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INSURANCE COVERAGE
On another site there was a discussion started by an owner that had some insurance repairs made and when he picked his coach back up, he had substantial problems that now the repair center and insurance company are trying to separate themselves from. He has started using words that suggest legal action.
That entire thread is a valuable lesson for all of us who own coaches. We buy insurance, a product we hope to never use. But when we do need to use our insurance coverage everyone involved has to be on the same page.
I speak from experience unfortunately. In 2004 we had a fire in the engine compartement of our coach and the damage was extensive.
At the time we were insured by a company that knows buses and specifically Prevost Motorhome Conversions. The agent knew enough to place our insurance with a company qualified to handle our motorhomes.
I was able to get a claim number while the coach was still smoldering, and when I said I wanted it taken to Prevost, a considerable distance, the response was to keep the receipts for the towing cost. They were reimbursed.
A claims specialist went to the Prevost service center and authorized every bit of what was required to restore the coach.
When all was done I was asked to inspect the coach, which I did, and found some work needed to be done. When that was taken care of to my satisfaction the insurance company issue a check made out to me and Prevost, guaranteeing me control over the money.
In the following years I have always made sure the insurance company was knowledgible about RVs and specifically bus conversions. When the previous agent had some personell changes and failed to be able to answer some questions I turned to one of our advertisers, Miller Agency. I am not tooting their horn to get or keep them as advertisers on this site, but to point out when one insurance agency will not work for you, look around. I knew of Miller Agency and when I told them of my need and the questions I had they were able to keep me with the insurance company that did a great job taking care of the fire damaged coach, and they were able to change how my coach was valued on the policy to reflect the market while at the same time saving me a significant amount of money.
I have since found out the number of insurance companies that actually understand what a bus conversion is are limited in number and those few are those who’s policy we want when we are in trouble. I have learned we need an agent that knows what a Prevost is. Not only knows what a Prevost is, but knows the difference between a Liberty, a Millennium or a Marathon. The agent needs to know what insurance company will be the best for the particular situation, whether it is a new coach or an older one, whether to insure it to an agreed value or market value. I have had great help from Miller. They have no clue I am writing this so I just want to share my experiences.
And I learned we as owners have to participate in the process if we need repairs. I photographed everything. I knew and could prove the condition when the bus was turned over for repairs. I monitored the progress. I made sure the insurance company was kept informed. I made sure no money changed hands until I accepted the coach. It all starts by using a knowledgible agent who matches us up with the right insurance company, and if anything happens we have to participate to the extent necessary to help the insurance company and to protect our own interests.
As a footnote to this, the repairs took 9 months. Prevost had to replace the rear cap, the wiring harnesses, completely redo the OTR system due to unknown pressures that might have occurred, and they needed to deal with converter issues because the house batteries and associated converter devices were also burned. In the meantime we bought our 97 coach so the damaged coach was to be sold. The work was so good and complete that the repaired coach was sold within 2 weeks of completion, even after all photos of the fire damage were shown to the buyer. I hope nobody ever has to experience serious damage to their coach, but if it occurs, I hope every one has coverage with a good agent who knows our coaches and has placed our insurance with a good company.
If you say you want to insure your Prevost to an agent and they ask what that is, hang up. Not kidding.
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7 Replies
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Jon:
I appreciate the insurance information. I am USAA insured for everything. However, when I was exploring RV/bus insurance, the USAA website sent me to Progressive.
What kind of feedback do you get with Progressive?
Thank you.
Al
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Progressive may or may not have the knowledge required to insure our coaches. I don’t know. Unlike a conventional motorhome we actually insure two products when we insure our coaches. We are insuring a Prevost chassis into which our converter has built a home. I doubt if most insurance companies understand the same company that can sell and replace new bay doors or front cap, cannot sell and replace new cabinetry or a sophisticated entertainment center, all of which can be damaged at the same time. I would need a good agent who knows RVs and specifically bus conversions sort out which insurance company knows the distinction.
The last thing I would want is to see my coach on a hook heading for the closest Camping World repair facility, yet that is exactly what could happen if the insurance company does not understand our coaches.
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Jon,
Why not name the carrier? At the very least, it may help take the leg work out for some or confirm the research done by others. I’m insured by GEICO. It did take some discussion to get them to insure a Prevost conversion by Country Coach rather than a plastic Country Coach. My hope is that if I ever need them they are big enough to do the right thing, even if they aren’t conversion experts.
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Gil,
I hope you never have a claim, Geico wouldn’t know a bus from a snowmoble. This has come up years ago, my memory not that good anymore, the claim process was a nightmare and the bus owner took it in in the shorts really bad.
From my point of view, I wouldn’t deal with anyone who is not in the bus conversion insuring business, even though it’s a pretty limited market. Not giving you a hard time, just wouldn’t want you or anyone else to get hosed.
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The insurance company that took care of my coach after the fire was National Interstate and they absolutely know what a Prevost conversion is. There are a few other insurance companies that know and understand conversions, but I don’t think Geico is one of them.
Good luck getting someone who does not know what a conversion is agreeing to paying to haul it the distance required to get it to Prevost or one of their approved repair centers when there is an RV dealer right around the corner. And if you have to explain to someone trying to sell the policy what you are talking about, just wait until you get a claims person and you have to explain Prevost doesn’t fix the damaged Crestron controls or rebuild the cabinets that got damaged.
The key however is to start with an agent who actually is an expert in bus conversions. From that point on they are going to make sure your interests are protected.
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I have been with Gilbert Ins for several years, When I recently renewed I dropped coverage to a more realistic value, and the policy has agreed value coverage. They now have me with Nationwide. I specificly ask if Nationwide knew the difference between a regular RV and a Prevost, and was told they did. Hope I did not make a mistake! Gary
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