Getting Insurance for Your RV

Recreational vehicles or RVs represent Americans’ love for living life on the open road. With thousands of miles of highway crisscrossing the nation, it is not uncommon to travel down a highway and see at least one RV plying in either direction. If you want to enjoy the comfort of home on four wheels, then the RV is your best bet. But like all vehicles, you need some form of insurance – and standard auto policies don’t work for them.

An RV insurance policy has a number of key elements. The first is total loss replacement, which applies to buyers of brand-new RVs for only the first five years, by replacing the original unit with an identical machine. An RV policy can be customized to specify limits on damaged or destroyed personal belongings.

Insurance policies for RVs are known for higher liability limits because of their massive size that can be a harbinger for mishaps. A full-timer liability applies when the RV is used as a residence, in the same manner as a home insurance. Some policies also allow for emergency expenses, particularly when the RV is being repaired and the occupants are forced to live elsewhere for the duration.

RVs are great investments for vacationers. However, it is important to have all bases covered for the vehicle as well as your adventure.

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Insurance Talk with a Former Claims Adjuster

Edmunds.com editor Philip Reed had a friend who got his Mini Cooper into a terrible accident. With a bit of skillful negotiation, he managed to get $1,500 more on his insurance than the original offer—and was able to write a story about it. If you're living in a state with high insurance quotes, getting the most out of your car insurance is a must. Make sure you get every penny of the auto insurance you've paid for.

You should start by talking to the claims adjuster. He assesses how much insurance money a client can receive based on factual evidence. Having spent four years as a claims adjuster himself, Reed writes that all it takes is a matter of understanding how the job works. More often than not, claims adjusters are on crunch time, and are expected to crunch the numbers for hundreds of clients. As claims adjusters base insurance claims on facts, clients must dispute these numbers with the facts to ensure fair offers.

Get several quotes to compare them with the current insurance claim. On average, claims adjusters have a $500 elbow room, which is already a substantial amount. However, try to understand that cars depreciate in value the moment the buyer drives it off the dealership lot, and car depreciation also reduces insurance value. Reed suggested steering clear of preferred body shops; don't worry, you have the right to do this.

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