A friend of mine asked me to quote a new travel trailer for him last week. He was graduating from a pop-up camper to a larger travel trailer and I thought it would be a great time to take a look at camper and RV insurance coverage, specifically the types of coverage available on a policy.
Liability Coverage: Liability coverage or bodily injury / property damage is the only required section on a Texas RV policy. It pays for damages to someone else’s vehicle or property you hit in accident that is determined to be your fault. Limits can be written as split or combined single limits.
Split limits will be represented by three numbers such as 50/100/50, 100/300/100, etc. The first number is the amount of medical coverage for any one person in the other vehicle you hit with the second number being the total amount of medical coverage available for all the people in the other vehicle. No one, however, receives more than the first number. The third number is the total amount of coverage available for property damage.
Coverage may also be written as a single number and is referred to as combined single limits. This is a single number such as $100,000, $300,000, etc. with the entire amount available for both bodily injury and property damage. Which level and type of coverage is dependent on several factors such as income, assets, career, and value of your RV.
Uninsured / Under Insured Motorists: This coverage protects you and anyone riding with you if you’re hit by someone with not enough or no vehicle insurance. Limits are expressed in similar fashion as the liability limits (split or combined) and may be equal to or less than the BIPD limits.
Property Damage: Unlike most cars, campers and RVs can be written with either actual cash value coverage or with total loss replacement coverage based on their purchase price. Actual cash value coverage means claims are paid on a depreciated value of the camper or RV, while replacement cost is designed to replace the RV or camper if there’s a total loss.
Medical Coverage and Personal Injury Protection: Provides medical care (or funeral) for you and anyone else riding with you in the RV. The amount of coverage ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 usually. PIP, or personal injury protection provides for medical care, as well as, lost wages, personal care, etc. There are 3 levels of coverage, $2,500, $5,000, $10,000.
Policy Deductibles: There are two deductibles available on a RV or camper insurance policy; comprehensive and collision. Comprehensive covers property damage caused by theft, fire, flood, falling objects (hail, trees, etc.), or running into an animal (deer, cow, etc.). The collision deductible covers anything related to an accident, and is the amount you’ll pay out of pocket before the policy repairs or totals your bike.
Roadside Assistance: Need a tow or help changing a tire? These can be a huge help if you have a tire blow out on an RV or it gets stuck in the sand when visiting the beach!
Emergency Expense: Pays up to a predetermined limit for reasonable temporary living facilities, transportation and the cost of returning your RV if it becomes inoperable due to a covered loss more than 50 miles away from home.
Personal Effects: Most people travel with a set of dishes, cookware, clothing, and even a TV or satellite dish. This coverage pays up to specified amount of replacement cost for the loss of, or damage to, your RV or camper contents that are normally used in conjunction with it.
Where will you go in your RV or camper? Send your pictures to me along with your RV insurance questions, comments, and experiences and post them on my Facebook, Google +, and LinkedIn pages. I’d love to hear from you while you’re on your journey.
