So, here's my dilemma:I have purchased and paid for an RV from a dealer in the mid-west. The shipper I have secured will not be able to pick the trailer up for about 2 more weeks.How do I insure that trailer? It does not sound like it's covered by the dealer because I am the owner. My insurance is saying that the policy I get on the trailer is not effective until I take possession of the unit.The shipper has his own insurance, so I'm not worried about that part... it's just the limbo time in between purchase and shipping.Seems like it would be a similar scenario to storing an RV... Would the RV Storage facility's insurance cover the unit or would it be covered under my policy.I have another call in to my agent to get it cleared up and I'm sure we will come up with a solution, just wondering what the experiences have been by anyone that was in a similar situation. Did any of you fully purchase your RV and then have a period of time that it was at the dealer before you (or a shipper) picked it up? What was your understanding of the insurance situation?Thanks, Dean

Caboose66 wrote: It does not sound like it's covered by the dealer because I am the owner. Have you asked the dealer?Perhaps if you pay more for the shipping they can pick it up sooner than 2 weeks.

I would have to say that if your insurance company says you can not cover the unit until you take delivery, the dealer must be liable until that time. There must be some more signatures required upon delivery that finalizes the transfer of ownership.I would definitely want it covered though. I know someone that was trying to sell their used trailer for around $10,000 that decided to remove insurance on the unit. A storm swept through here in Wisconsin Wednesday night and flipped and smashed his trailer. Had he kept insurance(which is fairly inexpensive on a trailer), he would have settled on the loss.

Good feedback. I might just ask the shipper about expediting pick up, although not sure how that will work with his existing commitments. Good thought, though.Also seems to me that the dealer would have responsibility until actual turnover of the actual unit... although I have already signed all documents... not sure there is anything left to sign at time of pickup. If so, it will have to be signed by the shipping driver.We'll see what my agent comes up with.Thanks.

We've insured our 5th wheels before we picked them up, even when they were already at the dealer. It's better to be Safe than Sorry.

You may need to talk to someone higher up at your insurance company.Sounds to me like everything hinges on what's meant by "take delivery". Just because it's not at your house doesn't mean you don't own it. If ownership passed from the dealer to you, you "took delivery" wherever the RV is now.One exception:If the "deliverer" is employed by the dealer you bought it from and delivery was terms of the sale, then the transaction isn't complete and the dealer remains responsible until the rig gets to your door.I think you need to get this straight lickety-split- if the dealer doesn't "own " it, he's likely not responsible for it any more than he would be if it was left there for storage...which it has, in a way.

Insurance on trailer while waiting for pick up?

12 Replies

Caboose66
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
Okay, just got off the phone with my insurance agent. As I suspected, it was a bit of a case of micommunication. When she spoke to the underwriter, she thought I was wanting insurance while the rig was in transit by the hauler. Once we all got on the same page and understood that the haulers' insurance was in effect during that phase, everything was all good. They just want to make sure they know when the handoff happens between the dealer and the hauler. That being said, I will be happy to have my insurance taken care of and in place even along with the haulers' insurance. Never hurts to have your insurance company standing by to do battle on behalf of your interests if necessary.

Even though it was a bit of a false-alarm, it was still good to cover those bases to make sure everything was understood and covered. I hope this thread will help others in a similar situation or at least prompt them to ask the right questions of their dealer, hauler and insurance company.

Thanks, Dean
WoodGlue
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
hitchup wrote:
We've insured our 5th wheels before we picked them up, even when they were already at the dealer. It's better to be Safe than Sorry.

Same here, I insured my TT while it was still on the dealers lot and I hadn't taken possession.

WoodGlue
Caboose66
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
Francesca,
Thank you for the advice. I am actually having the transporter go through the entire PDI/Walkthrough. He will be videotaping the entire process and providing me with the SD card with the recording. That way, I will have a visual record of the majority of the RV pre-transport as well as a video-taped explanation of all of the instructions... just like I was there (well, not JUST like it, but as close as I can get while 2500 miles away ;)) I'm not a complete newbie to travel trailers so I should be able to figure out anything that may not be 100% clear in the walkthrough. If not, they're only a phone call away and I'm reasonable mechanically-inclined.

Thanks again for the advice... I cvan just imagine the blame game and the resulting hassle if the trailer were to show up with damage.

Dean
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
One piece of (unsolicited) advice:

If you can, get pics taken of the rig before the mover takes it over. Especially if it's a long trip, dings/scrapes etc do happen. And they were ALWAYS "there when I picked it up", if you know what I mean...
Caboose66
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
Excellent, excellent feedback and advice... thanks all very much.

Believe me, I am all in favor of getting this thing insured ASAP. If it was up to me entirely, it would have been done BEFORE I wrote the check.

My agent and I are playing phone tag right now, but I think there was a misunderstanding/miscommunication between me, my agent and the insurance underwriter. I think the agent thought I was talking about insurance on the unit during the transit from the dealer to me. In that case, while I still want my policy in place while it is on the road, damage, etc would be the rsponsibility of the shipping company, so I'm a little less concerned about that phase of the process.

I think this is going to work out just fine, I just started worrying a little bit when it appeared that I was going to be in insurance purgatory.

Thanks agin for the great input.
gcloss
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
I would insure it and if something happens, let the insurance companies work it out. My insurance on my TT is about $4.39 per week.

I made the mistake of bringing home a trailer I just bought without insurance. I've been driving for 39 years and never had an accident. Guess what? I was hit by a wrong way driver and my trailer suffered $4200 worth of damage and I had no insurance. Lucky for me the driver had insurance and I made a claim to his company. They paid the bill in full.

Big lesson learned for me.
robsouth
Explorer II
Aug 08, 2013
Seems to me if you have purchased it in full and signed all the papers, then you have taken ownership (read delivery) and the camper is your responsibility and it is your insurance companies duty to insure what you own regardless of where it is physically loacted. You need to talk to someone else at your insurance company ASAP and I'm sure they will agree that is the case.
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
You may need to talk to someone higher up at your insurance company.

Sounds to me like everything hinges on what's meant by "take delivery". Just because it's not at your house doesn't mean you don't own it. If ownership passed from the dealer to you, you "took delivery" wherever the RV is now.

One exception:
If the "deliverer" is employed by the dealer you bought it from and delivery was terms of the sale, then the transaction isn't complete and the dealer remains responsible until the rig gets to your door.

I think you need to get this straight lickety-split- if the dealer doesn't "own " it, he's likely not responsible for it any more than he would be if it was left there for storage...which it has, in a way.
hitchup
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
We've insured our 5th wheels before we picked them up, even when they were already at the dealer. It's better to be Safe than Sorry.
Caboose66
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
Good feedback. I might just ask the shipper about expediting pick up, although not sure how that will work with his existing commitments. Good thought, though.
Also seems to me that the dealer would have responsibility until actual turnover of the actual unit... although I have already signed all documents... not sure there is anything left to sign at time of pickup. If so, it will have to be signed by the shipping driver.

We'll see what my agent comes up with.

Thanks.