Best rv insurance

[Viet_Vet]

Sooooo, I became an RV owner again after a decade away. I bought a truck and 5er last year and left for our road trip last December. We were due to return to upstate NY toward the end of April, but a little thing called Covid-19 brought us home the end of March due to campground closures.


At any rate, back to my question. I have insured my camper with my auto insurance company, USAA. Last year when I was leaving, we had an ice storm, coating my back driveway where I park my 5er with 1/2 inch of ice. I got stuck when trying to pull the rig out and onto the road. I called my insurance company for roadside assistance to get a tow truck out there to pull me out of the ice coated driveway.



The agent asked me if I am more than 15 feet from a public roadway. I answered that I am stuck in my driveway, and am about 60 feet from the road. They told me that in that case, they would have to open a claim under my comprehensive insurance, and that I would be responsible for the first $200 for my comp deductible. I cancelled the call and spent the next 2 hours with a pick and shovel clearing ice.


I was flabbergasted that this would fall under my comprehensive insurance. I love my auto insurance company, and have been insured with them for more than 26 years. I am still unhappy though that their process in a situation like this is considered a claim under my comp policy.



Due to this, I am considering changing the insurance on my Keystone Hideout to a more RV friendly company. I'd like to hear from folks out there that are with Good Sam, GEICO, Progressive, etc about your experiences with claims, and who you would recommend.


All these companies have great sales pitches and commercials, but I'd like to hear from actual RV owners about their experiences with claims.


Thank you in advance for your responses.

[flybouy]

I'm not aware of any roadside assistance that would cover towing you out of your driveway because you didn't clear it from ice or snow. Before changing policy check the coverage of other plans first to see if any of them do.

[JRTJH]

Like Marshall stated, NO insurance company that I know of will pull you out of your own driveway because of ice or snow blocking the path. That would be similar, IMHO, to calling a tow truck to pull you to the road because the snow is too deep in your drive and you're late for work (or just don't want to shovel)… That's not, and shouldn't be, covered by any insurance company....

As a side note, I believe that USAA does not cover RV's, but uses Progressive Insurance to underwrite their RV coverage... Many larger insurance companies do the same, so it's not a "USAA shirk of responsibility"... So, what you were told is probably a limitation of how the two policies, your truck policy and your RV underwritten policy work together to provide "total coverage"...

[Viet_Vet]

My back "driveway" is more of an access road to my back property. I was stuck on the ice as well as mud from under the ice.



Let's forget that it was my driveway for a moment. My concern is that I am out boondocking on a dirt road and get stuck somewhere. I want to be confident that my RV insurance will take care of me.



As JRTJH said, USAA subs the policy out to Progressive. I am looking at all the benefits/coverages for my 5er. I thought that perhaps there are insurance companies out there that specialize in RVs, that would be more familiar with what we all need and go through at claim time.


To be clear, I'm not just looking for towing and roadside, but policy service and coverage in general.


Thanks again!

[sourdough]

I have had great service from Geico. The only things I have used with them are roadside assistance and a damage claim from a blown tire. On both there were right on it and took care of us. The settlement for the 7k damages on the blowout were more than fair and extremely quick. As far as getting towed from somewhere I don't know. I carry 3 or 4 roadside assistance plans for my vehicles and trailer along with Travel Assist from Good Sam for the "what if's".

[Viet_Vet]

Thank you! Anyone out there have experience with Good Sam for RV insurance?

[sourdough]

I haven't had any experience using, or owning, Good Sam RV insurance but I've called them twice getting quotes. On both those occasions their rates were higher. They talk about your lower rates due to giving you a break for when you don't use the trailer. That was an issue to me because they wanted to know beforehand when you weren't going to use the trailer and when you were. I told them we (at that time) didn't have any idea; we just hitched up and went when the bug hit us. They told me I could guess at it or ??? I didn't want to do that because I figured I would get an urge and go, then have something happen and find I wasn't covered because it wasn't one of my "covered days".

[Frank G]

Did I really read your post correctly, You hooked up to your 5th wheel with 1/2 inch of ice under you and you expect others to share in the cost of getting you out. Let me know what insurance carrier picks you up, I'm outa there.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Viet_Vet

My back "driveway" is more of an access road to my back property. I was stuck on the ice as well as mud from under the ice.



Let's forget that it was my driveway for a moment. My concern is that I am out boondocking on a dirt road and get stuck somewhere. I want to be confident that my RV insurance will take care of me.



As JRTJH said, USAA subs the policy out to Progressive. I am looking at all the benefits/coverages for my 5er. I thought that perhaps there are insurance companies out there that specialize in RVs, that would be more familiar with what we all need and go through at claim time.


To be clear, I'm not just looking for towing and roadside, but policy service and coverage in general.


Thanks again!

"Boondocking" is the same as "off roading". Get stuck and you're on your own. No roadside will cover that and I'm guessing you might not get coverage for damage or loss either. That's a question you should ask an insurance agent as it very well could be dependent upon state law you reside in.

[notanlines]

I can't speak for the idea of being towed out of my driveway. You've already been duly chastised for that maneuver. We are in our 46th year with Geico and have zero complaints. And my history here shows how they've stood behind us. $9K from our infamous Trailer King China bombs, and 19K from, well, that's a long story. Paid like a champ, and in the end, Liberty Mutual paid the 19K when it was proven that Comcast cable people were less than efficient in their repairs after the hurricane in 2018. I'm still after the 'cable guy' with a ball pean hammer. (Well, that may be an exaggeration)

[Viet_Vet]

Thank you all for your replies, your recommendations, and the chastisement! I'm a big boy and can take it!


I guess I was thinking more along the lines of my car insurance, which has towed me out of bad situations in the dirt roads of Vermont back near the Searsburg reservoir.


Lesson learned on the difference between car and RV insurance!

[wiredgeorge]

I have been with Progressive for quite a few years; this year with no explanation they jacked up my premium price almost $100... no accidents reported to account for this increase. I have the diminishing deductible and in two years, no deductible... I got miffed and went to Geico for a quote and they did a hard pull on my credit! I told them to stuff it for that reason. Today I found a site that said they checked rates for 10 companies and the service is a shill for Good Sam and they were about $60 a year more expensive than Progressive. I might check with the Hartford who I think uses Foremost (they do for motorcycles) as we have our cars insured via AARP/Hartford. As a side note we had dropped AARP as soon as we could after we got the AARP Hartford rates due their putting sex toy ads in their magazine they sent to us. Kind of ironic for our age group I guess but I found it distasteful and had to call them to stop sending the magazine to us. After dropping AARP but staying with the Harford for about 5 more years they caught us and made us join again to receive the better rates and I have found the Hartford outstanding. I had called Foremost about insuring my vintage bikes and trike and their agents were obvioiusly not motorcycle folks so I have kept my Progressive motorcycle coverage for many years.