New from Idaho with questions

[chevy_man5]

Hello all!

I have been scouring this site for days, you all are some ingenious people!!  I have an opportunity to buy a 1995 E-250 Extended from my work.  It has higher miles, but has been well taken care of.  I would like to be able to just put a bed in it, and maybe some storage.  I called and spoke to my insurance company, (Geico) and they will not insure it as an RV, nor will they insure it, if I add a sleeping area to it.  I asked about not having it as a permanent structure, and they replied that if I were to get in an accident, and had modifications of that sort in there, they could void my coverage.

With as many camper vans as I have seen on here, and as many as I have seen being used on the road, there has to be someone who is insuring these things.  I don't want to buy the van from my work, if I cannot get insurance for it to be used as I want.

Thank you for your help!

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums chevy_man5! Sorry, I don't have an answer for your question but I'm someone here will be able to help you. Good luck!

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[chevy_man5]

Thank you!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Hello all!

I have been scouring this site for days, you all are some ingenious people!!  I have an opportunity to buy a 1995 E-250 Extended from my work.  It has higher miles, but has been well taken care of.  I would like to be able to just put a bed in it, and maybe some storage.  I called and spoke to my insurance company, (Geico) and they will not insure it as an RV, nor will they insure it, if I add a sleeping area to it.  I asked about not having it as a permanent structure, and they replied that if I were to get in an accident, and had modifications of that sort in there, they could void my coverage.

With as many camper vans as I have seen on here, and as many as I have seen being used on the road, there has to be someone who is insuring these things.  I don't want to buy the van from my work, if I cannot get insurance for it to be used as I want.

Thank you for your help!

You didn't say if you were planning to live in it, or just use it for trips?

Rather than build in permanent stuff, consider getting a GOOD cot and cot mattress from someone like Gander Mountain or Cabella's.  Also, there seem to be a few people here who sleep in hammocks, which might be another possibility.

It might help if you mentioned which state or province you are in - I get the impression that that can make a difference when it comes to what an insurance company can or can't do.  I would also start a separate thread down in the Money Matters sub forum with just Insurance as the title.  I get the impression that not everybody here reads the posts in the Newcomer's Corner, especially the people with limited data plans.  I don't always read it myself.

Regards
John

 

[WriterMs]

When I registered my homemade camping van in SD, I got several rejections from the "name" insurance companies. But I knew that lots of mobile dwellers become SD residents because of good financial considerations for RVers. So I finally called a Good Sam representative and they steered me to a Good Sam policy. It is a personal vehicle policy (my van used to be public transit and thus commercial in IL) and they added RV coverge (which gives me a few thousand in contents coverage that is like renters insurance).

What I soon learned is that the "Good Sam RV club" insurance is underwritten by National General Insurance. They have a website you can go to and find out if they write in Idaho. I use their website to make my insurance payments and they have good customer service if you have to call with a question. I have had no claims, so I cannot speak to that.

My advice is to keep calling and checking around. And try a few of the RV organizations to see where they send you.

Welcome to a new lifestyle!

 

[chevy_man5]

You didn't say if you were planning to live in it, or just use it for trips?

Rather than build in permanent stuff, consider getting a GOOD cot and cot mattress from someone like Gander Mountain or Cabella's.  Also, there seem to be a few people here who sleep in hammocks, which might be another possibility.

It might help if you mentioned which state or province you are in - I get the impression that that can make a difference when it comes to what an insurance company can or can't do.  I would also start a separate thread down in the Money Matters sub forum with just Insurance as the title.  I get the impression that not everybody here reads the posts in the Newcomer's Corner, especially the people with limited data plans.  I don't always read it myself.

Regards
John

John,

Thank you for replying!  I would just be using it for trips, basically as a hard sided rolling tent.  I asked the insurance companies about if the sleeping arrangements were not a permanent structure, and several replies have been, if there is evidence you were or are sleeping in the vehicle they have the right to deny any claims, and or cancel the policy. 

I should have mentioned my location, some of the other forums I am on show it on the side by the username.  OOPS!  I am in Nampa, Idaho, USA.  I did notice there are a lot of members from all around the world on here. 

Thank you for the tips!  I will post a thread in that location as well.

Jason

 

[chevy_man5]

When I registered my homemade camping van in SD, I got several rejections from the "name" insurance companies. But I knew that lots of mobile dwellers become SD residents because of good financial considerations for RVers. So I finally called a Good Sam representative and they steered me to a Good Sam policy. It is a personal vehicle policy (my van used to be public transit and thus commercial in IL) and they added RV coverge (which gives me a few thousand in contents coverage that is like renters insurance).

What I soon learned is that the "Good Sam RV club" insurance is underwritten by National General Insurance. They have a website you can go to and find out if they write in Idaho. I use their website to make my insurance payments and they have good customer service if you have to call with a question. I have had no claims, so I cannot speak to that.

My advice is to keep calling and checking around. And try a few of the RV organizations to see where they send you.

Welcome to a new lifestyle!

 
Thank you for the tips!!  I hadn't thought of Good Sam.

 

[highdesertranger]

welcome, I have no tips on the insurance, sorry. however I did notice your screen name Chevy_man5 and you got a ford van, the humanity, for shame, for shame. lol. highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I should have mentioned my location, some of the other forums I am on show it on the side by the username. 

Actually, I never noticed that the name of your thread mentioned Idaho.  I gotta start getting more sleep . . .

Regards
John

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I would just be using it for trips, basically as a hard sided rolling tent.  I asked the insurance companies about if the sleeping arrangements were not a permanent structure, and several replies have been, if there is evidence you were or are sleeping in the vehicle they have the right to deny any claims, and or cancel the policy. 

That's bizarre. I've never heard of anything like that.  Assuming you can prove you are living full time in an apartment or house,  I would write to the government bureau that regulates the insurance industry in your state, let's see:

http://www.doi.idaho.gov/  and say:

I mentioned to my insurance company that I was thinking of buying a van to use for weekend camping trips, and they told me that if there was any evidence I was sleeping in it, they could cancel my policy.  Can they really do that?

I'd be very surprised if you didn't get a letter back saying they can't do that.

Regards
John

 

[Almost There]

That's bizarre. I've never heard of anything like that.  Assuming you can prove you are living full time in an apartment or house,  I would write to the government bureau that regulates the insurance industry in your state, let's see:

http://www.doi.idaho.gov/  and say:

I mentioned to my insurance company that I was thinking of buying a van to use for weekend camping trips, and they told me that if there was any evidence I was sleeping in it, they could cancel my policy.  Can they really do that?

I'd be very surprised if you didn't get a letter back saying they can't do that.

Regards
John

That still won't solve the problem of getting insurance. I went through the same type of thing but I'd already bought the van!

How hard it will be, will depend entirely on the insurance industry in Idaho. Each state legislates its' own insurance industry.

In the end I phoned insurance brokers going down the yellow pages and when each told me that they couldn't help me, I asked them if they knew someone who could. I finally had one that put me in touch with a broker that could and did get me insurance. Strange thing was, it was with a company that the broker I'd been dealing with for 7 years also was using. Different broker, different approach, maybe even different underwriter at the insurance company.

I probably won't ever have RV insurance on it, which sucks but it just means that my contents have to continue to be covered under my tenants policy.

Try Good Sam and any of the other RV groups out there but don't be surprised if you have no luck with it being DIY if you can't get RV insurance and have to settle for regular personal lines insurance. You could also try to find someone who will give you appraised value insurance once it's finished it's conversion. Talk to some guys who run old restored vehicles to find a broker/insurance company if that's the route you want to go.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

When we got rid of the class A and got the van I called to take care of the insurance switch without a hitch. I told the rep we were building a camper for some retirement travel...no problem.
The woman and I had a friendly chat with her saying she'd like to do that too...with a few questions about travel.
Oh, we have Geico, which has insured many vehicles, some vans, a few RVs for me over the years.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Also, I think, just like customer service reps all over, ask 6 of them the same question and get that many answers. The newbies use canned info, the experienced ones know where and what to look for to get the job done.

 

[chevy_man5]

Highdesertranger,
I haven’t actually gotten the ford yet.  Just seeing if it viable.  LOL  It is a van owner by my work currently so that is the only reason I am considering it.  It is cheap, and I know the last 10 years of its history.
 
Optimistic Paranoid,
No worries on missing that.  LOL  Who doesn’t need more sleep!!
I do have a permanent address, and had actually thought about contacting them.  I work with the dept of Insurance fire division all the time through my work, so could contact them and get who I need to speak to.  Thank you for the tip!
 
Almost There,
I called and spoke to Good Sam this morning, Cassandra over there is a rock star!  They will cover the van, as a personal vehicle, even noting that it would have a bed and storage in it.  She said if I add any water, it would have to be plumbed, and any toilet would have to be plumber and attached, and any cooking would have to be permanent, so anything additional will not be mounted, it will be modular, so I can pull it out as needed when camping.  Easy!!

Bindi&us,
I had thought about calling back and speaking to someone else, but didn’t.  I will give that a try today also.  The rates through Good Sam were not as good as what I have with Geico, and the coverages are not as good either, so would like to stay with them if possible, but have no issues with switching either!
 
Thank you all for your insights and ideas!!  On to a few more calls, then possibly van ownership!!

 

[akrvbob]

Once it's been in an accident, the appraiser is going to come out and look at it inside and out. No hiding what you've done then.

But, if you don't have full-coverage, would the appraiser ever look at it? They aren't paying money on it so there should be no reason to. Of course if they are both sitting totaled in the yard somewhere he might just walk over to look at it. If he sees the bed he can deny your claim.
Bob