Why You Need RV Insurance in 2023
Road trip or fly? Camping or hotel? If you love road trips and camping, then RV living is for you! It’s tough to beat life on the open road.
You get to experience new scenery. Take unexpected detours. Move at your pace.
In an RV, you can chase the setting sun all the way to the coast. And take as much time as you’d like.
This lifestyle is available for anyone to enjoy at virtually every stage in life. Young people working remotely can travel across the states without missing a meeting.
Families can cruise through the countryside and make lifelong memories. Snowbirds can escape the cold without needing a mortgage on a second home.
The RV life is brimming with potential.
But only if you have your home away from home properly insured. Life on the open road isn’t only filled with possibility. It’s filled with potholes. Storms. Inattentive drivers.
JFA Insurance Brokerage and Associates Inc has provided the quality insurance you need to have the peace of mind you deserve. RV Insurance included.
RV’s Are an Investment That Needs to be Protected
An RV can cost over $150,000. You would be hard-pressed to find a modest RV for less than $10,000. Those are not dollar amounts that most people are comfortable leaving unprotected.
Especially when considering the value – and risk – of owning an RV.
An RV provides all the benefits of a car and home – along with all the risks of each.
Depending on your RV’s class, you may need to protect electoral and plumbing systems as well as the general transportation considerations.
Beyond that, your RV likely carries personal items of great value. Computers, TVs, clothing, and jewelry. These items may be protected under a homeowner’s insurance policy.
But if they leave your home and are housed in your RV, your homeowner’s insurance policy may not provide any protection.
Technically, if an RV does not drive itself, it does not need to be legally insured. However, if you finance the purchase of an RV, most lenders will require a level of insurance to cover their risk.
You didn’t hop in an RV to worry about these issues. You wanted to experience something magical without worry.
The right insurance policy can take your worries away!
Different Types of RVs Require Different RV Insurance
Do you know how many different types of RVs there are? RV’s range in class from A to C. They also could be travel trailers or 5th wheels.
TAXA Outdoors defines the different types of RV’s this way:
Class A
Class A Recreational Vehicles are the most traditional motorhome. They are the highest-end models with maximum storage and amenities. The largest Class A motorhome can average 25 to 40 feet in length, which can cause issues with storage. Naturally, they’re also the most expensive.
Class B
Class B vehicles are smaller vehicles that offer less space, but they tend to be more drivable and less expensive. Though the decreased storage space can make packing and storage a challenge, the smaller size makes for a better fit in compact camping areas. They’re usually 21 to 24 feet and most often sleep only two.
Class C
These RVs are basically a middle ground between Classes A and B in size, space, drivability, and price. The general size range is 23 to just over 36 feet in length. Many can comfortably accommodate a small family.
Travel Trailer (Mobile Habitats)
Travel trailers aren’t towed using a traditional ball hitch. This makes them more varied and versatile than other styles of RV. Travel trailers have a wide range of styles and sizes to fit various passenger and terrain requirements.
While it’s crucial to find a towing vehicle with the correct requirements, their ability to detach allows them to be more easily stored when not in used. They’re also lower priced than most typical RV models.
Fifth Wheel
Similar to travel trailers, fifth wheelers are towed behind external vehicles. However they require a special hitch, typical of 18-wheelers. While this hitch requirement can be more difficult to acquire, it can bear more weight. The towed aspect of fifth wheelers is also an advantage because the portion of the unit that resides over the bed affords extra storage space.
Each type of RV requires a different type of RV insurance.
Types of RV Insurance
Our partners at National General offer the following specialized forms of RV insurance for you to consider. Their comprehensive and compassionate coverage leaves no stone unturned!
Personal Belongings
From laptops to linens, personal belongings are insured for their original cost new – not a depreciated amount – up to $3,000. Additional coverage can be added, too, for customers and their gear.
Vacation Liability
Additional coverage to protect RVers when they’re off the road and camping out. It protects them against damages around the camping area, where accidents often happen.
Specialized Equipment Coverage
Customers can tweak an RV to their heart’s content. Add coverage for items like body or suspension alterations, custom wheels or solar panels.
Permanent Attachments
Depreciation-free coverage for items permanently attached to an RV, like a shade-providing, nap-inducing awning.
Full Replacement Cost Coverage
If an original owner’s RV is totaled or stolen (and not recovered) in its first three model years, we’ll replace it with a comparable new RV.
If it’s aged past its first three model years, we’ll provide the full original sales price – not a depreciated amount – toward the purchase of a replacement RV.
We can even connect RVers with experts who can track down the exact make and model a customer is after. We’ll do the legwork to get a customer back into the ride they’re after.
Purchase Price Guarantee Coverage
Can be added in the RV’s first nine model years and pays the customer up to the original purchase price of the totaled RV, towards a replacement.
Countrywide Towing and Roadside Assistance
Having a rig towed is not an easy job. This option will get you towed to the nearest qualified repair facility should a breakdown occur.
Emergency Expense Allowance
Convenient option for travel expenses should a customer have a covered claim while on the road, included at no extra charge, up to $750 with more available.
Additional free coverage included, with specialized options available:
- Pet Coverage
- Fire Department Coverage
- Locksmith Coverage
- Agreed Value Coverage
- Full-Timers Coverage
- Mexico Physical Damage Coverage
- Basic Economy Coverage
Do You Need to Insure an RV in Storage?
Yes! Your RV is still vulnerable while being stored. Theft. Natural disasters. Pests. Vandalism. The list goes on.
Even if you pay for your RV to be stored, the storage unit owner may not have the insurance coverage you need to pay for particular forms of damage.
Does Your Auto-Insurance Policy Cover Your RV?
Maybe. If you tow your RV, then auto insurance policies can be crafted to cover them. However, this is not the case with RVs that drive themselves.
Still, RV coverage may need to be intentionally added to your auto insurance policy due to an RV’s particular needs.
Do You Need Insurance to Rent an RV?
Yes. In some ways, it’s even more important to be covered if you’re renting. RV rental companies can have multiple layers of replacement costs.
Some RV rental locations may require you to purchase their insurance. Others may have it as an add-on.
What Kind of RV Insurance do You Need if You’re Borrowing?
This question can be answered in two directions. Do you need RV insurance if you are loaning it to a friend? Do you need RV insurance if you are borrowing it from a friend?
If you loan your RV to a friend, you almost certainly want to ensure it’s insured. Accidents happen. And when you’re dealing with an investment of this size, you certainly don’t want an honest mistake to add up costs that come between friends.
The answer is a little more complicated if you borrow the RV from a friend. It might not make sense for you to go through all the trouble of securing an additional policy for one vacation.
We recommend considering contributing to the RV owner’s policy to offset some of their costs while minimizing your need for more insurance and paperwork.
Let JFA Take Your RV Worries Away!
If you want to take an RV around the country, then you need an insurance partner that’s been around the block.
With over 30 years of experience, JFA Insurance Brokerage and Associates Inc has the resources you need to be fully – but overly – covered.
Reach out today for a free 30-minute consultation. Our friendly experts are available to guide you down the path you need to enjoy the RV life you crave!