Going full-time insurance company needs physical address.

[NewFirst_timer]

Hello to everyone, I'm very new at this so please be patient.

I'm in the process of selling my home and purchasing class a motorhome 36 to 38 foot.

I have found out from my Erie insurance agent that I'd need a physical address so they can send me mail and I'm sure my bank and others will need it also.

I have never owned a camper/motorhome so please when you respond if you could put it in terms for someone like myself would understand.

I have more questions but for now this is the most urgent one.

Thanks to all,
Joe

[mmiille]

Our address is my wife's brother's house. We set up our payments and banking on line. Our insurance wants to know where we are set up because the rates change where you are. We give them the address where we are and the rate is adjusted. Also we get different rates when we are driving versus when we are just sitting. So we let them know when we are going somewhere. This happens for us about 6 times per year, and wouldn't work if you were driving every other day though.

[TechWriter]

soos wrote:
South dakota, Florida, and Texas are the top 3 states for people who fulltime and use a mail forwarding service as their address, but you will have to GO to whatever state you choose, to get a drivers license, and will have to register and insure your vehicles there.

If you are under 65 (not on Medicare) and buying individual health insurance, take a good long look at the Big Three (SD, FL, and TX) before selecting one -- if any of these states -- for a domicile because health insurance costs may be your biggest expense, not state taxes.

Check what health plans are available before making a domicile choice.

[2gypsies1]

We used the Escapees mail forwarding address for everything - including brokerage accounts. Absolutely no problems. The address they give you is a street address and has been tested in the court system. It is perfectly legal.

[soos]

NewFirst_timer wrote:
Hello to everyone, I'm very new at this so please be patient.

I'm in the process of selling my home and purchasing class a motorhome 36 to 38 foot.

I have found out from my Erie insurance agent that I'd need a physical address so they can send me mail and I'm sure my bank and others will need it also.

I have never owned a camper/motorhome so please when you respond if you could put it in terms for someone like myself would understand.

I have more questions but for now this is the most urgent one.

Thanks to all,
Joe

You will need some kind of address to use for all your accounts,paying taxes, etc. Many fulltimers use a mail forwarding service, which will qualify as a physical address for MOST things. There are very few instances where that will NOT be sufficient (opening a new brokerage account can be one of them). For that you will need a "physical" address, which can be a family member or next of kin. You do NOT have to use their address for recieving any mail at all, it just satisfies the rare occasion when a mail forwarding service address isn't good enough.
Start now changing all your accounts over so that you recieve statements and notices online and via email, not USPS. That will eliminate most of your mail anyway.

What state do you live in now?
South dakota, Florida, and Texas are the top 3 states for people who fulltime and use a mail forwarding service as their address, but you will have to GO to whatever state you choose, to get a drivers license, and will have to register and insure your vehicles there.

[rdthompson1]

A little off track but just for your info. It can be difficult to get rv financing if you don't have a home.

[C-Bears]

Well Joe (NewFirst_timer) you have gotten numerous ideas on ways to proceed. Just be sure to check all the costs associated with any type of mail forwarding or mail handling services as some can cost several hundred dollars per year.

Also when it comes to changing your registrations to your new "home" state. I consider my new Florida annual registration fees to be pretty cheap. However, when initially changing over title/registration to Florida it cost me just under $500 for the first vehicle for the first year. Regular annual renewals may be cheap but the initial cost is very high if you are changing over several vehicles/trailers.

It just takes a lot of research to determine what State and what direction is best for your individual needs. Remember that everything will come into play, including state income taxes, local taxes, etc.

Good luck with your adventure!

[starlingt]

When we first went full time and sold our home we started using Americas Mailbox mailing service out to Box Elder SD. We used their mailing service as are permanent address. You can also get your drivers license and register your vehicles there which was a huge savings. Mail goes there to your private mailbox and then they send it wherever you are. We had ours sent once a week. You simply go online to there service and change where you want the mail sent. It has worked extremely well. They also have a campground right at their site in Box Elder. You need to stay just one night to qualify as a resident of SD. We highly recommend this service. You can also buy parts and rv supplies from them. I think they are even offering repairs now. Their web address is www.Americasmailbox.com. Welcome to fulltiming. You will love it.

[C-Bears]

Captain_Happy wrote:
I'm also in the process of selling the house (Already have contract). My mail is thru Escapees (All ready working), full-times Ins is thru Progressive, As far as having a legal address, I'm using my son's home address. I should be on my way by the end of August. And then it's of to somewhere cooler then Texas.

When we started full timing we did something similar to the above. We went with KISS (keep it simple stupid) thinking. We changed our permanent address to our son's, kept our driver's license, registrations, insurance, and everything else in the same home state.

He goes through out mail and forwards anything important, which isn't much since we do everything online.

To us this was the easiest and cheapest way to go when we started the full time lifestyle.

[Captain_Happy]

I'm also in the process of selling the house (Already have contract). My mail is thru Escapees (All ready working), full-times Ins is thru Progressive, As far as having a legal address, I'm using my son's home address. I should be on my way by the end of August. And then it's of to somewhere cooler then Texas.

[2gypsies1]

In addition to a lot of other perks, check out the above-mentioned Escapees RV Club. We used their awesome mail forwarding service for 18 years. They will give you a legal street address that will be good for all your documents.

We also went through Miller Insurance to get our vehicle insurance but first you need an address because your insurance rates will be based on it.

[Old-Biscuit]

Where are you going to claim as 'domicile state'....this will be where you have your driver licenses issued, vehicles registered, medical insurance coverage, voting etc......?????

Not all states are 'friendly' to RV full time living.
FL, SD , TX have been traditional RV domicile states.....ease of declaring residency.......but after ACA (Obamacare) was enacted SD became less friendly due to lack of Medical Insurance Companies/Options available and come 2016 TX may (probably) join that list due to changes by BCBS Insurance Policy.

Used to be easy to go full time......but little by little it has gotten difficult especially if under the age of 65 (Medicare)

Domicile state........that will determine how/what about Vehicle Ins. and above issues.

So where are you going to 'live'?

[TechWriter]

NewFirst_timer wrote:
I have found out from my Erie insurance agent that I'd need a physical address so they can send me mail and I'm sure my bank and others will need it also.

You'll need "full timer" insurance -- that just means that in addition to the policies on your auto & RV, you also have an umbrella personal liability policy.

We bought all of ours through Miller Insurance Agency. They shop around for the best policies.

Whether you end up using one mail forwarding service or another, be prepared for the fact that a bank, health insurance company, etc, may not accept the address. If they don't accept it because of the Patriot Act, then you have the option of using a relative's or friend's address.

I suggest you check out the Escapees Web Site as there are a lot of full timers on the forums,

[accumack]

We use Escapees for mail and an address.

[darsben]

You will probably need to switch companies. Full timer RV insurance is Different than a standard policy. It is part homeowners and part auto policy.

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