When you decide to invest in a recreational vehicle, it can be a significant cost expense. Regardless of whether you decide on a simple trailer, or go with a stand-alone motorized RV unit, they can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Deciding on the right insurance plan for your RV can be the difference between a simple accident and a major pain that could result in tons of damages. In some cases, it may be necessary to have insurance coverage on your RV, regardless of the type.
There are some simple car insurance terms that are thrown around, such as :
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Collision/Comprehensive/Liability
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Deductible
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Premium
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Seasonality Coverage
- The first set of terms describes the various types of damages you may encounter. A collision is fairly straightforward, and covers repairs that are caused by hitting another vehicle, individual, or an object. Comprehensive insurance is also known as “Act of God” insurance - because it covers accidents from fires, thefts, nature, animals, and a variety of other non-fault accidents. The last term, liability, is used to describe damages that are covered to people, vehicles, and other property that you are responsible for.
- Your deductible, based on your budget and needs, varies, but it is the amount that you pay to the auto shop for your claim, before your insurance company will start to cover the rest. If you have a $500 deductible, for example, and your damage claim came to a total of $12,000, then you would be responsible for the first $500, and your insurance company would cover the remaining $11,500. The higher your deductible, the less you pay for monthly premiums, however, if you were to be in an accident and file a claim, you would obviously be paying a higher limit before your insurance would kick in, and vice versa.
- Premium is simply slang for the monthly amount you pay to your insurance company for coverage. This varies based on the different coverages you have (collision, comprehensive, liability), and a few other factors such as your deductible amount.
- Seasonality Coverage is for those who only use their RV’s during specific months of the year. For example, if you tend to take your vacations during the Summer time, you may want to ask about seasonal coverage for just the Summer months. During the other months of the year, you would be without insurance.
Many times, your typical auto insurance company will have a separate department for recreational vehicle insurance, and a whole team dedicated to handling these types of claims. It is extremely important that you take the time to thoroughly review and research the many different insurance options before you decide on pursuing one. Every insurance company has different policies and regulations for how they can handle certain situations, and you may choose differently based on other’s experiences.
It is also important to note that if your recreational vehicle has many attachments such as a satellite dish, TV antenna, a balcony umbrella, or anything else, they are more than likely not covered by the insurance package. This is something, depending on the item, that you may want to bring up with your company to see if there are other options for covering these attachments.
Depending on how often you use your RV, your insurance needs may vary, so it is always vital that you do your research! If you are a part-time RV user who goes on family vacations once a year, that will be a significant factor when choosing insurance. On the other hand, if you are a full-time RV user and are constantly in the vehicle, then you more than likely will want to pursue some type of full-time coverage. There are many options for choosing the right insurance, whether you use a major corporation, or a smaller, more-locally based company. In my case, with a full-time motorized RV, I actually ended up going with a local company, Insurance Doctor: http://www.myinsurancedoctor.com/chesapeake/, who was able to answer all of the questions I had and gave me an excellent, competitive quote. I’ve had to use insurance a few times, and so far, there has been nothing but pleasant experiences dealing with Insurance Doctor. They are one of the top auto insurance companies in Chesapeake VA, which is ironically the home of major insurance company GEICO!
Another important thing to keep in mind when choosing insurance for your RV is the various emergencies that you may encounter during your trips. It may be worthwhile to invest in a form of health insurance that can transport you to and from hospitals if you were to have a health emergency. There are many medical insurance plans available in this very tailored service industry. A few of the big names in this industry are companies such as Skymed and MASA.