Forum Discussion

Yankee_Clipper's avatar
Oct 24, 2018

Totalled RV

The hurricane has gone and the fallout continues. Michael dropped a pine tree on the back of our old RV and it's almost certainly totaled. Anybody been through the process of settling with insurance? How did your process unfold?
  • Ours wasn't totaled, but very straight forward. Called them up, told them what happened, they asked where we wanted to take it, we told them, they said fine, the repair place sent them an estimate in a week, the insurance said fine, it was fixed, the bill was paid, it was very easy. Of course, we do have everything insured through State Farm. They like our business.

    Bill
  • You contact your carrier and file a claim. Normal comprehensive practices still apply to an RV.

    But, if it's a total loss, the type of loss coverage you have will dictate what happens next. So if you suspect it is a total loss, you need to look at your policy and see what type of loss coverage you purchased with your policy. The typical three are Market, Declared or Replacement value.
  • I had a 40' coach stolen out of the storage lot. They hotwired it and drove it right thru the locked gate. I called the insurance company and filed a police report. AAA called and we negotiated the value of the coach as well as the stuff inside. I did have to produce sales papers from our purchase and document everything I had done to improve it. When all was said and done it took about 2 weeks to agree to everything and they issued me a check. A week later the Sheriff's office called to say they recovered my coach, but it had suffered a lot of body damage. I told them the coach belonged to AAA....:)....Dennis
  • Call your insurance agent he will walk you through it.
    Should be pretty straight forward, but might take awhile because of all the other claims form the storm.
  • Call your Ins Company, they will walk you through the process;

    Some companies have on-line claims process;

    My last claim was totally painless, timely (< 2 weeks from start to finish) and no
    negative aspects.

    My only advice - don't get snotty with the person you're dealing with, this
    will just annoy them and raise your blood pressure; Both of you are there to solve
    a problem and there has to be compromise from both parties; I had a friend who
    got snotty with the adjuster/ins company - it took 9 months to close the claim.....
  • My 02. Just like a car be prepared to discuss FMV. Do some research as values can be all over the place. Be prepared to show the adjuster examples of similar rigs that have higher values than he/she proposes.
  • Our Toy Hauler got totalled last year in Irma. Ours was a little different as one of the Hatches on the Roof Blew off and allowed water to flood the Galley and Dining area to flood.

    As soon as I could get to it, I took a bunch of pictures showing the standing water in the heater vents and also boxes that were on the floor of the slide that were socked half way up.

    My Insurance Company (SafeCo) told me to go to a RV Repair facility and get a quote. I decided to go to the Independent Dealership where I purchased if several years earlier. They estimated the cost to be real close to what I thought was the value.

    When I met the Adjuster, I was lucky as he knew a little about RV's and understood how much work would be involved to properly repair my rig. We both mentioned the worry about have mold after the repairs were done. He also made a list of anything that was not standard equipment and also anything that I had added to the rig.

    Long Story short, I was shocked when I was told how much I would be receiving.

    All in all it was pretty painless and I could not be happier with our I was treated.

    One thing to remember is, these companies know what weather came through your area and should (key word is should) be reasonable to deal with.

    I hope the process goes smoothly for you.
  • Michael flung something at my MH and hit the top of the ladder. It bent the ladder up, broke it loose from the top attachment brackets and then whatever it was bounced against the edge of roof as it went on down the road. I made lots of pictures and then wrapped and covered roof area with heavy duty garbage bag to prevent water from getting in around bracket.

    Sent lots of pictures to dealer in ATL area, that I bought MH (used) from in May. That dealer has body shop and sent me an estimate within 24 hours based on my pictures. Called GEICO that night, adjuster came out the next day. Looked a MH briefly, but didn't climb on top. Not sure he trusted my extension ladder, and he didn't have one because he was vehicle adjustor. He took my estimate from dealer, added for taillight that I had missed had bad seal and cut me a check on the spot. Gave me a form to provide to shop for them to contact if the damage was more than what I had been paid for.