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kingfisher24 · 07-31-2012, 01:27 PM

what does one do for insurance for a vintage trailer.....as i am about to purchase a 1975/76 trade wind land yacht???

goshawks00 · 07-31-2012, 02:12 PM

Search for the 'agreed insurance' thread here. I am going through this right now with Farm and City Ins., they sell ins. for Allied . You will need a certified appraiser to help you figure the value of the vintage.

Orlop · 07-31-2012, 04:28 PM

Progressive will also do agreed value and have been easy to work with so far

Shacksman · 07-31-2012, 04:41 PM

I self insure. Have more then one so there is always another if one gets destroyed.

aceflys · 07-31-2012, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orlop

Progressive will also do agreed value and have been easy to work with so far

I have Progressive. But I was told that they don't write agreed polices anymore. I have 8k agreed for my 66 Caravel(which is to low). It cost me only $175 a year. Why would you self ins. with rates that low? One blow out can do thousands of dollars in damage.

Ace in PA

Shacksman · 07-31-2012, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aceflys

I have Progressive. But I was told that they don't write agreed polices anymore. I have 8k agreed for my 66 Caravel(which is to low). It cost me only $175 a year. Why would you self ins. with rates that low? One blow out can do thousands of dollars in damage.

Ace in PA

Ace that's $175 x 5 trailers x 12 years so far = $10,500 in the bank for me, that's why.

goshawks00 · 07-31-2012, 08:06 PM

[QUOTE=aceflys;1181567]I have Progressive. But I was told that they don't write agreed polices anymore.

I tried progressive... and was told they would insure it. After a bunch of back and forth, the truth finally came out ...they do not do 'agreed on' insurance for vintage trailers and if any thing happened it would be rated at a 'stated value' which means even if insured for $15,000 and I paid that premiums based on that, it would be book value ... Hmm... what do you think the book value is on a 45+ year old trailer? Double talk and snake oil is all they really offered.
.02

Splitrock · 07-31-2012, 11:03 PM

I called Progressive. They told me that they don't write agreed value policies. So far I haven't found anybody to write it for me.

Orlop · 08-01-2012, 07:06 AM

I just got Progressive Agreed Value on my restored 78 Argosy like I did on my 83 Airstream .... so a lot of questions here

tlavergne · 08-01-2012, 08:00 AM

I have agreed value from Nationwide.

AWCHIEF · 08-01-2012, 09:01 AM

I have my 1964 Bambi II insured thru Foremost. I do have "agreed value" with them. Book value is only about 4K, we "agreed" on a value of 15K. Progressive and Allstate would not even talk to me about insurance for my trailer. I have my home and truck thru Allstate so was a bit surprised when they would not write a policy for the trailer. It is covered on my home policy when parked at the house.

tlavergne · 08-01-2012, 10:09 AM

I think I will revisit my agent and double check what I think I have. No need for surprises.

Distantdrummer · 08-01-2012, 11:06 AM

This "agreed value" thing comes up around here occasionally.
I would like to hear from Crawford Gene or is it Gene Crawford (an attorney) about his thoughts on this subject.
I would think anything agreed would need a pretty definitive contract.
I have learned to rarely trust an insurance agent. Not that they are outright dishonest, but when a loss occurs they InMyExperience , turn it over to "claims" and the agent's hands are tied.
They seem to have about as much down the line clout as a car salesman would when the car starts going bad.
I'm afraid they are just sales facilitators in many instances.IMHO.

slowmover · 08-01-2012, 06:20 PM

Crawford, CO is near the home of Gene ______. Agreed that he might be willing to point things in the right direction . . . if other concerns aren't damping down the requisite brain cells.

soldiermedic · 08-01-2012, 06:22 PM

Carol,

Did you just buy a trailer that has granite counter tops, new axle, and BBQ pit on the a frame? out of Dallas?

Steve

CaddyGrn · 08-02-2012, 10:59 PM

We have a 1963 restored Bambi. We contacted our regular auto insurance, State Farm, and they insure our trailer... we had to supply photos and links/images of similar trailers (ebay, etc.) to help establish the value. We were able to do all of this with a minimum amount of trouble. We also carry extra towing insurance with State Farm in case our tow vehicle breaks down, because we didn't want our Bambi sitting alongside the road by itself. We have ours insured for its value and the extra towing.

Gene · 08-13-2012, 10:01 AM

I haven't had to deal with agreed value because we have a pretty new trailer, so I'm ignorant on this.

I think the issues are affected by tradition. A car or truck declines in value until it becomes a classic and then there is probably special insurance for that. I don't know because I don't own any Duesenbergs. A house traditionally increases in value (except lately) and insurance companies are used to increasing insured value for real estate.

As anyone knows who has dealt with underwriters, they are very conservative and unable to bend. Most RV decline in value and then fall apart. That is what they know and the Airstream market is small to them. It is not cost efficient to check it out and understand it. It also takes a lot of time to learn about it and develop tables for Airstreams. Thus, some many entertain your request if you hire an appraiser, just like they want appraisals on mortgages.

Insurance agents are salesmen only now. It used to be a profession with good income (my father-in-law was an agent years ago until he retired more than 20 years ago), but the insurance companies cut commissions over and over and now the agents have no power and make less money. If you have a claim, you call the company, not the agent. The agent used to steer you through the process and make sure you were treated well; no more. Agents I have talked to are unhappy with this and have no more regard for the insurance company than the rest of us do.

The only thing to do is call the company and find out what the situation is for each company. You may talk to someone in a call center who doesn't know much either. It is a struggle not unlike dealing with health insurance. Usually it takes a lot of time which not everyone can do. I have no idea where one finds an RV appraiser but the insurance company may have a list of such appraisers and it may be they are people who undervalue the RV. This is not a good situation. Once you find a company that has "agreed value" policies, you may find there are lots of loopholes in the policy favoring the company and then you'll have to go to law school to understand what you are reading, and even then, you may not understand it, or see there are multiple interpretations. When I read a policy of any kind I find ambiguities, vagueness, poor drafting and appeals stacked against the insured. This works 2 ways—they can deny coverage, but usually on flimsy grounds, and those grounds are easy to challenge for some people (see part about going to law school), but the company counts on you accepting their interpretation. Most people don't challenge them or don't know how, so this works for the company.

Since our trailer will be 5 this fall, I'd better look into this. I do not look forward to it.

I'm sorry I can't tell a better story.

Gene

AWCHIEF · 08-14-2012, 06:54 AM

Foremost has a very good reputation with vintage owners for standing behind their agreed value policies. The rates I got were very competitive with other quotes I received. I hope I never have to test them, but I think they will be easy to deal with if the need comes up.

goshawks00 · 08-14-2012, 07:25 AM

Just an update... we got a hold of Farm & City (FCIS), told them what we where looking for. They gave us the name of the nearest appraiser to us. We had him come out and do a written appraisal and photos which he sent to FCIS, and the next day we had an agreed upon issurance policy. No muss no fuss.
Barry& Karen

Jinkers · 08-14-2012, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goshawks00

Just an update... we got a hold of Farm & City (FCIS), told them what we where looking for. They gave us the name of the nearest appraiser to us. We had him come out and do a written appraisal and photos which he sent to FCIS, and the next day we had an agreed upon issurance policy. No muss no fuss.
Barry& Karen

This is how State Farm insures mine - sort of. I submit an appraisel and photo's each year and if I submit a claim then they have the option of having an independant appraiser submit an appraisel. If his is significantly different then mine then I can submit another appraisel from a 3rd appraiser and the median appraisel will be used - unless they decide to dispute the third appraisel and then who know what happens. Not sure how well an after the damage is done appraisel works but that's the way it is.

Personally I think this is kind of stupid. I should be able to name a value to which they name a price to insure it for that value, end of story. Works that way for classic cars and airplanes, why not vintage Airstreams. I couldn't find an insurance company that was willing to go that way though. In fact half or so of the companies I talked with wouldn't even cover it.