Insurance in Nevada

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jackiemac

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Hi

We are having trouble obtaining insurance for a truck which we are planning to buy and register in Nevada.

As UK citizens travelling on a visitors visa we don't have a static address. Will insurance companies allow use of an RV Park as an address does anyone know?

Thanks  Jackie

 
jackiemac said:
Hi

We are having trouble obtaining insurance for a truck which we are planning to buy and register in Nevada.

As UK citizens travelling on a visitors visa we don't have a static address. Will insurance companies allow use of an RV Park as an address does anyone know?

Thanks  Jackie
It should not be a problem. What they want is an address of where the vehicle  is normally parked overnight. It does NOT have to be your own address for insurance purposes.

-Don-  Reno, NV
 
Confirming Don's response, when we first came to the US we lived in a motel for a few weeks (i.e. no fixed address)  before moving into rental accommodation. We had no problem getting insurance while staying at the motel.

Just a heads up ... because you don't have a driving record here, and because they won't recognize your UK driving history, you'll pay a hefty premium. In our case, it was double for the first year, then dropped by 50% the next year. Things might have changed, but I didn't want you to get a big shock.
 
DonTom said:
It should not be a problem. What they want is an address of where the vehicle  is normally parked overnight. It does NOT have to be your own address for insurance purposes.

-Don-  Reno, NV

Thanks for that so an RV Park may suffice?

We have called a few brokers but they won't cover us.
 
Click the Resources button above and scroll down the menu to RV Insurance.
 
Tom said:
Confirming Don's response, when we first came to the US we lived in a motel for a few weeks (i.e. no fixed address)  before moving into rental accommodation. We had no problem getting insurance while staying at the motel.

Just a heads up ... because you don't have a driving record here, and because they won't recognize your UK driving history, you'll pay a hefty premium. In our case, it was double for the first year, then dropped by 50% the next year. Things might have changed, but I didn't want you to get a big shock.

We managed to get one quote from RV America which was really expensive but they asked for address.  Don has clarified that it is not a personal address.  Another travel forum has a retired guy offering an address for use, I'm treading carefully but it seems like he has helped a few folks from uk with this. Hope it's not illegal!

We had hoped this would be easy. The OH is getting a tad frustrated.  :mad:

Thanks both for comments  appreciated as always  ;D
 
jackiemac said:
We managed to get one quote from RV America which was really expensive but they asked for address.  Don has clarified that it is not a personal address.  Another travel forum has a retired guy offering an address for use, I'm treading carefully but it seems like he has helped a few folks from uk with this. Hope it's not illegal!

We had hoped this would be easy. The OH is getting a tad frustrated.  :mad:

Thanks both for comments  appreciated as always  ;D
If you give them the address of the RV park (not the name), there shouldn't be any issue. You're only claiming it as a parking address, not a legal address.

It is common, for an example, for people to rent garages in San Francisco. The insurance wants the address of the garage, not where you live. You could live anywhere, as long as the vehicle is mostly parked at the address given.

-Don-  Reno, NV

 
A rental site in an RV park is no different than a rental apartment or rental garage or a rental storage area. Give them the address (including lot number if available) but not the park name and don't offer any details unless asked. Just say "this is where we have the RV at this time".  It's not fraudulent, assuming you really are in the RV and keeping it on that site/lot at that address. Using an address where you do not have the RV is fraudulent, however, as is any outright lie on the policy application.  In theory you should advise the insured when you move the RV to a different "principal garage" location, but in practice few people do. Forgetting to notify the insurer of the new location is an error of omission, not fraud.

Now that I think of it, you could rent a storage site and use that address too. As long as it is the valid location at the time, you are legit. Many people keep RVs at locations other than their fixed home.  Note, however, you you also need a billing address if the RV location is different than where you receive your mail and other legal contacts. Again, there is nothing wrong about that and many people, Rvers and others, do it all the time.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
A rental site in an RV park is no different than a rental apartment or rental garage or a rental storage area. Give them the address (including lot number if available) but not the park name and don't offer any details unless asked. Just say "this is where we have the RV at this time".  It's not fraudulent, assuming you really are in the RV and keeping it on that site/lot at that address. Using an address where you do not have the RV is fraudulent, however, as is any outright lie on the policy application.  In theory you should advise the insured when you move the RV to a different "principal garage" location, but in practice few people do. Forgetting to notify the insurer of the new location is an error of omission, not fraud.

Now that I think of it, you could rent a storage site and use that address too. As long as it is the valid location at the time, you are legit. Many people keep RVs at locations other than their fixed home.  Note, however, you you also need a billing address if the RV location is different than where you receive your mail and other legal contacts. Again, there is nothing wrong about that and many people, Rvers and others, do it all the time.

Thank you Gary. I guess the mailing address may be trickier. Not sure if it needs to be in Nevada or if we can use a friends in TX. Has to match insurance. Or is PO Box ok?
Cheers Jackie
 
jackiemac said:
Thank you Gary. I guess the mailing address may be trickier. Not sure if it needs to be in Nevada or if we can use a friends in TX. Has to match insurance. Or is PO Box ok?
Cheers Jackie
There has been a recent crack-down on that for registration purposes here in NV,  but mostly because of the smog check requirement in Washoe (Reno area)  and Clark County (Las Vegas). People would register to a PO Box in a nearby county that requires no smog check. Even Carson City has no smog check requirement.  So people would register to a PO Box there or in Story County. That trick no longer works.

It is best to NOT register in Washoe or Clark counties, but insurance is different.

But how do you park in a PO Box?  AFAIK, no insurance company in NV will allow such UNLESS you can prove you can park  your RV in a PO Box!

If you register in Washoe County, you will need a smog check. And every year!

BTW, smog checks in NV are done MUCH differently than cars. You can drive your RV to get a smog check with a check engine light on and still pass. That stuff is ignored. They do the full test on RVs from the tailpipe only. They do connect to the OBD2 connector, but that is ONLY to see the RPMs.

Cars are done quite the opposite here in NV. All from the connector and a check engine light is an automatic failure.

But if you register your vehicle in Washoe County, you will need a smog check. But that has nothing to do with the insurance. I just thought I should pass on that info. You can register in one state and insure in another, but again, the insured address should be where you mostly park overnight.

But like Gary says, if you forget to update the overnight parked  location, you're still insured and forgetting is not fraud.

-Don-  Reno, NV
 
Tom said:
We're in danger of confusing Jackie  ???

It wouldn't be difficult  :eek:

I have had a response from the DMV:

"Good day,

When you register your vehicle, you will need to provide a physical Nevada address on the application. Your mailing address may be any US address. You do not need to bring documents to prove either address."

So I will use the Boulder RV park where we will have trailer (not sure what smog testing is required on this, if any) and our friends address in Texas for mailing. Will use same for truck.

I now feel like we are getting somewhere and this dream will become a reality  :D

Thanks for all your advice  truly appreciate it. I have to say I love the humour and straight talking on this forum. It is refreshing in a world of too much correctness.

Looking forward to our trip.  I will write a note on our experience for others once we complete the exercise and really look forward to meeting some of you folks. Not sure how you find out where members are when travelling so you can meet up?

J  8)


 
They really said is simply! Unusual for a government agency. 

"Physical address" = where the vehicle usually is parked. "Mailing address" = where we can send the bill and any official notifications that may affect your policy.
 
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