Affordable Bus Conversion Insurance?

[gus]

Make sure not to call it a bus, it is a motorhome.

Then tell them it is a class A custom motorhome.

[jjrbus]

State farm insured my bus in three different states.  Oregon, Pennsylvania and Florida! That was full coverage with towing.  They took pictures of it, so they know it was a conversion. Maybe try a different agent?   HTH  JIm

[mcidave]

Here in Louisiana, Progressive, State Farm, GEICO and Allstate have all turned me down.  I am going to sign up with an independent agent after work-Go Figure!   Excuses that I was told by the BIG names was; that bus conversions was not a large enough market share, too high of a risk and no documented value being a custom coach and not an existing RV manufacturer.

Hopefully after today-Insurance problem solved...

[cody]

Dave, I've heard those same excuses, most of my stuff is already insured thru state farm so I had hoped to get the bus insured there too, my biggest problem is when there is only one bus conversion within the 3 county area here and everyone knows me and the bus it's hard to tell them it's a class A motorhome, they know it's a bus, and because of how they have the state farm structured up here you can't use another agent cause they are set up in regions and you get who they got.

[white-eagle]

Hiding what you are trying to insure will probably result in not being covered when you need it.  it will sound good and allow you to show the proper documents if you are stopped, but if the insurance company has to pay out, misleading statements may get you in hot water and no coverage. imho, deceit is not a good idea.

We called Poliseek who insured us with GMAC.  Since we full time with no home stuck to land, state farm dropped us.  we knew that would happen and started searching ahead of time.  GMAC has pictures, inside and out.  No room for them to say they didn't know what they were insuring.  Poliseek is in the business of handling insureance for people on the road, insuring all sorts of things that others won't.  highly recommended by Escapees club.
We've got ours insured for $150k in order to replace it.  $1200/year with $1000 ded.

[happycamperbrat]

This thread is not the first one Ive read where people complained that Progressive turned down a bus conversion....... strange, they insure mine and other peoples too. I wonder what the deal is with them?

[Highway Yacht]

I had no trouble at all insuring both my RTS and my MC-9 as "RV Bus Conversions" with Progressive. I did it all online in just a few minutes and printed out my insurance cards. I also have my personal autos with them as well.

[rwc]

I called USAA since I have had them for years and years. They send all their RV insurance to progressive. I told them it was a 1995 MCI102D3 motorhome  which is what the title says.

[belfert]

My insurance agent knows I have a bus conversion.  I'm sure I told him it was a motorhome, but I seem to recall they couldn't find my make or model as a motorhome so the agent had to have pictures.

I have a stated value of $36,000 which is the original cost of the shell.  I've never tried to get more coverage at this point.  The $15,000 it cost for deferred maintenance and repairs plus new tires does little to increase the value of the bus.  It might help the bus sell faster since I can produce repair receipts and a professional inspection report that says the bus is sound.  (No, I am not selling.)

[gus]

You're not hiding anything by saying it is a motorhome, that is what my title says and what the old title said.

When you say converted bus a schoolie is the first thing that comes into most people's minds. That is the reason to avoid saying, "bus".

I, too, have USAA and had not one problem insuring it. I didn't know they subcontract to Progressive though, strange for such a large company?

[Highway Yacht]

You're not hiding anything by saying it is a motorhome, that is what my title says and what the old title said.

When you say converted bus a schoolie is the first thing that comes into most people's minds. That is the reason to avoid saying, "bus".

I, too, have USAA and had not one problem insuring it. I didn't know they subcontract to Progressive though, strange for such a large company?

One of Progressive's choices when selecting what you have is "Class A RV BUS Conversion"... So mine is listed as a MC-9 Class A RV Bus Conversion....

[cody]

What state farm told me is that if I had a 2004 winnibago brave they could look it up in their book, but because it's a bus they don't have any listings for it and I heard that story all over town, because they don't understand a bus conversion they won't insure it, they still picture the school buses they see going out in deer season with the stove pipe sticking out the window, thats what they envision even tho they know my bus and the state farm agent has been in it several times.  The only agent I found that would insure it is a progressive agent that is a little more open minded and actually looked it over closely.

[mcidave]

YES, success... Progressive through and independent agent finally insured my MC-9 as "RV Bus Conversions".

Miracles do happen, even in Louisiana!!!

Thanks everybody for the info and encouragement to continue my search.

[Outlander]

MCIDave,
I to live in Louisiana, Denham Springs. So You have progressive, I was about to call my agent and find out what the damage would be by them. I'll chime in after I get his quote.

[akroyaleagle]

I had Progressive agreed value when the conversion was new. It was expensive. At that time USAA did not offer conversion insurance.

After a few years Progressive notified me with very short notice my premiums would more than double if I was using the Coach more than 180 days a year.

After much searching, as you are doing, I got a quote from Good Sam. It was real reasonable.

I happened to check USAA again and they were offering it then. The quote from Good Sam was actually a bit lower than USAA.

I went with USAA because I have been a member for more than 45 years. They are a great Outfit! Plus a portion of all premiums are rebated to your subscriber savings account. They requested photos to establish condition and I provided them. They explained to me that I should keep any receipts to document upgrades in case of a total loss. Plus they offer the ability to "store" the vehicle at a minimum premium when it is not in use.

Do not conceal any information when dealing with insurance or anything else. The info will surface if there is a claim and be grounds for denial. It also brands you as untruthful. It is my opinion that if more of us were upfront with all our dealings, the world would be a much better place.

I see quite a lot of deceitful advice given on these boards and in my opinion, that diminishes us all.