Insurance

Topic: Insurance (Read 1065 times) previous topic - next topic

Insurance

March 04, 2021, 03:19:37 pm

So is insurance a bit of a scam? I kind of thought I had an agreed value policy based on the fact that the company asked for the value and charged me accordingly... But I realized this is a stated value policy. Meaning I've paid based on a $70K stated value but if the time came for coverage I'd have to fight. Crazy.

So I set out on my adventure to get an agreed value policy. With progressive, if you enter a value that is too high they simply don't give you the agreed value option at all. Their value for my coach is a whopping $25K. This lets an unsuspecting consumer think they are covered for the high number they entered but in reality you'd have to fight.

Our coaches are more like collector cars and are priced accordingly. I am in a huge fight to just try to get $50K of coverage. The only one I found that will even entertain the idea is safeco. All the underwriters see is "1999 unicoach". So they go price out some 150K mile U270 and compare it with my 42' tag axle full body paint U320.

It's unfortunate because I'm not entirely convinced I could find my coach for even $50K. I think it would cost more potentially given that it checks all the "magic" bullet points that made ME pay a lot for it (full body paint, tag axle, walnut cabinetry, aquahot, basement freezer, flat panel TV, intellitec switches, etc. The easiest to find coaches that come close are slide coaches that are newer and are still in 6 figure asking price.

It's frustrating and any advice on navigating this would be most helpful. I'm told they fight this due to fraud.

This goes to show you, you are better off in the lower end non-upgraded coaches in the event of a loss.

Re: Insurance

Reply #1 – March 04, 2021, 04:17:31 pm

Quote from: Mark D – March 04, 2021, 03:19:37 pm

This goes to show you, you are better off in the lower end non-upgraded coaches in the event of a loss.

That value of $25K for your '99 model sounds kinda low ball to me, even by insurance company standards.

We meet half of your qualification - we bought at the lower end ($30K).....but then we upgraded.

If our coach burned to the ground, we would get at best less than half what we have in it. We have a "Actual Cash Value" policy with Progressive. Even though they list the "value" of our coach at $29,030, I don't expect to get it. That's OK, cuz that is the comprehensive coverage I am paying for. One has to read and understand the fine print on their insurance policy, and if not sure what it says, then ask.

I carry insurance mostly for the liability protection. Losing what $$ we have in the coach would not break us, but a million dollar lawsuit.....?

Re: Insurance

Reply #2 – March 04, 2021, 04:32:29 pm

My agent purely lied to me on the day I insured this coach. Plainly said in the event of a total loss you will recover xx amount. When I discovered I had actual value vs agreed value the secretary left the room. Insurance companies and lawyers, each makes the other a must to have.

Re: Insurance

Reply #3 – March 04, 2021, 04:45:45 pm

Yes, the older coaches are a better deal for insurance. Ours went up to $487/yr this last year for $20K hull plus liability coverage. It's with Progressive through USAA. Started at $3xx a couple of years ago. The deductible is $250 to start but gradually drops to zero after 5 years so we have 3 to go. We really got it for the windshield coverage. We add on $100/yr ($330,000 USD coverage) to a driver's license Mexican liability policy but skip the collision down there.

Pierce

Re: Insurance

Reply #4 – March 04, 2021, 05:11:25 pm

Can you imagine insuring a 2021 I H 45 and 2 years later having a total loss, the depreciation alone would buy a very nice uni coach Value goes down even when premiums hold.

Re: Insurance

Reply #5 – March 04, 2021, 05:12:33 pm

Just a reminder - financial advice, investing, etc. are beyond the scope of the forum and are not permitted discussion.

Please stick to discussion "how do I get agreed-value coverage".

Re: Insurance

Reply #6 – March 04, 2021, 07:38:09 pm

I retired after 40 years as agency owner, got tired of fighting insurance company's wanting higher premiums and less coverage. The only policy I have read that would cover the value of your vehicle was an agreed value policy by Hagerty insurance but they only write a policy on collectors or antique vehicles.

When you tell an agent the value of your motorhome the rate you pay is based on that. Remember the agent is going by company guideline and underwriters underwrite a policy they do not pay claims.

Read your policy if it is actual cash value that is what they pay. You can disagree with adjuster but compile a list of motorhome sold like yours (Age, mileage and condition). I have seen the values increase many times and the adjuster pay additional.

I shop my insurance at least every three years or I get more than a 10% increase on a renewal.

Re: Insurance

Reply #7 – March 04, 2021, 08:24:21 pm

When I went full time I went to agreed value at 60k, full time, and 0 deductible on windshield replacement. 3k year. Expensive but paid for itself this year. I thought I would do this for 2 years then maybe drop all coverage except liability. Time will tell.

Re: Insurance

Reply #8 – March 05, 2021, 10:29:45 am

Get a third party appraiser to appraise the value. If he/she is licensed they will accept it.. I had a crash (I was hit) and I had to hire one to get the value of my coach.. They are worth the money.. and better now before something happens and the fight is on.. can be updated every 3 years or so for a base and depreciation if needed.

Re: Insurance

Reply #9 – March 05, 2021, 11:05:35 pm

Thanks for all the tips. They did insure me but they warned me they may lower it after a review in a couple months. We'll see how it goes and I will hire an adjuster if necessary.

Re: Insurance

Reply #10 – March 20, 2021, 09:57:03 pm

When shopping for insurance on a collectors item it is best to get an "agreed value" insurance policy. Our coaches sell for more than a similar "RV" of the same age, equally we often have more money in the coach than it would appraise for. This is the problem with regular insurance policies, they start out with a retail value that is discounted when the company pays out, if you argue they look for other units the same as yours in your area to determine how much they will pay you. Since Foretravel's are scarce (there are approximately 6 in Ohio) so there is no value for the appraiser to look at , forcing them to comp against lesser brands, which means less money for you if you make a claim.
If you do not want to argue and fight your insurance company, pay more for your policy and get an "agreed value " policy.
You decide what the value should be (within reason) they may ask how you come by the figure, I used the coaches for sale at MOT and what improvements I had made.
So my purchase price is less than my agreed value and has nothing to do with my pay out. I asked for 50CB (less than I have in it but a fair price) and they quoted $1000.
If my coach is totaled, no questions asked they will send me a check for $50,000.
You get what you pay for, cheaper with a depreciating payout, or pay more and rest assured.
There are very few companies offering these policies for RV's.
Our policy is with Safeco
Good luck
David

Re: Insurance

Reply #11 – March 21, 2021, 12:23:08 am

I would also like to add that in the last year or so the values of all Rec Vehicles have gone up.. Where as a year or so ago I seen values for 02 U320 in the 90k range and am now seeing anywhere from 110k plus..

Safe to say all Rv have gone up in value a little.. Some would only care if they were buying one but done forget that most on here would have to sell first before another purchase as you already own one.

All I got. As said many times before.. YMMV

Re: Insurance

Reply #12 – March 21, 2021, 08:07:47 am

We have Progressive through Overland Insurance. We have an Agreed Value equal to what we paid for the coach in 2017. After many coach buck upgrades I asked Overland how to increase the agreed value. They referred me to James Polk of Polk Valuations ((805) 646-7293 ) who appraises RV's, planes, collector cars, etc. For $250 he guarantees the insurance company will accept his value or he'll refund the appraisal fee.

Our appraisal came in at $149k which Progressive accepted. NOW, watch what you wish for....premium went up by the same percentage as the Agreed Value! Overland said we could reduce the Agreed Value at renewal but not at the time of the appraisal agreed value change. Since we were mid policy year I bit the bullet and paid. We'll have to decide what we want to do in August but at least for now we're covered in the event of a total loss.

Not financial advice for others...just what we decided to do based on the significant investment we have in this rig.

Re: Insurance

Reply #13 – March 21, 2021, 09:59:13 am

Quote from: DavidS – March 21, 2021, 12:23:08 am

I would also like to add that in the last year or so the values of all Rec Vehicles have gone up.. Where as a year or so ago I seen values for 02 U320 in the 90k range and am now seeing anywhere from 110k plus..

Safe to say all Rv have gone up in value a little.. Some would only care if they were buying one but done forget that most on here would have to sell first before another purchase as you already own one.

All I got. As said many times before.. YMMV

Yes on that. We shopped carefully for our previous coach, and kept it nice. W had an agreed value policy based on our purchase price five years prior. I assumed that the value would be fair, taking into account age and depreciation. After our accident, we discovered that the coach was worth 50 percent more than our purchase price.

We had no hard feelings - we got what we agreed to. I do wish I had tracked values more carefully.

Re: Insurance

Reply #14 – March 22, 2021, 02:36:06 pm

UPDATE: Thanks to fellow Forum member, Jeff Lendroth, I learned that Nationwide will write Agreed Value policies at a premium that is over 35% less expensive for virtually identical coverage than our current Progressive policy. No brainer to switch. According to Overland Nationwide has been in the RV market for 12 years having copied Progressive's insurance form when they entered. They do, from time to time, drop out of the RV market...before returning again after a brief hiatus. They HAVE NOT canceled current customers when they stepped away in the past. I want to insure our rig for as much of what we have in it as possible so for about a $500/year increase we can increase our coverage to the full $149,500 appraised value.

My two cents FYI.

Randy

Re: Insurance

Reply #15 – March 22, 2021, 06:13:53 pm

Back in 2001 when I had a garage fire, our Foretravel was totaled. The insurance company did not want to give us anything for the coach. We went to FOT to send us a letter giving us the value of the coach. I forwarded that on to the insurance company and they then paid us the going rate.

Re: Insurance

Reply #16 – March 28, 2021, 09:33:02 pm

I also wanted to point out that my rate with Safeco agreed value is quite a bit less than my actual cash value insurance. That is where the scam is - I was paying insurance on a $70,000 valuation while if something actually happened I'd be paid out $25,000 (or so).

Re: Insurance

Reply #17 – March 28, 2021, 10:02:42 pm

Quote from: Mark D – March 28, 2021, 09:33:02 pm

I also wanted to point out that my rate with Safeco agreed value is quite a bit less than my actual cash value insurance. That is where the scam is - I was paying insurance on a $70,000 valuation while if something actually happened I'd be paid out $25,000 (or so).

I had my car and RV insured with Safeco for about 10 years. Always paid for it annually and never made a claim. The original agent knew I was a full timer. I recently switched cars and they raised my car rate considerably. In shopping around, I was told that Safeco does not insure full timers.
The agent who wrote my original Safeco policy was no longer with the agency and I had to deal with someone else. The bottom line is I switched to another carrier for the car and Safeco agreed to keep my current RV policy in effect for the rest of the year that I paid for. They also refunded the balance remaining on my old car policy.
I would have preferred one company to deal with but I was NOT happy with the Full Time RV policy prices I was quoted. I'll be insurance shopping again in July.

Re: Insurance

Reply #18 – May 22, 2021, 08:57:09 pm

I lost my U320 to a fire, had Progressive replacement value. They had an independent appraisal at $125K. One thing I learned: If your RV starts a fire, you are liable. Mine didn't start the fire, but I next purchased a Nimbus in a LLC. Most have $1M liability, but this fire cost over $10M.

Re: Insurance

Reply #19 – May 23, 2021, 08:46:06 am

So was the $ high, low, or good?

How about more info on the fire?

Re: Insurance

Reply #20 – May 23, 2021, 10:29:23 am

Quote from: JWhite – May 22, 2021, 08:57:09 pm

I lost my U320 to a fire,Mine didn't start the fire, but I next purchased a Nimbus in a LLC.

Mr. White has brought up a good point. Art's Attic was an LLC when we were in business. I've kept the domain out of inertia, so much inertia that the registrar has been out of business longer than I have, but we have a relationship.

Forming an LLC is inexpensive and requires minimal maintenance to keep the liability on the LLC and away from you and your family.

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