RV Totaled

[stargirl96]

Just found out that insurance co. will total our 5'er due to major damage suffered from an encounter with a pot hole. (Okla. roads are terrible!) How will they come up with amount we'll receive? NADA guide values? If so, is it low or average retail value? What happens to our 5'er after being totaled?

[Robin1953]

RoyB wrote:
The worse thing that happens is the payoff won't be as much as you owe on it and you cant get around that. Now you are paying for something you don't have to use and that isn't a fun idea.

You can most likely purchase the trailer back at a small cost and maybe you can fix it up and get back on the road that way. It will however have a "TOTALED" title from then on... Some finance companies like STATE FARM and others offer full pay-off insurance for cases like this called "GAP INSURANCE"... kinda neat to have if your RV Trailer gets totaled...

just my thoughts
Roy Ken

He may not owe on it since it is a 2004 as he provided later.

[Our_Place]

stargirl96 wrote:
Thank you all for your replies. Yes, it was a Lippert frame. The unit is a 2004 Starcraft & we had it 2 1/2 years. I don't think we have replacement cost. I would be satisfied to get average NADA retail value. Is it customary to have to haggle back and forth with the insurance company?

YES! Haggle... their job is to save the company money and get you to go away. Find compairable camper to yours and get prices and do not forget about options that yours may have that were not standard, those up the price as well.

[stargirl96]

Thank you all for your replies. Yes, it was a Lippert frame. The unit is a 2004 Starcraft & we had it 2 1/2 years. I don't think we have replacement cost. I would be satisfied to get average NADA retail value. Is it customary to have to haggle back and forth with the insurance company?

[MickeyBrennan]

stargirl96 wrote:
How will they come up with amount we'll receive?

Negotiation

[B_O__Plenty]

I had a travel trailer totaled from a hailstorm several years ago. My insurance company was more than fair on the settlement. I got more than I could have sold it for. They offered to sell it back to me but I turned it down. The whole transaction only took a week or so and I had my check...No complaints here. I wanted to sell it anyway and move to a bigger trailer..

B.O.

[thomasmnile]

You provide no information for even a WAG. Age of your RV,nature and extent of damage for example. Have you pulled out your policy and read the loss settlement provisions? Anything you get here is conjecture. No need to go on the warpath with your insurance until they approach you with a settlement.

My only contribution to the discussion is unless it's a newer unit and your insurance has a purchase price or replacement cost total loss settlement rider, they will likely offer only the actual cash value of the unit. How they arrive at that figure, is open to debate. If you are not satisfied with the offer, do the laws of your state allow you to hire a public adjuster to do an independent review of the claim and render a second opinion?

Must have been a helluva pothole.........Sorry for your loss.

[RoyB]

The worse thing that happens is the payoff won't be as much as you owe on it and you cant get around that. Now you are paying for something you don't have to use and that isn't a fun idea.

You can most likely purchase the trailer back at a small cost and maybe you can fix it up and get back on the road that way. It will however have a "TOTALED" title from then on... Some finance companies like STATE FARM and others offer full pay-off insurance for cases like this called "GAP INSURANCE"... kinda neat to have if your RV Trailer gets totaled...

just my thoughts
Roy Ken

[Robin1953]

I think the more important question is your insurance coverage. If it is replacement coverage you will need to find a comparable unit and haggle from that price point. If it is depreciated value get an NADA number. They are generally a range from low trade to good retail as best as I recall and then haggle from that price point. HTH

[mrwacky]

That must have been a big pothole. It sounds like you don't have a replacement cost rider on your policy. Research the value and then approach the insurer with the facts, they will probably try screwing you anyway.

[Ozlander]

Spyksman wrote:

stargirl96 wrote:
Just found out that insurance co. will total our 5'er due to major damage suffered from an encounter with a pot hole. (Okla. roads are terrible!) How will they come up with amount we'll receive? NADA guide values? If so, is it low or average retail value? What happens to our 5'er after being totaled?

What kind was it and what kind of damage was done?

Must be a Lippert frame if it couldn't handle a little pot hole.

[Spyksman]

stargirl96 wrote:
Just found out that insurance co. will total our 5'er due to major damage suffered from an encounter with a pot hole. (Okla. roads are terrible!) How will they come up with amount we'll receive? NADA guide values? If so, is it low or average retail value? What happens to our 5'er after being totaled?

What kind was it and what kind of damage was done?

[stripit]

stargirl96 wrote:
Just found out that insurance co. will total our 5'er due to major damage suffered from an encounter with a pot hole. (Okla. roads are terrible!) How will they come up with amount we'll receive? NADA guide values? If so, is it low or average retail value? What happens to our 5'er after being totaled?

I would start your own research trying to find a cost for a unit like yours somewhere. The insurance company is not your friend, they are to settle the loss at the lowest possible cost to them, that means the least they need to pay you. Check with your bank to see if they have anyway to determine the value, look all over the internet or contact a local rv dealer. Know the value before the insurance adjuster gives up his offer. If he is high(unlikely) more likely he will be low or real low you have ammunition to show how he is wrong and why. If he is high, say where do I sign and where is the check. The totaled rv will be picked up by a company and hauled to a auction point where others will bid and then they can do as they please. In some cases, you could be offered the trailer as scrap for a set price, so you still get a check, less what they deem as the salvage value. You then can part it out yourself, or try and repair it. But the title will always be branded as a salvage title and always worth less when resale time comes.

[wandering1]

Why don't you ask your insurance company?

[NolalSafari]

They may offer the RV back to you. I had 2 Sailboats given back to me, no cost. Kept one and sold the other for salvage. On the second one they tried to sell it back to me cheap then finally just gave it to me. Big boats are a little diffrent than an RV and it would of cost them big bucks to deal with it.

[Shadow_Grey]

I think Good Sam RV Club has a help line you can call to help you out. They may even review the claim for you or work with Insurance Co.