To buy or not to buy insurance?

[Spade_Cooley]

I sold my old travel trailer after ten years of use and I just ordered a new rig that tops out at $30,000. I never bought insurance on my old trailer because I paid cash and did not finance. I'm paying cash for this rig too. Since I have more money in this trailer I think I might buy it just in case, at least for the first two years I own it. It would cost me around $600 per year with a thousand dollar deductible. What is the opinion of everyone else.

[Guy_Roan]

Gdetrailer wrote:

Guy Roan wrote:

I guess you didn't read my post above!

Progressive Insurance paid us the exact same amount that we paid for our new trailer after Hurricane Irma totaled it.

Guy

Consider yourself lucky that they did, however paying things off in full when they are less value is why insurance is not cheap. Someone MUST "pay" enough to keep the insurance company not only afloat but turn a PROFIT after all expenses.

Insurance companies are not charities, they must turn a profit, they do that by paying out as little as possible and charging much more over all policy holders than they paid out for the last year. That is why you typically see very large rate increases happen the next yr after a major catastrophe.

Insurance companies are BETTING/GAMBLING that THEY WILL COME OUT ON TOP, in other words they will pay out much less than they bill.

You do not see any insurance agents or executives driving a old beatup 1980s Yugo..

No, I don't consider myself lucky that they gave the cost of what I paid for the trailer. They paid what was stated in my policy- plain and simple!
I gave the OP a heads up, and he can decide for himself

Guy

[Gdetrailer]

Guy Roan wrote:

I guess you didn't read my post above!

Progressive Insurance paid us the exact same amount that we paid for our new trailer after Hurricane Irma totaled it.

Guy

Consider yourself lucky that they did, however paying things off in full when they are less value is why insurance is not cheap. Someone MUST "pay" enough to keep the insurance company not only afloat but turn a PROFIT after all expenses.

Insurance companies are not charities, they must turn a profit, they do that by paying out as little as possible and charging much more over all policy holders than they paid out for the last year. That is why you typically see very large rate increases happen the next yr after a major catastrophe.

Insurance companies are BETTING/GAMBLING that THEY WILL COME OUT ON TOP, in other words they will pay out much less than they bill.

You do not see any insurance agents or executives driving a old beatup 1980s Yugo..

[Guy_Roan]

Gdetrailer wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
I would absolutely have insurance on anything that valuable. When I had insurance on my truck camper it was less than $200 a year. I don't remember what it was on my travel trailer many years ago but it came in handy when a storm ripped the awning off the trailer. The insurance paid to have it put back on minus a couple hundred deductible.

"Valuable" AND "RV" do not belong in the same sentence.

That $30K "RV" lost nearly 1/3 of its "value" the second the OP put signature to paper..

Absolutely no insurance co will give you 100% for a RV if totaled or stolen, it will be devalued.

Insurance co is betting that they will win the upper hand and end up making tons of money on your item. That is how insurance works.

Big difference here is OP paid cash, not a loan on it, extra insurance in this case is optional. If it was done on a loan the OP would have been forced to buy insurance to cover losses that would have needed paid for to cover said loan.

In this case, it is a "feel good" thing, if OP is nervous about potential loss then by all means get some insurance coverage.

IF OP is fine with no coverage (IE SELF INSURANCE) then don't bother with extra insurance.

There are somethings in life where some insurance may make sense and some do not. As the unit ages out, in 5 yrs it will be worth less than $10K, another 5 yrs and might be lucky to get $5K and another 5 yrs $1K.. The insurance policy however won't go down in cost, it will go up and they will pay less..

"Absolutely no insurance co will give you 100% for a RV if totaled or stolen, it will be devalued."

I guess you didn't read my post above!

Progressive Insurance paid us the exact same amount that we paid for our new trailer after Hurricane Irma totaled it.

Guy

[time2roll]

Gdetrailer wrote:
"Valuable" AND "RV" do not belong in the same sentence.

That $30K "RV" lost nearly 1/3 of its "value" the second the OP put signature to paper..

Absolutely no insurance co will give you 100% for a RV if totaled or stolen, it will be devalued.

When I purchased mine NEW the insurance specifically said full replacement cost would be covered for the first three years up to the full retail price paid. National General.

[ktmrfs]

Gdetrailer wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
I would absolutely have insurance on anything that valuable. When I had insurance on my truck camper it was less than $200 a year. I don't remember what it was on my travel trailer many years ago but it came in handy when a storm ripped the awning off the trailer. The insurance paid to have it put back on minus a couple hundred deductible.

"Valuable" AND "RV" do not belong in the same sentence.

That $30K "RV" lost nearly 1/3 of its "value" the second the OP put signature to paper..

Absolutely no insurance co will give you 100% for a RV if totaled or stolen, it will be devalued.

Insurance co is betting that they will win the upper hand and end up making tons of money on your item. That is how insurance works.

Big difference here is OP paid cash, not a loan on it, extra insurance in this case is optional. If it was done on a loan the OP would have been forced to buy insurance to cover losses that would have needed paid for to cover said loan.

In this case, it is a "feel good" thing, if OP is nervous about potential loss then by all means get some insurance coverage.

IF OP is fine with no coverage (IE SELF INSURANCE) then don't bother with extra insurance.

There are somethings in life where some insurance may make sense and some do not. As the unit ages out, in 5 yrs it will be worth less than $10K, another 5 yrs and might be lucky to get $5K and another 5 yrs $1K.. The insurance policy however won't go down in cost, it will go up and they will pay less..

It isn't just replacement value you are insuring. It's the liability protection for YOU when the trailer is unhooked.

[Gdetrailer]

KD4UPL wrote:
I would absolutely have insurance on anything that valuable. When I had insurance on my truck camper it was less than $200 a year. I don't remember what it was on my travel trailer many years ago but it came in handy when a storm ripped the awning off the trailer. The insurance paid to have it put back on minus a couple hundred deductible.

"Valuable" AND "RV" do not belong in the same sentence.

That $30K "RV" lost nearly 1/3 of its "value" the second the OP put signature to paper..

Absolutely no insurance co will give you 100% for a RV if totaled or stolen, it will be devalued.

Insurance co is betting that they will win the upper hand and end up making tons of money on your item. That is how insurance works.

Big difference here is OP paid cash, not a loan on it, extra insurance in this case is optional. If it was done on a loan the OP would have been forced to buy insurance to cover losses that would have needed paid for to cover said loan.

In this case, it is a "feel good" thing, if OP is nervous about potential loss then by all means get some insurance coverage.

IF OP is fine with no coverage (IE SELF INSURANCE) then don't bother with extra insurance.

There are somethings in life where some insurance may make sense and some do not. As the unit ages out, in 5 yrs it will be worth less than $10K, another 5 yrs and might be lucky to get $5K and another 5 yrs $1K.. The insurance policy however won't go down in cost, it will go up and they will pay less..

[ktmrfs]

Lantley wrote:
Very simple if you can absorb the $30K loss without any negative consequences no insurance required.
If you cannot absorb the loss you need to buy insurance.

the liability your exposed to is WAY more than 30K. once the trailer is unhooked your on the hook not just for trailer damage but liability. someone trips and falls on the stairs...breaks a leg your on the hook.

As far as cost, I pay $109/year when coupled to my regular insurance for comprehensive, $1M liability in conjunction with my umbrella policy and theft, damage. Deductible is 1K. $600 sounds WAY high.

In my case as long as the trailer is ATTACHED to the truck it is covered for liability, collision, comprehensive etc. under the tow vehicle coverage. Once it is unhooked unless I have the other policy I have NO coverage for anything.

[time2roll]

I carry the insurance. Even if it is clearly their fault the insurance may deny payment to you. (don't need to ask how I know how this works) Then you get to file arbitration yourself or hire an attorney and go to court. I like to have my insurance company fight the battle and fix my trailer in the mean time and get on with my life.

And carry plenty of liability coverage. Even when it is their fault and their insurance pays they can come back and sue you for their own damages not covered a couple years later. (one guess how I know this too).

Knocks on wood for luck to us all.

[Lantley]

Very simple if you can absorb the $30K loss without any negative consequences no insurance required.
If you cannot absorb the loss you need to buy insurance.

[LadyRVer]

I have always carried insurance on my trailers. In FL, my insurance covered it while I was towing, but for liability only. I full-time so my insurance is a lot higher and it just came up for renewal at 600.00. Full coverage. Personally, buyig a 30,000 trailer and no comprehensive would be a major loss for me if something happened.

[Guy_Roan]

Get the insurance and get it through Progressive.

Several years ago we bought a brand new one and paid cash for it.
It was almost as much as you paid for yours.
We insured it with Progressive and the coverage covered the cost we paid for it for as long as we owned it (Cost was $500 per year.
If we had it ten years and it was totaled, we would still get what we paid for it It also gave us $2500 for contents, plus travel expenses.

One year after we had it, Hurricane Irma sent a five foot ocean surge through it and totaled it. After the storm we were on our way to see what we could salvage and called them. They gave us a claim number and said an adjuster would be in touch with us. An hour later, the adjuster called and wanted to know if he could meet us on Saturday. He did and took some pictures. He sat in his car and faxed them back to Progressive. The next day (Sunday) we got a call from Progressive and said we could pick up the check at a lawyers office on Monday morning. The also gave them and estimate of the contents and they included that and some travel expenses.
A week later when we were returning home we got a call from them informing us that we still had a few months on our polocy and did we want a refund or if we were going to replace the trailer did we just want to apply it to the new trailer, which would be the same coverage and cost.
We ended up buying a bigger and better trailer and the only change was $50 dollars more since we paid more and still have the same coverage.

Many people in our RV park that had insurance with all the big companies got screwed and many had to fight for a long time and didn't get nearly what they lost.

Needless to say after hearing about us, a lot of people now have Progressive

Guy

[KD4UPL]

I would absolutely have insurance on anything that valuable. When I had insurance on my truck camper it was less than $200 a year. I don't remember what it was on my travel trailer many years ago but it came in handy when a storm ripped the awning off the trailer. The insurance paid to have it put back on minus a couple hundred deductible.

[ken56]

600 a year for the trailer add on? Wow, thats steep. Mine runs about 200 a year. Hail, a tree branch falling on it, any damage would be covered when not towing and parked in the yard or storage. Shop around and even change your auto ploicy if you have to to get something reasonable.

[valhalla360]

$600 seems high but vehicle insurance does vary by state so maybe that's legit.

We pay around $200/yr also.