Insurance Issues

[CrossCountryGal]

I'm converting a shuttle bus to a camper (airport to hotel type of vehicle) and being quoted an astronomical insurance premium to cover it because it's considered a commercial vehicle. &nbsp;The title simply says "van".<br /><br />Installed I have a bed, propane cooking, portapotty, ice chest, a bottled water. &nbsp;State Farm is telling me that in order for it to be considered a motorhome it MUST have functional electrical and plumbing.<br /><br />Please, help?

 

[yesican]

Try Geico or another insurance agency....Glad you brought this up.&nbsp; Might be something others will have to overcome.<br /><br />Rae

 

[Lifemagician]

Yup, that is what I was told as well.&nbsp;&nbsp; Of course I had the extra complication that as a non-resident I did not have a physical address.&nbsp; I got wonderful help from Chatris.&nbsp; None of this having to tick little boxes.&nbsp; None of this online quotes.&nbsp; They discussed everything with me, and I was sent the relevant forms to fill in.&nbsp; And they were cheaper than all other companies I had approached, but they do not have six month policies.&nbsp; It was a nice surprise to get a refund when I cancelled the policy when it went into storage.... after just 25 weeks.<br /><br />Why not try them... even if they say it has to be a commercial, you won't be any worse of than you are now.<br /><br />Lifey

 

[cyndi]

You should be able to go to the DMV/RMV and have the vehicle inspected and reclassified

 

[bk2valve]

Whatever you do, make sure they know exactly what you have, how you use it and be sure not to give any false impressions. <br /><br />It was explained to me by my insurance agent that just because you get and pay for insurance, if there is ANY discrepancy between what you told them and what you actually have and/or how and where it is used, they may not pay in event of an accident....<br /><br />That could really suck!<br />Bri

 

[karl]

ditto on what Bri said.<br />My step van is insured with Progressive. I was able to insure it for replacement values on both vehicle and contents, for much less than the commercial insurance that many agents insist on.<br />Call and speak to an agent, the online doesn't work for uncommon vehicles.

 

[peacetara]

I texted my sister's mom, who is a Farmer's agent in California, told her I wanted to insure my new e-350, a few minutes later I was insured, all finished.&nbsp; I know nothing about policies, I just do whatever she tells me to. I have no idea if I pay a lot or not, but I pay about $40/month for insurance on the e-350.&nbsp; I just got the title in the mail, it says "commercial" on it.&nbsp; I have no idea what that means.

 

[randal02lee]

I agree with Yesican, shop around and make sure you let them know that it is NOT going to be used for business, but for leisure. I converted a 2000 ford e-250 into a camper and also was going to use American Family (my car is through them), but wasn't happy with the quote, so then I tried geico, and progressive, and went with geico.....Which was about 1/2 of what American Family would've been.

 

[Pikachu711]

That does make me want to consider the type vehicle is as it's listed on the title as well. If it's titled as an RV it might be more expensive to insure. It probably would be less to insure if it were a van as opposed to a "recreational vehicle."

 

[Les H]

Drive to Alabama, presto, its a rv! Seriously, I bought my bus when i lived in Ny ( sky high ins, btw) and it had passenger plates and insurance. Because the previous owner removed the seats before i bought it, MY ins and reg were commercial, and i insured it as a bussiness vehicle under my conntractors policy. I installed a bed, stove, potty etc to make it into a "work out of town " vehicle. About $400/6 mo. When i moved to alabama, the dmv here said " thats a rv according to our computers" Oki said. Rv tags and ins COMBINED cost me about $400 a YEAR here. Rv is definatly the way to go. No comparison.
Btw, I have a build thread in the conversions forum titled "finally, pics of my bus, Buford" .Check it out if you get the chance

 

[CrossCountryGal]

I've spoken twice to my State Farm agent and he's checking on if DMV classifies it as an RV will State Farm insure it as such. &nbsp;Up against the wall here as the "automatic" coverage that applies when you purchase a vehicle is 14 days, which ends Monday :-( &nbsp;Y'all please keep your fingers crossed, prayers heavenward, and positive vibes flowing this way. &nbsp;I *really* want to take a quick test run trip before Christmas!<br /><br />BTW - I'm 95% done with my conversion :::happy dancing:::

 

[CrossCountryGal]

Buford is a very close cousin to mine, even in color! &nbsp;Love all of the renovations you've done and may want to pick your brain on how you did a couple of things. &nbsp;Thanks for directing me to Buford's thread!

 

[Van Tripper]

I have Direct, not as strict as "Namebrand" ins. co. &nbsp;But I agree with Cyndi, YOU should go to DMV and have them inspect and hopefully reclassify your rig. &nbsp;They usually want to see the conversion for themselves. &nbsp; Good luck.

 

[CrossCountryGal]

I noticed the weird letters going down the post as well. &nbsp;I thought it was a board glitch.<br /><br />Now I'm 98% done with customizing!! &nbsp;Just a few finishing touches left and then it's time to move my things in.<br /><br />If State Farm cannot give me an answer before noon tomorrow I will pursue the smaller insurance companies.

 

[HWJ]

<a style="color: #000000; text-decoration: initial; white-space: nowrap;" href="/profile/1996343" rel="nofollow">randal02lee</a>'s post has a weird code break. Forum bug. He's going to have to edit his post or an admin to fix it.<br /><br />I had the same concerns recently about classification. I'd call around to various insurance brokers. If you have to have plumbing and electrical, just get the absolute basic definitions. You could have something like an electrical cord running to a couple of plugs on a wall socket to comply with the code, even if you never use it. Very cheap to install.

 

[CrossCountryGal]

Finally got a policy written today, although I'm not happy with the price. &nbsp;At this "down to the wire" time I took what I could get and I'll shop at my leisure later. &nbsp;$109 per month, full coverage, through State Farm. &nbsp;A vehicle already classified as a motor home would have been less than $300 per year!<br /><br />Live and learn ...

 

[Van Tripper]

Ouch!!! &nbsp;My Direct (I'm in Tn.) is 72/month, full coverage and road assist.