Motorhome Insurance Cost

11/30/2015

ALL,

We just received our semiannual renewal for the insurance on our 40-foot 2003 Monaco Executive which is now 12 years old.

The cost was $1,752 for six months which is an increase of about $675 from the previous six months premium.  Mind you, we have an exemplary record..no clams ever for the entire time we owned the MH and no traffic violations ever for the entire time we owned the MH.

Obviously I read all the details in the policy and there was one statement in BOLD lettering that said, NO CREDIT SCORE AVAILABVLE.

It made me remember that I had put a Credit Freeze on the three credit agencies to help guarantee that we are never a victim of ID theft.

Solution:  I lifted the freeze for 24 hours, recalled the MH insurer, they checked our credit rating on the spot while we were talking, and the premium was immediately reduced by $577 and "That's Real Savings."

JerryF

That's good to know Jerry.  We also froze our credit for the same reason, so if we run into the same scenario I will keep this in mind.

Mike.

Good thinking to lift the freeze so the insurer could get the information they need to properly rate your policy.

From an industry wide perspective, credit scoring to rate an insurance policy is a hornets nest.
I've talked with brokers who are delivering 30% increases on auto policies not due to accidents, claims or moving violations. But due to some change in the clients credit score that is unknown to them. Brokers are not allowed access to the specifics of the credit scoring.
If you co-sign a student loan, apply for another credit card, or take out a home equity loan, does that make you more likely to get into an accident? According to the current "modeling" it will make your insurance costs go up.
The poor brokers / agents are screwed. Deliver the news that your insurance costs went way up because your financial position has worsened and you don't really know what information the insurance company is basing this on - see how long it takes to get thrown out of someones office.

Do not understand the direct correlation between the two.  Are insurance companies insuring your debt or your vehicle?  Seems like a bad downward spiral for people who may have ran into some bad times and compounding their problems.  Since your premium is paying ahead, it is not like they should be worried about getting paid for the previous quarters insurance.  Good piece of information though.

The insurance business thrives on statistics, so you can be sure they have tons of data showing a strong correlation between credit rating and damage frequency. They aren't doing social engineering - just predicting the likelihood of payouts.

We received out notice for insurance cost for 2016.  The premium was up 53%!  I called the company and they told me that every five years they reevaluate not only the customer but the state and that because there have been a lot of claims in Florida (where we domicile) over the last five years that our rate increased.  We have had no claims in the twelve years we have been with this company.

I told them we would no longer need their services and contracted with another company for half the price that we paid last year.

interesting to note that if you do not owe anyone for anything, and pay your credit card(s) on time every month you may never get the top credit score, which affects your insurance rate, all this because you are not "using" the credit.

Also, getting a credit card from an organization like Sears in my case, which gives you a discount for getting the card and using on a major purchase,  can cause problems. Sears decided to lower my credit limit since I was not using the card (did not need a new appliance!) and of course this lowers your rating.

After discussing this with them, I canceled the card and cancelled Sears, and will never take any of these "good deals"again from anyone.

After finally listening to the oft quoted wisdom of checking around for insurance prices every few years I finally did this last year. For exactly the same coverage the price was less than half for my fleet of cars, boat, home, MH, etc. For increased coverage on some policies, adding low deductible on glass for the MH, doubling my umbrella policy, etc the new bill is about 5/8 of the cost of the old.

I had gone thru the "review" with my then current agent of 36 years where he tried to sell me banking, investment and other "plans" they had, but he was unable to shave any money off my premiums. When I went and got bids from other companies and from an independent broker I already had a casual acquaintance with, the prices were astounding. I compared the coverages, limits and exclusions carefully and was unable to find where the low price plans were any less worthy. Of course when I called to cancel the old policies, he was sure that we could find some savings. Ha!

I've had a significant accident with the old company.(crashed between two semi-trucks on the freeway along with 27 other cars) I know their customer service sucks. For example they just stopped paying my medical bills. No notice, until the 2nd notice bills started coming from the Drs. "Oh, your file is out for medical review, don't worry." When the 3rd notice, we're sending you to collections came, they said that the file should be back "any time now" and they'd pay those bills right away. A call to the state insurance commissioners office was received with a friendly "we can take care of that for you". The next day I got a confirmation from the Insurance Commissioners office that the bills would be paid that day. And an invitation to please call back if I had any other problems. That afternoon I got a call from the old insurance company apologizing for the error. They didn't realize that the file was misplaced and they never do this, and they're really sorry, and please call this superevisor person direct if I ever have a problem again that the rank and file aren't handling correctly. So, no loyalty to a company that has none for me. I had only been a customer of theirs for 20 some odd years.

Now as I approach the time to renew my policies, I expect the premiums to rise some. But since I'm 35-40 percent ahead right now even a 10% raise won't be a catastrophe. We'll see in April.

Ken

Sorry to see what other people are experiencing with their long term association with their insurer.  I to, was shocked when I purchased a coach and my current insurer told me they don't insure coaches, but would farm it out to another insurer (you see their ads in rv magazines showing a coach with wings).  Turned out they were three times more expensive than the insurance I settled on, as well as my new insurer on the cars and stationary home was half of what I was paying with my current, now former, insurance company.  I was with this company and agent for almost forty years and had no claims.  So now, when it comes to renewing my insurance, I check before doing so.  If you want loyalty, buy a dog. - we did, his name is Frisco!

Forgot to mention, the coverage with new insurer is greater.

I got dinged because I'm a single woman.  Cheaper to add a husband / male driver.  I complained so they agreed to give me the "married" rate.  Seriously??

winona said:

I got dinged because I'm a single woman.  Cheaper to add a husband / male driver.  I complained so they agreed to give me the "married" rate.  Seriously??

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Do not feel slighted, males get it too.  I have a call into my agent right now and will ask about how I am currently classified since I have my significant other listed on one of my cars that she drives and know that I am paying more for her as a rider or whatever they call it.  Not complaining though, nobody has been able to compete when it comes to what they are charging me for my toys.

Update:  Agent said I was way past the age that marital status entered into the rate.  Not sure that made me feel any better! ???

I am sure these stories are true, but this is not always the case.  I have had the same agent / insurance for 20 years for cars and home.  We have had a few claims on both over the years.  They were always covered promptly, fairly and with a smile.  This fall, on a whim, I called another insurer that advertises a lot.  I got a quote on just 3 cars, and they were higher by $100 PER CAR for 6 months.  They quoted liability only.  My current insurance is full coverage.  Further, my rates did not go up when my daughter had an accident or when she got a DUII. (My blood pressure went up!)  This agent claims he has a 97% policy retention rate.  I think I know why.

Gary RV Roamer said:

The insurance business thrives on statistics, so you can be sure they have tons of data showing a strong correlation between credit rating and damage frequency. They aren't doing social engineering - just predicting the likelihood of payouts.

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It's called actuarial science.  All insurance companies use it to one extent or another.  It's important to note that not all insurers are interested in the same market.  Most will zero in on a market(s) they think they understand and feel comfortable with and will attempt to make a profit selling to that select group.  They also may be more competitive in that market segment.  At least until they get burned.  Then they may either move out of that specific market or begin raising rates.  Usually gradually but sometimes quite aggressively.  Therefore, it's wise to test the market every once in a while.  Years ago, loyalty was something that mattered.  Today, I'm not so sure. 

grashley said:

I am sure these stories are true, but this is not always the case.  I have had the same agent / insurance for 20 years for cars and home.  We have had a few claims on both over the years.  They were always covered promptly, fairly and with a smile.  This fall, on a whim, I called another insurer that advertises a lot.  I got a quote on just 3 cars, and they were higher by $100 PER CAR for 6 months.  They quoted liability only.  My current insurance is full coverage.  Further, my rates did not go up when my daughter had an accident or when she got a DUII. (My blood pressure went up!)  This agent claims he has a 97% policy retention rate.  I think I know why.

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It's unlikely your insurer is aware that your daughter had a DUI.  Normally they don't check the driving record of every driver every renewal.  However, if/when they do check her record, and she is a resident of your household, you will be in for a shock. 

JerArdra said:

11/30/2015

ALL,

We just received our semiannual renewal for the insurance on our 40-foot 2003 Monaco Executive which is now 12 years old.

The cost was $1,752 for six months which is an increase of about $675 from the previous six months premium.  Mind you, we have an exemplary record..no clams ever for the entire time we owned the MH and no traffic violations ever for the entire time we owned the MH.

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Jerry, If you don't mind sharing, how much is the liability portion of your premium?  I have GEICO and my liability premium is just over $100 a year.  That seems way too low considering the risk.  By comparison, the liability premium on our F250 was more than $400 per year.  Don't recall what the mileage limitation is on the motorhome and that might be why it is so low. 

Obviously I read all the details in the policy and there was one statement in BOLD lettering that said, NO CREDIT SCORE AVAILABVLE.

It made me remember that I had put a Credit Freeze on the three credit agencies to help guarantee that we are never a victim of ID theft.

Solution:  I lifted the freeze for 24 hours, recalled the MH insurer, they checked our credit rating on the spot while we were talking, and the premium was immediately reduced by $577 and "That's Real Savings."

JerryF

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Never heard of doing this.  How is it done? 

My wife and I were debt free and don't even own a credit card. Our credit score has tanked ever since...we quoted insurance on our motorhome and all other vehicles as our current insurer had a regional rate up (with no explaination).  decided to take out a small short term loan on the princess's "new" used navigator and requoted three weeks later...the savings were sickening.  The insurance companies do use credit scores to determine your rate and the credit bureaus do ding you for being so dasterdly responsible that you do not have borrow to buy everything... I feel for my grandkids, I really do.

garyb1st said:

Never heard of doing this.  How is it done?

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From my previous post on another thread:


First, if you are in a position like I am where you do not plan or need to open any new accounts, or you can plan ahead of time to open new accounts, place a permanent freeze on your credit reports so no one can access without calling you. This assures no new accounts get opened, but also provides an argument if someone opens the account without reviewing your credit, the problem is theirs not yours.
You can do this online and the cost is free or $10 for each service. You will get a PIN number for each so if you need to open a new account you can unfreeze and freeze again later.
Transunion
https://freeze.transunion.com/sf/securityFreeze/landingPage.jsp
Experian
http://www.experian.com/freeze
Equifax
https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp

old salty said:

My wife and I were debt free and don't even own a credit card. Our credit score has tanked ever since...we quoted insurance on our motorhome and all other vehicles as our current insurer had a regional rate up (with no explaination).  decided to take out a small short term loan on the princess's "new" used navigator and requoted three weeks later...the savings were sickening.  The insurance companies do use credit scores to determine your rate and the credit bureaus do ding you for being so dasterdly responsible that you do not have borrow to buy everything... I feel for my grandkids, I really do.

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I hear ya salty..
This entire situation is sickening, as the system highly rewards debt as long as it's paid on time.
For those with high net worth, lots of liquidity, and no loans or debt, this system is not so kind.

BinaryBob said:

For those with high net worth, lots of liquidity, and no loans or debt, this system is not so kind.

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Just got my Sears bill and noted the interest rate if the account is not paid in full.  The rate, which is both Daily and Variable = 25.24%.