Do I need insurance?

[mark0224]

I had several small tree limbs fall through the roof of our old trailer and it was covered. Cost is definitely worth it. Talk to your Insurance person they will lead you in the right direction.

[syogerst]

Ok, I've read all these posts and now I still don't know what to do. I have a policy that apparently covers the trailer while it is on my truck. My question is, what do I need if it is parked? I'm not a homeowner. I live with my daughter in her home. I'm worried if someone would get hurt or a tree limb etc would go through my new camper. Please help!

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by syogerst

Ok, I've read all these posts and now I still don't know what to do. I have a policy that apparently covers the trailer while it is on my truck. My question is, what do I need if it is parked? I'm not a homeowner. I live with my daughter in her home. I'm worried if someone would get hurt or a tree limb etc would go through my new camper. Please help!

While on your truck; your trailer is only covered for liability; not collision or comprehensive unless you have added the trailer to your auto policy with those coverages.

Your truck's liability will cover a rented or borrowed trailer for damage; just not one that you own or "use regularly."

Here is what our insurance company had to say about me towing an uninsured trailer:

"Your USAA auto policy covers a trailer and includes liability and medical coverage while your vehicle is towing it. If you own a trailer and want to add physical damage coverage (comprehensive and collision), you'll need to add the trailer to your auto policy.

For rented or borrowed trailers, your policy also covers a trailer and includes liability and medical coverage while your vehicle is towing it. Physical damage is extended to a non-owned vehicle (trailer is included) as long as the vehicle is not furnished or available for regular use when you have Comprehensive and Collision coverage for an insured auto. You would of course need permission to use the trailer."


As to injuries while camping, check her renter's insurance to see if she would be covered; then if she is, you could add her as an owner to the camper's title. There IS of course a downside to this as she would then own 1/2 of your camper and the lienholder (if any) might be required to agree to a title change (which might effect the interest rate on the loan if her credit is not as good as yours).

[syogerst]

So what your saying, i need to buy a renters policy? There is no loan on the trailer. I have a trailer policy and a truck policy with Badger Mutual. Thanks for the feedback

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by syogerst

So what your saying, i need to buy a renters policy? There is no loan on the trailer. I have a trailer policy and a truck policy with Badger Mutual. Thanks for the feedback

Check your "trailer policy" regards liability coverage while camped and collision/comprehensive while traveling and camped.

If your policy has the above elements, you don't need the renters insurance bit.

NOW, you DO realize your daughter's renters insurance does not cover YOU; right? If there was a fire in the apartment, her stuff would be covered, but yours would not.

[vinmaker]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

UPDATE:

"If you back into a tree while you are hooked up to your TV, you are covered PROVIDED (for example) you have collision on your truck's policy AND the policy limit amount is sufficient to cover BOTH vehicles (IF both vehicles are involved)."

NOT TRUE After talking to our insurance guy (SHOULD have checked prior to posting):

If you are the owner of the trailer, they will not pay AT ALL to repair the camper.

If you BORROWED the trailer, THEIR insurance will pay for the trailer's repair (their insurance will recover from your truck's liability).

If THEY do not have insurance on the trailer you borrowed, your truck's liability will pay THEM to repair the damage YOU caused.

I am sorry but this cannot be true. The concept here is that once the trailer is hooked up to the TV it becomes one unit. The insurance on the TV covers the attached trailer. It then stands to reason that any damage done to the "unit" would be covered by insurance (collision in this case).

You do raise an interesting point though. I wonder if anyone here has gone through this before and can shed some real life experiences.

Vin.

[Ashley]

Originally Posted by syogerst

So what your saying, i need to buy a renters policy? There is no loan on the trailer. I have a trailer policy and a truck policy with Badger Mutual. Thanks for the feedback

Herk has really tried hard to explain this every which way he can without actually knowing exactly what these two policies you have covers specifically. What he is trying to say, I think, and I agree a hundred percent is, "You Need Specific RV Coverage!!!" and you may have just that already. I would suggest as much as this has been beat around that you simply pick up the phone, call your insurance agent and tell them what you are wanting to make sure you are covered for. Explain to them, you want to know what happens when towing, when not towing, when hooked up, when not hooked up, etc... if the RV gets damaged and if you are protecting not just yourself from liability but also your property so it can be replaced if necessary or repaired to the same condition it was in before damage at least.

Again, in my opinion you need specific RV coverage for Liability, Comprehensive and Collision. Too big an investment to not have it. Call your insurance company.

[syogerst]

Thank you for all this help. My daughter owns her home. We didn't know that my things aren't covered. I think that I needed to make a call to my agent today.

[lgray]

Much of the difference in premium for what appears to be like coverage is for jurisdictional theft and comprehensive coverage.
Relying on your TV coverage is slippery slope. Most people can tell you what their bodily injury limits are but how many can tell you what their uninsured or underinsured limits are. Property damage? Some may have even declined some of those coverage’s all together, in states that permit that.
If at fault, do you have enough coverage for a multi-vehicle payout? Some policies are aggregate policy limits and when paid, you are on the hook as for the remaining damages to third-party's for bodily injury and property damage.
What about the other guy? The Industry rule of thumb: 1/3 of the other drivers have no insurance, 1/3 are underinsured and 1/3 are properly insured.

IMO buy the RV policy, protect your other assets and retirement.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by syogerst

Thank you for all this help. My daughter owns her home. We didn't know that my things aren't covered. I think that I needed to make a call to my agent today.

Sorry, I was under the impression that she was renting and you were living with her in her appartment. If so, her renter's insurance may cover your stuff if there is a loss. SHE would have to call.

*IF* you are paying HER rent to stay at her house; then you may very well need a separate renters policy since her homeowners insurance may not cover you as a "paying customer."

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by vinmaker

I am sorry but this cannot be true. The concept here is that once the trailer is hooked up to the TV it becomes one unit. The insurance on the TV covers the attached trailer. It then stands to reason that any damage done to the "unit" would be covered by insurance (collision in this case).

You do raise an interesting point though. I wonder if anyone here has gone through this before and can shed some real life experiences.

Vin.

I think you should call your insurance carrier. I believe you will be disappointed to discover that the two vehicles are treated as one unit for liability but not collision or comprehensive (IF YOU OWN THE TRAILER and it is not separately insured on your policy).

Won't take but a minute to be sure. Let us know what they say and who it is.

[Terier]

I had to ask a lot of questions, some more than once, to determine what I needed. My TT is covered under my RV, auto & home owner polices. I suggest asking lots of questions to verify your understanding. What is covered and what is not. Also inquire about which policy would come into play if.....?

*If a fire in your RV spreads to another RV at the campground or storage place are you covered? Is there a difference between being hitched up or not?

*Could both the auto & RV policies ever come into play? It's a long shot but deductibles might need to be taken into cosideration.

[Herk7769]

Your trailer's liability insurance would cover damage caused by the fire to another's RV and damage to a campground storage building "up to your liability limits." Once damage exceeds that, then it will fall on you; just like any other accident for which you are found liable.

Having 50,000 in liability insurance seems like a lot until you realize that RV next door is worth 500,000. Oops; there goes the house!

[rockfordroo]

That's why they have umbrella insurance. A million bucks for a couple hundred a year.

[lgray]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

Your trailer's liability insurance would cover damage caused by the fire to another's RV and damage to a campground storage building "up to your liability limits." Once damage exceeds that, then it will fall on you; just like any other accident for which you are found liable.

Having 50,000 in liability insurance seems like a lot until you realize that RV next door is worth 500,000. Oops; there goes the house!

The cost in going from going from $50,000 to $500,000 on your liability limits is surprisingly low. For most that would get you to the minimum limits to add it to your umbrella policy for very little money.

When asking a vanilla independent insurance sales person specific RV policy questions try to get the responses in writing. Probably a line of coverage they don't deal with every day. These policies are actually not that hard to read. Don't stop after reading the "what is covered" section, as sometimes certain perils are later removed under "exclusions"... or exclusions that are added back under "endorsements" which is then final.

[sewingcybermom]

Update! We checked into good sams insurance...almost 600.00 a year for our 23IKSS??!! Seems quite high, we'll be checking around today. Progressive is about half that, same coverage. AAA is in between both, and that's where we have our autos insured. What a pricing game insurance is!

[vinmaker]

I checked my policy and I do have a separate comp and collision policy on my stand alone camper. It is listed as a separate vehicle on my auto policy. I have coverage for bodily injury to others, comp, and collision.

[tstergio]

In Indiana, last time I checked, my agent said the trailer was covered under the TV when hooked up, and under homeowner's when unhooked. But I assume the agency should know that the camper is in your possession.

[lbrjet]

Ask these two questions to your agent:
If a tree falls on my trailer while camping does my homeowners cover the damage to the trailer?
If I have a blowout and run off the road and the camper flips does my TV coverage cover the damage to the trailer?

The answer will be no to both.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[tstergio]

Your right!, And I'm glad I checked in with my agent on this: Any TT damage is covered with my TT insurance - hooked or not. If the camper damages the TV (in your blowout example) in the process, the TV damage is covered by the auto insurance.