Good insurance until you need them...........

[3pomsmom]

Sorry, our main objective in life is really not complaining but our recent experience has led to weeks of heartache, heartbreak and heartburn. We have been customers of National Interstate of Hawaii for 15 years and until this year have never had a claim which we were so grateful for. However, this year our 2015 Forester Class C was struck by lightning, causing extensive damage to both the engine and the coach. Our dealer experience was a complete nightmare which we have submitted under dealer reviews, however, our insurance experience was equally as difficult. We contacted the insurance company, a day and a half after the strike, our mistake, left a message because it was the Friday of 4th of July weekend and apparently they were closed. No one called us back until Tuesday, July 7. We had our a/c repaired the day after the strike but were later told that our a/c repair would not be covered, we had to have it repaired to be able to stay in Florida with our 3 poms or we all would have been ill and we were unable to leave due to engine problems that had to be addressed before we could make the 1200 mile trip home. Upon returning home, it took 16 days for the appraisal report to come back, indicating no visible physical damage, this delay was only the beginning. It was a very long process to get any claims paid, the final check took 10 days to be issued and then we were suppose to wait 3 to 5 more days for them to send it regular mail, we were able to have it overnighted but only due to the fact that we suggested it. They were not at all helpful, rude a good portion of the time, didn't return phone calls and showed absolutely no compassion for our situation. Our only recourse was to contact the agent which did help some but not enough to expedite the situation at all. Needless to say, National Interstate would not get any kind of recommendation from us. Upon purchasing our new unit, we will be going with a new insurance company and keep our fingers crossed that we will have better luck, if we ever need to file a claim in the future. AGAIN SORRY FOR OUR RANT BUT WE FIGURE OUR BEST RECOURSE IN THIS SITUATION IS TO WARN OTHERS OF OUR EXPERIENCE.

[Major]

Insurance is for the insurance company... not for the insured. They are betting you don't have to file a claim, you are betting that you will! If you win, you still lose.

Unfortunately, most of us need them and have to deal with them. The agent usually is no help either. While being your best friend when you take the policy out, they will pretend to not know you when you call complaining about the company working through that claim.

I had a recent claim myself. Finally got it resolved; little to no help from the insurance company. I had to stay on them like...

[dcheatwood]

Man. We need to know these things. Thanks for reporting

[DDC]

I had much the same thing when a large tree in our yard got hit with lightning, it went down the tree picked up the house ground and fried various things. This was the first time ever doing anything but paying premiums (their great at collecting them) first I was told that it was not possible, after arguing that out they tried the act of god thing then the power surge which left me speechless because of course it was a power surge and thats not covered hang up and start reading that small print, guess what the tree was covered who would have thought were they p!$$d, cost them more to fix the tree than replacing all the stuff that was fried.

[tomrob1161]

Insurance claims can be a pain, but so far we've had good luck with Liberty Mutual, both on Home Owners and Auto claims. Had a lightning strike in our back year about 15 years ago, wiped out the TV, Stereo and cordless phone. they covered everything except the cordless phone????. We recently had our trailer broken into. The burglar destroyed both entry doors and stole the 32" TV. Total damage $4,100.00. The RV dealer sent the estimate to Liberty Mutual along with pictures of the damage, it was all approved and the RV dealer had the check, less my $100.00 deductible before the parts got there from Forest River.

[billcoll]

I was a auto claims handler for many years and got to know adjusters from all the big companies. I have Progressive for RV and the area adjuster says they are very lenient and fast in handling RV claims. Many of the biggies are like vacuum cleaners....suck in your premiums at the front and nothing but hot air at the rear!!

[cpd1343]

Farmer's Ins was AWESOME when I backed into our camper. I got estimates from the dealer and Forrest River. They let me pick which to go with and even let me keep the pickup/return fee by Forrest River if I decided to take it myself which I did. They even went as far as stating if it costs more for you to take it, let us know!

[tstillman]

We just completed a claim with Progressive Ins on the damag to our 5th Wheel trailer due to a tire blow out.

I must agree the it's never good to be in a situation where you have to file a claim. That only happens because it follows an already bad situation.

Having said that we had an unexpectedly smooth claims process with our insurance company. They were quick to respond to examine the damage and let us select where we wanted the work done.

As it turned the service department (Not the dealer) shared they have had excellent history with our insurance company.

As a qualifier I am not in the insurance industry or have any affiliation beyond my being a customer.

My only other experience was with the Heartford Ins Co. We lost a 2002 40' Beaver to an engine fire.
Thought we had replacement insurance only to find out we didn't. This time not the company's fault but a questionable insurance agent messing with the product to get a sale.
We were left 50k in the hole. So I know both the good and bad experiences dealing with RV Insurance companies.

I'm sorry for your experience and I hope with some research things go better for you in the future, and you can't ask too many questions of others and vendors in your future purchase.

Good Luck

[rmoore0852]

We are with Progressive for everything. House, vehicles, and camper. Luckily we have not had to use them yet for the RV, but have made claims for vehicle related stuff. Good rates, great customer service, hassle free claim process for vehicle issues. All around a good experience so far......

[3pomsmom]

Originally Posted by tstillman

We just completed a claim with Progressive Ins on the damag to our 5th Wheel trailer due to a tire blow out.

I must agree the it's never good to be in a situation where you have to file a claim. That only happens because it follows an already bad situation.

Having said that we had an unexpectedly smooth claims process with our insurance company. They were quick to respond to examine the damage and let us select where we wanted the work done.

As it turned the service department (Not the dealer) shared they have had excellent history with our insurance company.

As a qualifier I am not in the insurance industry or have any affiliation beyond my being a customer.

My only other experience was with the Heartford Ins Co. We lost a 2002 40' Beaver to an engine fire.
Thought we had replacement insurance only to find out we didn't. This time not the company's fault but a questionable insurance agent messing with the product to get a sale.
We were left 50k in the hole. So I know both the good and bad experiences dealing with RV Insurance companies.

I'm sorry for your experience and I hope with some research things go better for you in the future, and you can't ask too many questions of others and vendors in your future purchase.

Good Luck

Thanks for the information, our new motorhome is going to be insured by Progressive so glad to hear you have had a positive experience. We are hoping to not need to file a claim again anytime soon, this experience has been very draining and disheartening to say the least.

[Forester Fred]

3pomsmom - didn't you get RV Warranty Forever when you bought your rig from Alpin Haus? Did you check with them to see if they would cover the damage? I thought the major systems in the RV were supposed to be covered for the forever warranty as long as you got the annual inspection.

[3pomsmom]

The damage has been covered but not without a struggle. Most warranties don't cover lightning strikes, it was strictly an insurance issue, for which National Interstate failed miserably. We had also purchased an extended warranty which we were able to get refunded because that clearly stated would not cover lightning so that was deemed worthless when it came to our unit. The annual inspection would have had to occur this month but since we were trading the unit in we were not paying them to do the annual inspection because once it was compromised by lightning, warranty was more than likely invalid.

[Forester Fred]

OK thanks, that's good to know. I need to pull my policy out and read the fine print.

[JeffLynn]

We had two big claims in 2015 with Progressive and they cut checks before the work was done. I am impressed with the service.

[pmsherman]

Originally Posted by tomrob1161

Insurance claims can be a pain, but so far we've had good luck with Liberty Mutual, both on Home Owners and Auto claims.
...........

I temporarily had a LM Home Owner's policy many years ago. Due to issues getting mail, I discovered that the premium hadn't been paid and the policy was cancelled. LM stated that since the policy was cancelled due to non-payment, they would never issue another policy to me. Great customer service.

Phil

[blwnsmoke]

I've been with Liberty Mutual and State Farm all my life. I have had nothing but fantastic service from both. SF would issue checks to me right from the local office never having to deal with corporate. Never had to fight once on anything with them.

Currently with Liberty Mutual and they actually covered my 4 year old above ground pool from last winter that collapsed. With the ridiculous amount of snow we had, they made an exception and covered it as normally above ground pools are not covered unless a tree or something falls on it.

They never even sent an adjuster to even look at it. I had the check in my mailbox 5 days after calling to make the claim.

Can't recommend either company enough.. based on my experiences at least.. granted this is not RV insurance but hopefully if I ever have to make a claim, it will be the same type of service.

[Skyliner]

I use USAA which outsources RV/ATV/Snowmobile insurance to Progressive at a special USAA rate.

Had one claim about 3 years ago and was fairly pleased with the process.