How to insure a custom truck/camper

[rrliljedahl]

I have had 2 insurance companies refuse to insure my custom camper which on my flatbed diesel truck. Camper was designed to be non removable with a pass thru installed between camper and truck. I thought that insuring it as an rv would be easy. Any suggestions?

 

[boxcar1]

If it is a non removable coach with a pass through then by definition you own a Motor home. Try insuring it as such.

 

[dlh62c]

To get the vehicle reclassified as an RV you'll have to go though your DMV office to start the paperwork. In my state the reclassification inspection has to be done by the State Highway Patrol.

Often the problem getting coverage on anything custom is it's replacement cost. Saving your receipts on the build will help.

 

[tgreening]

Depends on your insurance company but in some cases at least they don't care what your or your states definition of an RV is. They won't even care what it's registered as. They run the vin and whatever that began life as is what it is, as far as they're concerned. If you have it "converted" by someone like Sportsmobile (just an example), or somebody that is a certified or registered RV converter, it can be a different story. What constitutes an acceptable conversion company I have no clue, and like all the above, is probably insurance company dependent.

I tried a handful of different providers and ended up with Progressive. I still had to get commercial coverage, but cost wise the difference was negligible. The funny thing was, most of them wouldn't cover it period because it was a "commercial" vehicle that had been partially converted to a camper, and since neither I nor the PO were certified converters they wouldn't touch it. Progressives commercial provider just wanted to hear me say I had removed any RV stuff, and I was good to go. Whatever I did with it after was ok as long as I didn't say RV. Overnight job site command center? No problem. Mobile office with convenience package? Not a big deal. Just not "RV". Semantics.

 

[tarditi]

Not sure which companies you've investigated.

I have USAA and will soon be asking about my camping trailer. Geico has a reputation for being RV-friendly.

Sometimes, the best bet is to get an umbrella policy, though.

 

[dlh62c]

I tried a handful of different providers and ended up with Progressive. I still had to get commercial coverage, but cost wise the difference was negligible.

Make sure you read the fine print on commercial coverages. Some companies place a radius limit on distance from the address on the policy. It could be as little as 25 miles.

 

[rrliljedahl]

USAA has had my business for almost 30 years but refused. uSAA then sent me to Progressive who also refused.

 

[rrliljedahl]

Good news.

My state is NC.

I called USAA back and described that I had "Detachable Truck Camper" now on my already insured truck.

Agent says "not a problem". He put it on my truck insurance policy for full replacement and liability at "no additional charge". He asked for no receipts but suggest I keep a copy for my records in the event of a collision.

He also told me that my homeowners would cover all of my property in the camper for damage or theft at no charge.

If I had titled it in NC as an "RV", there would have been an extra charge.

 

[andytruck]

More likely someone will hit you vs you crashing it. RVers tend to have less accidents, probably since they are not used to driving the big vehicle and go along very cautiously and are not in a hurry and never make crazy moves - too much stuff to fall down inside the RV…
Keep all receipts for camper and for the vehicle modifications. It helps tremendously if you do a good finish job inside and out. Plywood painted with house paint for cabinets is not a high value. Mine was very finished with custom cabinets and polyurethane finishes and it looked expensive (though I did it on the cheap). I see a lot of beautiful custom builds on this site with excellent framework and structure, but then the finish work looks like high school wood shop. When the insurance adjuster looks at your wrecked vehicle he goes pretty quick and has to make quick assessment so he can move to the next job. A nice looking finish gives the impression that everything is luxury and he will assume such and likely give it a higher value.
My interior was immaculate and beautiful and I laughed all the way to the bank when I got my claim check.
Sounds like the original post is a nice unit,but I just mention this for the readers.

Should the camper be insured as property like a bicycle or a guitar? It is something you carry on or in your vehicle, so insure it through homeowners or renters insurance? I personally don't bother with mine…

 

[econoPSD]

Similar situation with my DIY boxvan/porta-cabin. Had a hard time with progressive. Almost got insured as a commercial vehicle until I told them it's set up for sleeping. They referred me to "farm and city" for RV insurance but they wouldn't touch a custom build, not even just liability. Finally called AIS and absolutely no problem, $600/yr for full coverage including $30k for the camper. It was so easy I'm half worried it's a scam!

 

[The Artisan]

Similar situation with my DIY boxvan/porta-cabin. Had a hard time with progressive. Almost got insured as a commercial vehicle until I told them it's set up for sleeping. They referred me to "farm and city" for RV insurance but they wouldn't touch a custom build, not even just liability. Finally called AIS and absolutely no problem, $600/yr for full coverage including $30k for the camper. It was so easy I'm half worried it's a scam!

Can you please PM your contact AIS.
Kevn

 

[ndtroutslayer]

My problem was insuring the truck my camper was on. It started life as a cab/chassis and a long box dually body was put on. Since it started life as a 'commercial' vehicle, I couldn't find insurance for it without it being registered as a commercial vehicle. I don't own a business any more and could not register it as a commercial vehicle.

I finally found that State Farm was able to write a policy for me, stating the truck was a privately owned commercial vehicle that was used for recreational vehicle hauling. I told them that the truck camper will not leave the bed of the truck for as long as I own it. From what I understand, the TC value is added to the overall value of the insured truck if both were to be damaged in an accident. I had to provide information about the TC and pictures of it on the truck.

 

[Photomike]

I have a friend that collects cars and his suggestion to me for insuring my truck and camper was to get an appraisal and take a lot of pictures, both my truck and the camper were older and with the updates I would be out thousands as book price and insurance experts would ignore those things. He has had issues with insurance companies writing policies and "guaranteeing" a price only to have them open up a book and say I am sorry your vehicle is only worth $X after a claim. As soon as a incident happens they have the right to get a fair appraisal from one of their specialists as to what they think the unit was worth before the incident - and if you think this fair appraisal will be close to an actual price then I have some resort land to sell you :Wow1:

Also record product numbers, prices and serial numbers, things such as a RV furnace could be worth $200 or $2000 and in a total loss like a fire without the actual items numbers and prices you can be out a lot. A few minutes now can help you a lot later on.