggest keeping the comp. deductible lower as there are more comp claims than collision, and you have less control when if they occur.  And, I always suggest the glass waiver if available.
Have the agent show you multiple deductible options.  You'll find there may be a substantial savings in collision cost going from $500 to $750, then only minor savings from $750 to $1000.  But, at the same time dropping the comp coverage from $500 to $250 may not cost much more.
As you're going to be full timing, you'll want more personal property coverage.  If someone picked-up your coach, took off the top and shook it what's the value of everything that would come out?  That's a good starting point for personal property.  Ask your agent: "what's considered personal property in their policy?  Appliances? TV's?  Furniture?"  Normally since those are attached they're considered part of the coach... just be sure.
For liability, I always recommend 250/500.  There are 2 reasons: first, it's generally $1 - $2 more per month than 100/300.  So, it's a cheap upgrade.  Second, it's not hard to cause $100k in medical bills today!  A moderate accident causing 3-4 days of hospitalization and therapy after will often times exceed $100k. 
Depending on the situation I often recommend an umbrella for anyone going higher than 250/500.  The cost per $1 of coverage is much less and you get additional coverage.
Lastly, I'd suggest looking at how claims are paid per the policy.  Are they: replacement cost, functional replacement cost, or actual cash value? 
If it's actual cash value, I'd only accept it as a last resort.  It's better than nothing... but not much!  They would only pay the depreciated value of anything lost, and if the useful life of an item has past you get $0.
More common is functional replacement cost.  It requires that the insurer only pay to replace the function of what's lost.  If they're replacing your Goodyear tires, they only have to provide you with tires... likely the cheapest they can find.
The most desirable policy is one that pays replacement cost.  They replace anything lost with "like kind & quality".  So, if they can't get Goodyear, you may end up with Michelin, but you won't get ZeeTex.
The last thing I'll say is, find an agent and make them explain every bit of what you're buying until you're 100% confident you know what you're getting.  And ask lots of questions!
I hope I've helped rather than further confusing! 
 
Thank you both so much! This is great advice & gives me somewhere to start. I have basic knowledge of insurance, but this is way more than what I understand. I plan on applying this. Thanks again!
 

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