Progressive Insurance - what are the "magic words" to get a full-time van quote?

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Go to their website and do it with exact info. Its not hard.
 
Thanks a ton!

Their website doesn't work with the security settings I have to use, and the Library's computers are in a Noisy area (Hell for me), so you just saved me a bunch of effort. :)


Edit To Add:
On the license plates reader issue, you're both right (and you both rock)! :)
Lenny accurately described the situation. There's still much tussling about sharing data, but some is happening.
Elbear is right that they're rare out here, beyond the raggedy edge of civilization, and, again, not everyone is sharing or allowed to share.
It's wise to assume the worst (because it's moving in that direction), but also be aware of the reality & limitations.
 
Re; License plate readers.
Would they track everyone everywhere? No. Waste of time for the most part. We are not East Germany, yet.
Would they track an individual of interest everywhere? Probably. Easy enough to get a warrant with dodgy facts and a pliable judge.

Mileage is recorded whenever a vehicle is titled.
Mileage could/would be recorded as part of an accident investigation. No need to track constantly.

Kaylee, this "nomad" thingy in SD, I would think that SD insurers might accommodate someone using that "nomad" classification, if it is official. But, then I don't think "normally".
 
from my limited knowledge the readers are told to watch for a certain plate number, like one that was involved in a crime or a car that is up to be Repossessed. so unless your plate number is in a data base of bad things the powers that be could care less. highdesertranger
 
They def do not look for repos. I drove a camera car for a repo company for a summer. They use a private database called DRN (Digital recognition network).

Repo industry would be up in arms as to who gets a hit on a plate and theres so many different lendors it would be very hard logistically.

But they do indeed sell data to insurance companies. We would scan 10k plates a shift but thats almost always in major metro areas.

All of this moot
1. This stuff isnt in the boonies AND
2. A 1st year lawyer will point out days of use is an approximation.
3. Theres no hard definition of "use" on the website
4. Theres only $100 annual difference between min use and full time residence indicating they really dont care that much
 
"They def do not look for repos"

I don't understand this statement. repo companies have plate readers and they scan plates for cars that need to be Repo'ed that are in their database. isn't that what I said.

highdesertranger
 
Not traffic cameras owned by the city. As far as I know repossession is exclusively a private industry matter across the board. Police want and will not have anything to do with us except when a weapon is involved. They wouldnt help when we had clearly tampered VIN tags.
 
highdesertranger said:
from my limited knowledge the readers are told to watch for a certain plate number,  like one that was involved in a crime or a car that is up to be Repossessed.  so unless your plate number is in a data base of bad things the powers that be could care less. 


As it was explained to me by a cop: the license plate readers automatically read every license they can see, and log it by date, time and location--then search it in the database. (The search process takes not much longer than an ordinary Google search.) The cop himself is able to set search parameters so it flags anything of interest that it finds--stolen cars, cars that have been immobile for a long time, cars with known warrants attached.
 
I never meant to imply the government was looking for cars to repo. I meant that was one of the uses of plate readers. did I ever mention the government? highdesertranger
 
In the 2 states I have lived in (Florida and Michigan) vehicles over 10 years do not record a mileage on titles so there would not necessarily be a record of beginning mileage
 
Lenny is correct, plus the ALPR's may also record an image to show context and to resolve any later disputes through human verification...  Government tax authorities and DMV's may also use the data to verify location of operation to determine presumed residency for purposes of income tax evasion and DMV registration violations (i.e. registering out-of-state to avoid higher in-state  fees).  Here's an article on how insurance companies use the data, although individual states might have certain limitations. https://www.insurancebusinessmag.co...on-is-helping-insurers-catch-fraud-69487.aspx   Orwell got it wrong by about 35 years...
 
So Kaylee, this thread did wonder away from your question. Did you find an insurer that accepted your wants/needs? Please share.
 
Matlock:
Thanks for remembering & asking. :)

I'll be tackling that this week.
I have to have net access for The Dreaded Anniversary (due to my volunteer work), so will be heading far enough south to have both net & phone.
Might even make it far enough for Taco Bell. :)

Any more info from full-time van peeps is welcome. :)
 
For what it's worth, here's my experience with Progressive, in Michigan.
I purchased my van (2016 Ford Transit) new in 2017. I added it to my progressive personal auto policy, replacing the mini van I owned previously.
Two years later, after converting and moving in to the van, I called Progressive just to make sure my camping equipment was covered, that there were no problems being a full time traveler, etc. When i described my set up ( water jugs, camp stove, sleeping platform) I learned that carrying cooking equipment was a violation of my auto policy. But based on my description, the customer service representative suggested RV insurance. I was transferred to another department, answered a few questions, and within minutes i had a full-time RV policy at half the cost of my auto policy. My title and registration haven't changed.
There were a few stipulations, like I can't use the van for business or to commute to work. The policy includes theft of contents (excluding my ebike) and liability, so I was able to drop my renters insurance.
I have no idea why it was so easy. I asked about doing the same with a conversion van I had, and was told it couldn't be done as it "wasn't the original purpose" of the vehicle .
 

Latest posts

Top