Your votes please for the best fulltimer insurance

I?m pouring through posts from the last couple years on this subject but thought I also get everyone?s latest opinions on fulltimer insurance. Any other thoughts on the subject please throw those in too. Thx

Are you asking about campsite liability coverage specifically, or more generically just "insurance purchased by a fulltimer"?  You can go to an insurance agent and ask for a "homeowners policy" and they will have one tailored for that, but few if any companies have a standard insurance package called "fulltimers policy".

Many fulltimers want to have no-vehicle liability coverage, but that is typically purchased separately.  Fulltimers may also have some special needs for health insurance, since they are typically not based in one locale or even one state.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Are you asking about campsite liability coverage specifically, or more generically just "insurance purchased by a fulltimer"? 

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I guess the best way to answer the question is to explain what I need:


-vehicle coverage (comprehensive and liability) on coach and toad
-?homeowners? insurance for personal belongings
-possibly umbrella liability

Most vehicle policies include some amount of "Personal Property" coverage, which covers anything "personal" in or on the RV. It's generally wise to increase that amount, though.  If you have other property not in the RV, though, you might want some loss coverage for it.

Non-vehicle liability is a potentially big thing, e.g. you accidentally cause injury to someone while away from the RV. Low probability, but high dollar risk. Also for small stuff, like you spill a glass of red wine on somebody's new white carpet!

I opted for my RV insurance through the Hartford. I also added an Umbrella policy for the reasons Gary mentioned. If I still had a stick house, the homeowners policy often covers stuff when you are away from home. Like if someone trips over your stuff in your campsite and gets injured. Without a homeowners policy you would be on the hook for whatever damages you could get sued for. 

Another issue I'm very concerned about but which is independent of which provider is chosen, is one I discovered with Geico, where I have my coach coverage now. I had a small theft which took place while the coach was in the shop for a month, immobilized due to a faulty speedometer. My claim, reported in detail to the police, was nonetheless denied because there was no "proof of break-in". Based upon the items taken ('overnight' items such as electric razor, bath supplies, etc., overlooking many much more valuable items), I'm fairly certain the shop was not responsible. My guess is another customer (lots of trucks in for service with drivers milling about) accessed the rig while the door was unlocked. The shop graciously covered my deductible.

The problem with this limitation is that with RVs, as we all know, many if not most share a common key for the basement, so someone could clean out your basement, re-lock the doors, and nothing would be covered. A little research on YouTube and one can find videos how to pick a Schlage lock (the deadbolt on my entry door) in just a few minutes.

Geico claims every carrier has this limitation so if they're correct not sure what can be done, but when I pointed out the key issue to the claim representative and my opinion that this would allow them to deny virtually any personal property claim, I was greeted with the sound of crickets chirping.

Lots of research to do....

Yeah, the "break-in" proof can be a sticking point, since it is fairly easy to enter an RV without an obvious break-in.  Even if locked. Read the fine print exceptions/caveats in the policy carefully - they mean every word of it! Some companies may be more inclined to invoke that clause than others, but I don't have a recommendation. Sometimes it's just the impression that the adjuster gets when he reviews the loss circumstances, and the adjuster might be a contractor rather than an employee..

SargeW said:

I opted for my RV insurance through the Hartford.

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Marty, I just spoke with a Hartford representative and was told they don't offer fulltime insurance??

Also, have been told by National Interstate and Explorer that they no longer write RV insurance.

Check with Nationwide.  We don't full time but they seem to have most of what you mentioned.  We just got our renewal yesterday and they are still very reasonable for our older coach.

Bill

Scott, the term is " Mysterious Disappearance " and it is an exclusion found in most if not all homeowners policies.  FWIW, most insurance that covers theft requires evidence of forced entry.  Too bad about the Schlage deadbolt issue.  Back in the day, when insurance actually covered claims, we didn't have to deal with as many exclusions.  Over the years, the insurance industry has modified or amended their policies to exclude in one way or another every type of claim other than the basic fire and wind losses.  And for those, they have added significant deductibles.  But only if you live in an area that is subject to fire and wind losses.  So if you live in the desert with nothing to burn, fire insurance can be purchased quite reasonably. 

Regarding your personal liability, as Gary Wizard and Sarge point out, it's a challenging area for full timers.  Not sure if they're still available, but when I was selling insurance a policy called a Comprehensive Personal Liability could be purchased.  It provided coverage for your personal acts not related to the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of an automobile, motorcycle, boat, snowmobile, or similar.  Example, you forget to keep your dog leashed.  He takes off and bites a neighbor.  Not covered by your vehicle insurance.  But like an auto policy, it provided coverage for negligence arising out of your acts.  Not sure many of todays young insurance underwriters (order takers) ever heard the term.  The coverage is automatically included in a Homeowners policy.  Renters are also able to purchase a policy which covers their personal property and personal liability. 

Regarding an umbrella policy, there are two kinds.  One that provides coverage only in excess of your scheduled policies.  That's really an Excess Liability policy.  A true umbrella policy covers loss in excess of your scheduled policies, (auto, homeowners, boat, etc.,) and, subject to its own exclusions, coverage in excess of a stated deductible, maybe $10,000, if your primary policy doesn't cover the claim.  That said, if one of your underlying policies expired and was not renewed at the time of the claim, the deductible will be whatever the required limit of the underlying policy was. 

Bill N said:

Check with Nationwide. 

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Thank. Just spoke with Nationwide, while they said they could do fulltime, they don't insure anything over 36 feet

Sun2Retire said:

Thank. Just spoke with Nationwide, while they said they could do fulltime, they don't insure anything over 36 feet

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  Hopefully, we are grandfathered in.

Paul & Ann said:

  Hopefully, we are grandfathered in.

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It seemed odd to me, so I politely asked her if she was absolutely certain about that limitation and she said yes, she was reading it on the screen. Think I?ll call them again and see if I get a different answer

Sun2Retire said:

Marty, I just spoke with a Hartford representative and was told they don't offer fulltime insurance??

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I purchased the policy through AARP, which the Hartford administers the policy.  My MH policy clearly states my place of residence as SD, and a question in the policy is "Does insured own a home"? and the answer is no. 

And when I purchased the Umbrella policy it was clearly stated the reason was that I didn't have a home nor a home owners policy.  Did you call the Hartford direct? I can give you another number to go through AARP.

SargeW said:

Did you call the Hartford direct? I can give you another number to go through AARP.

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Yes, I called direct. I did a chat session with AARP and she was very quick to try and sign me up, but based on her answers she clearly had no idea what I was looking for. I finally requested a number to call and that?s the answer I received

Here is a number for the auto insurance side. I believe that is where you would start the process for the RV insurance.
1-888-546-9099

I stumbled across this insurance offered by Good Sam. I can't tell who the carrier is. They do advertise "full time" liability insurance. Does anyone have any experience with them?

I'll also be facing this situation next summer so have some interest.

Thanks.

We have Good Sam and it's National General. I think we are classed as fulltime, and when trailer is in storage the cost is reduced. I done have the policy handy to give you the details though, but would suggest a call to them....

we are with State Farm- last year when we set up our domicile in South Dakota I shopped around and State Farm was the lowest. we also have an umbrella policy and cover the laptops. I have been with State Farm for 30 years and they have always been great to work with the 4 times I needed them.