Insuring for value...

[Jabba]

Ok, I know it's been brought up before, but how is everyone insuring their units? I'm trying to get insurance for our '55. All the Ins. Co. say they go by price new and depreciation to estimate what a unit is worth, should something happen. No one has heard of a "trailer" appreciating.(I know worth is on an individual basis). But there has to be something better. I contacted Foremost, stated what I want, price paid, and they'd give me @1/3 of that should something happen. Gone the classic car Ins. route with no luck so far, I'm getting a little frustrated. Can an A/S dealer appraise and is it legally binding to the Ins.? I don't want to chance it out on the road with just the basics...

[John]

Jason,

email Andy at inlandrv@aol.com and run this by him. He was in the RV insurance business prior to owning InlandRV.

John

[Jabba]

Thanks John, I fired an e-mail to Andy. I'm open to other suggestions too!

[John]

Jason,

Only other thing that I can think of is to bring it to an independent appraiser to do an appraisal of it.

I did a complete rebuild of a 1973 Chevy C-10 and put just over $13K into it. They only way I could get a fair insurance value/coverage was to have it appraised.

I don't know who could do such an appraisal on a Vintage unit, but there has to be someone out there who has gone through this.

John

[Inland RV Center, In]

Insuring an Airstream vintage trailer presents some problems.
If the coach was just bought, it's value is what you paid for it.
If you have modified, upgraded etc, then receipts and invoices are very important.
As an example, if you buy a $5000.00 trailer for $100.00, then it's worth $100.00.
However, if you obtain a written appraisel, from someone who handles that product, AND, has an intimate knowledge of the product, that will help. The coach MUST be visually inspected.
Therefore getting a value from a brand X dealer renders no help. Sending photo's are of no help.
It is very possible to obtain insurance for a vintage trailer also by documentation.
We had a lady customer of ours, insure a 1965 17 foot Caravelle, for $46,500.00. She had the proper documentation from us that enabled her to do that.
The key is "document."


Andy

[Gordon Watt]

In Manitoba , I was asked what I value of my A/S. I pay a premium according to that value.

They know what is reasonable. If it has been rebuilt, you can have it appraised.

[john hd]

jason

are you just concerned with the value of the trailer? one route you may want to look at is talking with your homeowners ins. provider. you may be able to write a special rider on your homeowners policy as "other personal property".

as for liability, your tow vehicle policy covers accidents on the road.

the contents of the trailer, tv vcr camera jewelry ect. could be covered by your homeowners policy. you will have to call your agent or read your policy carefully.

as andy pointed out, it is what it is. and you may have to settle for ins. equal to what you paid for it. but not 1/3! shop some more!

you may want to surf some of the rving sites and see if there are any policys out there that suit your needs.

i have my trailer insured with american family, same as my house. but that is book value only. but then, i have a newer trailer.

not a cool old one like yours! any pics yet?

john

[airstreamcaravel]

I'm am happy to Ditto what the (Thankfully) Re-emerged RV Andy
posted.

After my labors of love (And several $'s later) I contacted
my insurance carrier State Farm and was told ... If I wanted to increase my coverage above what I paid for it, I was to get it appraised by some one in the business, They would honor the
opinion of a "dealer" in vintage airstreams.

I have not not this yet but know who I will contact. It remains an unchecked item and my do do list.

Great to have you back in active action Andy!

DMC

[Jabba]

Hmmm, I have State Farm too, they told me they wouldn't do insure on value ona trailer and that I'd be better off to find another carrier that would. If you do locate someone who can appraise, let me know. I see a frustrating road ahead...

[airstreamcaravel]

Jabba,

Dan at http://www.vintagecampers.com/units.html is who I will use. I got my AS from him and he certainly does enough volume to do know the biz and do the job.

I am hoping that since he knows my trailer, I will be able to call him, discuss my work and restoration and get him to write me up without another visit to Peru Indiana. 3.5 hours away from Chicago.

I did have to be a little forceful with State Farm to get them to agree to this plan of attack. Don't accept NO as an answer!
Threaten to pull ALL of your business with them, cars... house... trailer .. etc.

Like I said though... still on my do do list....

DMC

[Diana Langley]

I went through Progressive Ins. for my coverage. I have a 1965 Globetrotter. I was able to insure it by just stating the value over the phone.

It's insured for $14,000 and it costs me $219 a year.
I have a $500 deductible, $2,000 replacement cost for personal effects, $750 emergency vaction expenses (hotel in case of breakdown), $10,000 vacation liability(I have no idea what that is!), and free roadside assistance.

Just got the renewal n the mail today.

[overlander64]

Greetings Jabba!

I have had my '64 Overlander insured with State Farm for a short time following purchase, from there I moved to American Family, and I am now with Foremost.

I was not particularly satisfied with State Farm, but that was before restoration so there wasn't much problem getting a stated value for the coach of $5,500 - - the actual purchase price when I bought the coach. When they cancelled my homeowners policy on a vacation cabin that I owned because it was in a flood plain, I moved all of my insurance to one agent who could handle it all.

I was extremely well satisfied with American Family. I did have one claim on the Airstream, and it was handled promptly and efficiently. There were a few heated discussions over the phone regarding proper repair methods, but once my dealer's service department explained the repairs the claim was successfully settled. The only reason that I am still not with them is that they evidently have some type of aggregate claims counting mechanism and if you exceed that in five years you are either cancelled or put into a different insurance group with a 300% rate increase. That happened to me after I had a total of five claims in three years - - one on the Airstream (accident) - - one on my home (vandalism) - - one on my second car (storm) - - two on my main car (one accident and one vandalism). In the 26 years that I have been driving, I have only had three accident claims and each of them have been the result of hit-and-run drivers. In addition, I had moved out of the neighborhood and changed employers to get away from the vandalism more than a year before the "cancellation".

I have been with Foremost for almost two years with both my Airstream and Argosy, and both have agreed value coverage. I generally have the shops that do my restoration work complete an appraisal at the end of each major project and revise my values at that time. While I have heard through this forum that Foremost doesn't have a great claims history, it was the only game in town where I live and I wanted a local agent to work with for all of my insurance needs. The Argosy runs just under $200 per year for a value of $4,000.00 while the Airstream runs a little more than $270 per year for a value of $12,000. I have yet to make a claim with any insurance company where there wasn't some arguing involved, I am just hoping for the best with what I currently have.

Kevin

[Jabba]

Thanks to all who've replied, I'm going to be persistent with my Insurance and push for it, like Kevin and DMC suggested.

Diana, I'd double check with your agent, I don't want to rain on your parade but I believe that $10k Vacation liabilty is to cover other people's injuries or losses involving your rig (hurt by falling out the door etc.). You might want ot call and ask what they'll pay YOU if the trailer is totalled or stolen. I could be wrong, but worth investigating.

[Dwight]

Aniother good one is<www.rvaa.com>. They have been insuring RV's for 35 years.

[airstreamcaravel]

God forbid its gets stolen while in a hailstorm while driving the company car. Your nightmare!! An insurance adjusters dream come true!!

I would feel better about having 1 policy covering the trailer under ANY circumstances. One claim ... one adjuster ... one check ... one insurance company to report to the BBB and insurance comissioner when they try to mess with you.

DMC

[John]

Dan,

I too have one insurance for both truck & trailer, only my truck is covered for towing and only my truck will tow the trailer.

I'd get something in writing from your company's insurance company to CYA myself.

Once a year I get certified at a truckstop. I understand that that's one of the 1st places they look for fault. Plus it's nice to know how much it does weigh.

John

[smallfry]

Anybody have their tow vehicle and trailer insured with USAA?

[Pahaska]

$100 Comprehensive and $500 collision on my 2003 International costs me $248 for each 6 months, but I get a healthy rebate on that at the end of the policy period.

USAA was absolutely great on claims on two previous SOB trailers. One awning destroyed by a windstorm and one 2 1/2" hailstorm. No hassle at all on about $10,000 worth of claims.

[John]

John,

I have Progressive and I pay $660 per yr for fulltime insurance.

Fulltiming insurance cost twice what a standard policy goes for.

I have $1000 ded on both comp & collision. At $500 ded, the policy goes to $780 per yr.

But there is a 25% reduction in my ded per yr. In other words, if I'm accident free after the 1st yr my ded goes to $750, after 2 yrs my ded goes to $500, then after the 3rd yr to $250.

John

[John]

Dan,

What a great benefit!

What type of company car do they give you?

I'd make a run up to Alaska! You never know when they may go to a personal car plus mileage !

John