Would you get full coverage on an old 1992 American Eagle?

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PatrioticStabilist

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What do some of you think, is this worth it?

I requested full coverage insurance for my 1992 American Eagle.  Ok, I know its not worth a lot of money but here is my thinking.  If I get in a wreck and its damaged much they are going to total it don't you think?  I can't imagine the book value being all that much, maybe $20k at the most likely less.  But I didn't want to lose all the money we have in it, hoped to recoup some.

I went to Farmers, in case some of you don't know Farmers bought Foremost.  Of course they did not want to cover it without extensive photos or an inspection.  So last time down, I photographed her outside end to end and inside front to back and all over, roof included.  the insurance company agent came back and said underwriting thought it was awesome for a 1992 and they wrote me a policy.  Ok, now I'm paying $700 a year for full coverage, believe that covers glass too.

Tom thinks I should only have liability on it, he understands my thinking but his is $700 a year is to much to pay and it goes on year after year.

What are some thoughts by you folks, am I making an expensive mistake and should I get just liability?
 
It's all a matter of risk and how much you are willing to lose.  But, something you need to add to the risk assessment is how good a driver are you.  If you are reasonably confident you won't be at fault should it be totalled, then maybe you don't need full coverage.  Of course, I don't think you can get comprehensive without collision, so there's another risk assessment to make.  Yeah, I know, that really helps.  :)
 
Full coverage is good as long as you find someone who will ins. for agreed value. I got my policy from "Allied Insurance" through a GoodSam agent for agreed value for just under $400.
 
What ironrat said...
People are rarely satisfied with the "actual cash value" an adjuster will offer on a totalled vehicle. They usually go by book and will not make adjustments on superior condition. Find a policy with "agreed value". Make sure it's not "stated Value". There is a big difference.
 
Ok, I will question that.  I did not know there was a difference.

There are ins issues up there.  With State Farm the 3 vehicles were something like $2200 and one with liability only and no motorhome ins, but the house ins was around $700.

With Farmers the 3 vehicles are $1010 a year, one with liability and the house is $1600 a year!  But its replacement value, not sure on State Farm.

I looking at them both thinking this is ridiculous.  One says because we are rural and basically no fire dept, if it catches fire it burns down, probably correct but its only 8 years old.  The other says the vehicle ins is so high because of all the property damage, the roads are littered with deer.

Tom left at 3AM one morning to come down and he said they were just standing in the other lane of traffic, they were all over.

Sometimes I think we would be better off to just carry the very min and put the rest in a bank acct for repairs or rebuilding as necessary.  We are ins poor it seems.

We do have one little rent house with no ins. But if it burns we can at least take it off the taxes as a casualty loss.
 
I would ask the insurance company what the value of the motor home is now, in their opinion.  The low book is $10,000 and they will give you wholesale which is probably $8000 or so.  I would find out what they would pay off if it was totaled and then you will know if the $700 per year is worth it.
 
Insure it fully.  You are one broken fuel line from it burning to the ground.  Seriously.  It can happen on new ones too.  Also carry uninsured.....just in case someone plows into you and they don't have any insurance.

Buying insurance is just a means of mitigating risk.  In a dozen or so years, you'll have probably paid the full value of it in premiums.  But one broken windshield in the meantime, and you could recoup that years premium.
 
I also have Farmers and have full coverage. If you trip down my steps your covered. If my storage locker out side blows away it is covered...I am a full timer and have it covered as if it where a house...Everything inside and out is covered as well as our car while it is towed behind..
 
If something happens and the coach is totaled, could you buy a replacement or are your RVing days over ? Also, that whole $700 isn't just the full coverage, it's also liability, etc. How much would the insurance be without full coverage ? That's the amount you could stick aside "just in case". Me, I'd rather let the insurance companies take my money and not worry about "what if". Oh, and one other thing, Uninsured motorist coverage is required in a lot of states.


Wendy
 
We could buy another if we wanted to, but hard to find one this nice for the money I think.

We also may keep the 5th wheel we have its pretty nice with a slide and is a 2007.

I just think I would like to at least collect some of the money back if something happened.  Maybe not wise but I do think Farmers is a good company.  We had it on another property and had a couple of claims, no issues at all.
 
Insuring a motorhome is quite different from insuring a car and most car insurance companies do not know about RVs.  Remember, it isn't just the vehicle - it's also the contents which can be considerable (TV, satellite dish, appliances, linens, pots & pans, clothing, tools, etc.).  What if it's stolen and never recovered?  What if it burns up in an accident?  Our insurance is with GMAC through the Family Motor Coach Association and for the first five years we had full replacement coverage.  I'm not sure what it is after five years, but I think it's a percentage now.  I wonder if you can get full replacement coverage after five years.  Most companies only give it for two years and only on a new coach.

ArdraF
 
Have it privately appraised. Then talk to ins company. Thats what gear heads do with mint vintage daily drivers. You could have all new appliances in a total and ins co would respond "it's supposed to have working appliances". Happened to me years ago, VW Bus I had just finished renovating mechanicaly, including anew engine. "it's supposed to have an engine". They totaled it, I bought it back and parted it out, actually made a small profit.

Bill
 
I think the advice about getting a private appraisal, perhaps a couple of them, is a good approach. Get documentation of its value BEFORE anything happens, and file a copy with the insurer and ask (in writing) that the appraised value be accepted as the "actual cash value" per the policy, or taken as an "agreed value". You want to have documentation in advance rather than negotiating after the rig is destroyed and nobody can tell how nice it was. Keep all those photos too!

You didn't mention a deductible amount, and that has a major impact on the premium. For an older rig, I would suggest a high deductible, e.g. $1000, so that you collect only on major damage or a total loss. But a high deductible pretty much eliminates the value of glass coverage, since only a windshield half will exceed $1000.

The rest of the picture is how much of the $700 is for comp and collision?  That's the cost of buying peace of mind. If it's only, say $300 of the $700, isn't that fairly reasonable for insurance on an item valued at $15000 or $20,000?
 
I'm glad I posted this, I think an appraisal is an excellent idea.  I will do that.

It's like our house here we are putting up for sale by the end of the week if all goes well.  I had an appraiser come out and go over it.  We also got the benefit of his expertise.  Behind us lives a man that has junked up his property.  I asked what the negatives were first and he said that.  he said you might want to consider putting up a fence.  At first Tom and I thought it was kind of silly but we looked at it with new eyes.  We had gotten used to his mess, someone coming to buy this would have his eyes see that first effecting curb appeal.  We built the fence.  So yes sometimes it pays to have someone else who knows more help you out even if it is a fee.

We generally take a high deductible on things.  Our house in Indiana has a $5k deductible and I usually take a $1k on the vehicles.  Have to pull the policy on this but I mentioned glass coverage and I'm pretty sure its included.  Yep had to replace one pane in the front in my other motorhome, $1200.

Thanks for all the advice.
 
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