Trailer insurance & travel Club membership

[hardrock]

I have a two part question

 

1. How do you cover your insurance for your Oliver?  My insurance company (auto, home, etc) covers my Oliver as a part of coverage of my tow vehicle.  To do so, they did not increase the cost of my coverage and it is covered for the full amount.

 

2. What travel club do you subscribe to?  I am a member of Good Sams and have the Platnium plan.  It offers coverage for all of my vehicles for road assistance and travel assistance.  I do other types of travel (airline, cruises etc) and it covers me for both national and international travel.  I am not advocating one company over another, just want your degree of satisfaction especially if you have had to use thier services.  Coy

 

 

[Try2Relax]

My auto insurance is Amica, and if it is covered under your tow vehicle then it is probably only covered while being towed, this if while towing you roll and it hits something your covered, if it detaches and does something your not, if it isn't attached to your truck and a tree falls on it your not, if you out travelling and you go for a hike and come back to it being gone your not. Amica spelled it all out for me for the different scenarios so that I would understand it. If your cost did not increase for three insurance, then your Oliver is NOT covered for when you will need it the most. Please double check and have them spell it out, it's not worth just going by what one person said "don't worry about it your covered" its not his loss or coming out of his pocket.

 

I believe the trailer added about $500 to my policy for full replacement coverage and all circumstances.

 

Otherwise, I use AAA and still need to up it to the RV plan. I've never used it and hope I never do, so I can't say how satisfied I am with it.

[topgun2]

Coy,

 

Thanks for starting this thread in that I too have been interested in knowing more about what's out there.

 

Randy - good comments on the basic insurance part and it would seem that your conclusions on coverage would be correct.  In any case, there is simply too much at stake to NOT make sure as to exactly what is covered and what is not covered and under what circumstances is it covered.  I too have been using AAA's RV trip insurance.  However, I've been thinking about changing - a couple of years ago with my old RV I had a wheel problem which required me to be towed a total of five miles.  AAA only covered $100 of the towing charge and would not arrange the details of the tow even though I was stranded on Interstate 70 one mile east of Hays, Kansas (not exactly out in the middle of nowhere).  Therefore, I had to find a towing company, and pay the bill (thank goodness they took plastic).  Thank goodness a State Patrol Officer stopped and had the phone number of a towing company and kept me a bit safer on the side of the interstate as the semi's roared past.

 

Bill

[DavidS]

We pick up our Oliver next month. This is our first RV, and I did a fair bit of research on both insurance and emergency roadside assistance.

 

We have had our cars insured by Allstate for 40 years. I never checked around for a better deal. Either pretty stupid, or inertia won out.  As I learned, it pays to shop around.

 

My research started with forums, and an especially good thread on Fiberglass RV http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f94/travel-trailer-insurance-63515.html. People there really liked Good Sam.

 

I also looked at Consumers Reports, and I will try to attach their report.

 

I found the Consumers Advocate web site VERY useful on RV insurance. https://www.consumersadvocate.org/rv-insurance

 

Also the JD Power customer satisfaction survey. http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-us-auto-insurance-study

 

I also found a web site, thezebra.com that allows you to do two-way comparisons. https://www.thezebra.com/geico-vs-aaa/

 

USAA Insurance was clearly the top ranked company. If you are a US military veteran, I would check them out based on their top ranking. I am not a veteran, but both of my parents were veterans, and even though their web site says children of veterans are eligible, their web site would not provide me with a quote.

 

I got quotes from a seven insurance companies: Allstate, Good Sam, AAA, Progressive, Geico, and Hartford (AARP affiliated). Costco uses Ameriprise, but they do not cover RVs. I asked for a quote with coverage for two vehicles, a 2010 Prius and a 2017 Audi Q7 (our new tow vehicle), and the Oliver. Here are the quotes, all on a 6 month basis.

 

Allstate $1488

 

Good Sam $1701

 

AAA $693

 

Progressive $725

 

Geico $734

 

Hartford $1850

 

All quotes are for similar policies, what the industry calls 100/300 (Bodily Injury $100,000 each person, $300,000 each occurrence) with high deductibles ($1000 Collision/ $500 Comprehensive).

 

Not all of the policies are the same. Good Sam is really attuned to the RV community and so its policy is Full Replacement Cost Coverage, while others are not. See the Consumers Advocate webpage for an understanding of Full Replacement Cost Coverage.

 

Some of the quotes gave me a break down by vehicle 1, vehicle 2, and travel trailer, while others did not.

 

Some links to their info pages:

 

Good Sam http://www.goodsamrvinsurance.com/rv-insurance/why-choose-vip.asp

 

Geico https://www.geico.com/rv-insurance/

 

Progressive https://www.progressive.com/rv/

 

Hartford AARP https://www.thehartford.com/aarp/rv-insurance

 

AAA does not have a single page, since there are multiple, independent entities. Utah is part of CSAA (California State Automobile Association), which also covers Nevada.

 

We decided to go with AAA, even though they do not have Full Replacement Cost Coverage. Mostly it was price, but I also liked dealing with them on the phone. Progressive was awful on the phone (hard sell), but they had the best web site.

 

All of them give substantial discount if you have multiple vehicles, and additional discount if you also have homeowners.

 

Our homeowners policy with Allstate expires in December, and I will compare costs once again.

 

 

 

Emergency Roadside Assistance

 

Geico: https://www.geico.com/auto-insurance/emergency-road-service/

 

Good Sam: https://www.goodsamroadside.com/compare/

 

Good Sam: https://www.goodsamroadside.com/findaplan/

 

Note that the Good Sam price is for the first year only. Price goes up substantially in the second year. Complaints about that on the forums.

 

AAA is separate for each state organization. Google with AAA roadside assistance YourState.

 

(Digression: I found that the MidAtlantic AAA covers Bicycles. In case of an accident or mechanical breakdown, they will pick you up and bring you home! There have been a few occasions I would have liked that!)

 

We have had AAA Emergency Roadside Assistance for 40 years. Inertia again. Apparently some years ago they created multiple levels, and we had the Regular at a cost of $56 (first driver) + $34 (second driver) = $90 per year. What I did not know is that when the made multiple levels they downgraded it to only 5 miles towing.

 

We have now upgraded to the AAA Plus RV plan for $85+$45=$130, which covers 100 miles towing and the trailer. They also have a Premier Plan ($119+$75=$194) which covers 200 miles towing and other goodies, mostly discounts at retailers.

 

Hope my research is of use to you.

 

I had read on this forum about how hard it is to wait for my own Oliver to be built, and I now understand! Only 26 more days!

 

David

 

 

Car-insurance-Reliability.pdf

Best-Car-Insurance-Buying-Guide-Consumer-Reports.pdf

[hardrock]

Randy

 

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

 

I say "thoughtful" because your comments were so thought provoking I contacted my insurance company to verify my coverage.  I have home, auto, life and motorcycle coverage with them.  I was able to confirm that I indeed do have coverage while detached from my tow vehicle.  Also, my daughter and her husband occasionally use my Ollie to go to football games so they (daughter and Ollie) are covered while using my trailer.  The yearly coverage for my Ollie under all of these circumstances is an additional $240 per year.  I requested a seperate binder coverage and policy document with all of the declarations (types of coverage), so the insurance company is sending it to me.  They did tell me there are additional charges for items such as Satalite TV, solar Panels, etc.

 

Bill

 

thanks for your reply on your Kansas trip.  Fortunately, I have not had any problems with my Ollie while on the road. This is why I was wondering about others experience with Good Sam, AAA, and other travel club membership coverages.  My experience with AAA was the same as yours, they are not so helpful when you need them.

 

Coy

[Tralien]

We are also with AAA. Annual coverage for the Oliver added $335.00 with $500 deductible for comprehensive. My experience with AAA claims over thirty-five years has been extraordinary albeit limited.

[hardrock]

David

 

Thanks for your in depth research and sharing your review with the Ollie community.  Having the on line resources and guides may assist others in evaluating thier needs

 

thank you

 

coy