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Insurance On Bus
We have insurance with Allied Ins. Co. and want to shop. Who do you have ins. with? I have USAA on my truck, but they will not insure the Bus, due to age.
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12 Replies
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Check with Progressive, they apparently have no problem with age… we had our 1959 GM-4104 insured with them and now the 1996 Prevost. We went thru Miller Insurance Agency. Not sure if you even need to go thru an agent, never tried the direct route.
Linda
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We have had Allstate for years
4106 1966
MCI 5 1967
4905 1975
and now my current coach !
I also have them as roadside assit…..
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FYI – You should insist on Agreed Value, otherwise in case of a loss, you’ll be screwed. You’ll probably only get that from companies like National Interstate who understand the conversion market. Be sure to talk to our advertisers that are bus experts.
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We have an 03 Liberty – insured value 350K with 1000 Deductibles on Comp and Collision. Here in Texas the State Farm costs WAS $803 for 6 months, we just got in new renewal effective 7/5/16 and they switched policy to a yearly renewable policy with a new total of $2,572. That is a $ 966 jump in cost per YEAR!
So I shopped Progressive Direct with the same insured parameters and their yearly costs was $6,156. As a former insurace agent, Progressive has personally told me that they do NOT want to insure any Prevost – if is NOT a market they desire to insure. The $6,156 included a multi-policy discount.
Then I shopped with Safeco who has my home and personal vehicles. Their yearly cost is $3,873.65 – using the same parameters (500K liability Combined Single Limit, 500K Uninsured Motorists Combined Single Limit, 1000 deductible for comp and collision, Agreed Value of $350K.
I am asking for a requote with a deductible of $2,500 for comp. and collision, but from my previous 30 years experience, I believe there will NOT be much of a cost savings.
Hope this information helps in some way.
2025 Marathon H3 / 4th Prevost
21 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel 4x4 -
I’m with you Tom, agreed value is the only way to go. The BMV in Indiana had no clue what the worth of a Prevost was let alone a conversion, and if they don’t know, I bet you most insurance companies don’t either. They probably will try to compare it to a SOB (Some Other Brand) and that will have you come up very short, you may be able to fight it and come out reasonably close, but if you have the option you should do the agreed value.
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Keep in mind that one of the requirements for an agreed value policy might be an appraisal. There is an article in the articles section of this site regarding appraisals.
It is your proof of value so its importance cannot be overstated.
Our coaches regardless of age are going to cost about the same to repair in the event of damage. Just because a coach is older and proportionately less in value does not mean repair costs are also less in value. The significance of that is if you are under insuring on an agreed value policy, or willing to accept what the insurance company determines is the coach value it may not take more than a slight fender bender for the insurance company to write you a check for the value of the coach. Then they own it, not you.
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Please keep in mind, agreed value is not the same as stated value. With stated value, it’s nothing more than fair market value subject to depreciation and you’ll get hosed big time. Here’s the catch phrase for stated value:
“In the event of theft or a total loss we will pay the Stated Value
or the Actual Cash Value, whichever is less.”
I just did this dance when making FL my new residence thinking I could save some money by going with Allstate who has my auto’s, home and excess. Sure the premium was lower, but no way they could do Agreed Value, even though they said they could, it actually was Stated Value. I paid more and stayed with Explorer.
So don’t fall for the lingo unless your OK with taking a huge beating in the event of a loss. Just ask someone who has been through this process, Jon, with a major fire years ago and National came through. Read your policy, you may have a big surprise.
1999 XLV X-6872, liberty #440 -
When considering insurance I have learned the value of dealing only with agents or companies that know exactly what you mean when you ask if they have a policy that covers a “Prevost” or a “Prevost bus conversion”.
If the person on the other end of the phone needs an explaination of what the word or phrase means, hang up and call someone else. If the person claims to understand what the word or phrase means ask them if it includes the work to repair the interior of your specific conversion. If they don’t know what a Marathon or Millennium or Liberty is, hang up and move on.
I say that because if you ever have a claim you need to be assured you are not going to be arm wrestling with an adjuster who thinks the local Camping World or RV sales outlet is qualified to repair your coach. You automatically start out having to get the damaged coach to the nearest qualified repair center and that may be hundreds of miles from where it sits. I cannot imagine a company that specializes in home and auto insurance willing to pay for towing or transporting your coach past dozens of RV repair shops to get it to a shop that will do repairs approved by Prevost or the converter.
I pay a lot of money for agreed value insurance from an insurer that specializes in our quality conversions. But I also know if it is involved in an accident or gets damaged I can get it to Prevost, or one of the repair shops approved by Prevost. I know the interior, if damaged, will get repaired to the same quality level as the original. And I know the adjuster will know he is dealing with a bus and not a conventional motor home.
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Jon knows his stuff on Prevost. Plus he know his insurance!! Agreed Value is a must. Since I still work don’t forget the to max the medical coverage becasue employer plans exclude coverage for accidents. If you own a business or ten adding aditional liability is cheap insurance. People see $million coach they start thinking free $ from a law suit. I’m with National Interstate through RV America Insurance, Inc. agreed value $2million with $5k deductable for comprehensive and collision. My premium $18,691 annually. Seems high the premium jumped $4 or $5k over the winter from a quote I had in the December. Seems there was high number of claims and several carriers stopped writting policies. I had Safeco on our 2013 Tiffin Zephyr had $400k agreed value $2,500 deductables the premium was $1,800 annally. So I was expecting $10k max premium. After seeing this discussion I feel even worse!!
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It’s painful Randall, but you’re doing it right.
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The problem with insurance is a lot of people only focus on the premium. I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t be trying to get a reasonable rate, but not at the risk of having inadequate insurance.
When you need an insurance company to step up to the plate you are already in trouble. You do not want to find out you and your insurance company have two different concepts about coach repairs. I had a serious engine compartment fire and at the time National Interstate was the insurance company. They stepped right up and immediately approved a tow to Prevost in Jacksonville, then had an adjuster that knew exactly what a Prevost was and did not hesitate to advise Prevost to not only make the necessary repairs to the visible damage, but to rebuild the entire OTR system because it might have been compromised with excess pressures as a result of the fire.
If I ever needed confirmation that having the correct insurance was valuable that experience did that.
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Attached, I hope it is openable, a article I found about over and under insuring when it comes to agreeded value.
While they talk about aircraft and insuring corporate jets, the leap to Coaches is easy to get to. Thought it might be interesting to most.
Michael Beronja
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