Insurance Claim Advice

[Michael Anna]

Hello all,
We survived a tornado recently, but our Airstream took some hard hits. We are still waiting for Progressive to send an adjuster and we could use some advice moving forward.

Our 2019 International Serenity 30RB was stored in our barn that was destroyed in the storm. Both AC units were damaged and pushed down slightly and both skylights were pushed in. The rear has two big dents on the top right and left and the passenger side was damaged as well.

Our preference is to repair but not sure that is an option. We own the Airstream, have modified a little and we really like this trailer.

We are interested in your thoughts on moving forward.

Thank you!

Michael and Anna

[Piggy Bank]

Sorry about your barn and your rig. Glad you're here to tell the tale.

We have had 2 airstreams that had accidents that were the fault of others.
For each we did this.

1-don't even consider having anything determined by Kelly Blue Book, etc. Other trailers are simply different than Airstreams. Current market value is probably what you paid for it. Not some formula-depreciated low value. Review current Airstream Classifieds to get a feel for what your ballpark unit is worth. Getting a proper repair estimate is critical to you being made whole.

2-Get the estimate done by an Airstream 5 rivet dealer. Not sure what is close to you. We had our 22 foot unit that was damaged and not drivable towed to our dealer 3.5 hours on a flatbed to be evaluated. When our 25 foot sustained bad highway damage due to flying debris out of the back of a passing truck, it was drivable. We drove it across the state to our dealer, tarped the windows, and left a note. Only a dealer who actually does airstream repairs will know all the finer points on what needs to be replaced to make it whole, based on how they are assembled. I will say the initial "first blush estimate" from our ins. company was very low. The actual was about 3x that number.

3-Decide what you want. Do you want the unit repaired and back, or do you want to trade it in?
Both of ours had extensive damage and we had concerns about repairs and leakage.
With our first unit we were "one day" going to get a bigger unit and decided at the time of the accident to trade vs keeping the repaired unit.
With our second unit, due to not wanting to miss a family bucket list trip, and also due to how much damage there was we decided to trade from a 25 into a 27. (our exact same 25 wasn't available on the lot, we only had 2-3 rigs to select from)
You get the short end of any leverage trading in this scenario, but we were able both times to step into a new rig in a week or 2. (all pre-covid)

If you decide to have the unit repaired, you then will need to decide to either have the dealer make the repairs or if it is more complex perhaps go to Ohio.

[Jim J]

You should be able to get an estimate from Airstream in Jackson Center based on photographs and a description of the damage. You will want to have that when you talk to the adjuster and give them a copy. They will probably use that as their estimated repair cost.

You may have a few bent ribs if the top is pushed in.

They respond quickly and are familiar with the work required to repair the damage.

If you get it repaired, go over all the panel seams when you get it back with whatever the current seam sealer is being used to prevent leaks.

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by Jim J

You should be able to get an estimate from Airstream in Jackson Center based on photographs and a description of the damage. You will want to have that when you talk to the adjuster and give them a copy. They will probably use that as their estimated repair cost.

You may have a few bent ribs if the top is pushed in.

They respond quickly and are familiar with the work required to repair the damage.

If you get it repaired, go over all the panel seams when you get it back with whatever the current seam sealer is being used to prevent leaks.

THIS, send photos and description to Airstream in Jackson Center, before insurance estimate.

[Daquenzer]

I have progressive. When we had damage to our AS, the adjuster made an estimate. It was way low to fix it. Then I took it to the AS dealer where it was to be fixed and we have a more realistic estimate which was about twice what the progressive adjuster had. The AS dealer said not to worry, and it happens all the time. And progressive was great about paying. No problems with them at all. It looks like your damage is more extensive than ours. Thankfully ours was a bird strike that bent just one panel. But that cost to repair was around 4500. Looks like yours involves multiple panels. Ouch. By the way the AS dealer did an excellent job fixing it. We haven’t had any leak issues. And you can hardly notice.