Insurance

[PamfromVA]

Don't know if this applies to anyone else but since we have put all trips on hold until possibly the fall and our camper is parked on our property, I cancelled the insurance policy on the camper. I will initiate a new one once we get to travel again.

Our policy was good through 31 August so we are getting a reimbursement.

[travelnutz]

steveh27,

If your RV is non-motorized in Michigan it should have a never ending registration and license plate with no future cost for as long as you own it after the initial registering there of. Cheaper each and every year owned and/or used. Motorized RV's do require yearly registrations and they aren't cheap.

One of many reasons we don't buy class A's or C's any more. The tow vehicle's truck's yearly registration is just a fraction of a motorized RV registration yearly costs and also just a very small fraction of the cost to insure also or the towable RV's too. What's not to like about that??? We are not gullible to that insanity of the waste of real money year after year! Live and learn and we have so well. A motorized RV's is a one purpose hole you constantly pour real money into yearly and then it still depreciates in value so darn fast each year anyway.

[steveh27]

I'm also in Michigan, and do cancel my AAA insurance except for comprehensive when my RV is stored in my driveway & not used. I've done this for years. It's usually not in storage during the month of registration renewal so I cannot talk about that.

[travelnutz]

Mich800,

Our Michigan Registration was NOT cancelled nor suspended while on storage insurance. Renued all our vehicle's registrations on December 27th, 2019 as my birthday is in early February and we are out of state then so even the truck we pull the 5th wheel with would be in Florida and with an expired registration. Done this for as long as I can remember.

Of note: We also do a temporary change of address to our Daughter's home address 2.8 miles from ours active until the written specified date and is then auto returned back to our home address. All our mail is forwarded there while we are gone and on the date set it appears in our mail box again like clockwork. Our banks and all insurance's are also given written notice of our temporary address change and why. Never had one problem yet in so many years.

Also our Sheriff's department is notified in writting (email) that we will be gone from X to X and they do a daily patrol of our property. It's done generally with retired county deputies. It's a free service and most snowdodgers here opt for it.

Hint, my younger Brother was a deputy for years for the county and we know the ropes. All our neighbors and our daughter and our grand kids too also keep an eye on our property also. We do live in a very low crime area of the state which is nothing like in the Detroit/SE state area. We have family (3) that live in the SE Michigan area - White Lake, Milford, and Howell and I spent nearly a hundred days a year in the area for my auto engineering business I owned and know the area and what it's like well. Our cable TV and garbage service are put on vacation status (3 months max) and the electric power co is also notified as is the natural gas co. Big savings and amounts to more than the cost of our diesel fuel for our entire annual trip and one months Florida CG cost too.

[mich800]

travelnutz wrote:
mich800,

You are completely wrong that "you can't do that in Michigan anymore". Just did storage only on an SUV on Jan 2nd 2020 with our Michigan based insurance policy and off storage coverage only on March 26th 2020. All done thru our insurance agent and was over the cellphone when we left for Florida and on full coverage on the return trip. Have done it for boocoo years and it works just fine. We specified the dates for on storage and when back off on 1/2/20. Wife cashed the rebate check at our bank wirelessly on her cellphone.

Have the documents to prove it so we know it's a fact! Maybe you need a different agent or ins company?

Do you still have an active registration?

Do you still have Required coverages include bodily injury/property damage (BI/PD), personal injury protection (PIP), and property protection insurance (PPI)?

If the answer is yes and no. Then yes the state can cancel your registration.

Just because you have not seen it does not mean it does not occur. There are agents that know how to get around it and minimize your chances of getting caught based on when the SOS typically checks on insurance.

[jkwilson]

PamfromVA wrote:
First off, we paid cash for our camper. Secondly, when sitting at your house, the homeowners policy covers any damage like storm or tree falling on it. When hooked up to your truck moving down the road, your car insurance covers it. The insurance for the camper is for when it is sitting at a campground or perhaps water damage from defective material. This was all discussed with the insurance company this morning. Therefore not needed since it will just be in our yard for the next six months.

You may not fully understand how that part your insurance works.

There is a cap on the total your policy will pay for things other than listed items. This cap is set generally at some percentage of the value of your home so will vary widely from person to person.

You may be okay if something happens only to the trailer, but in the event of a catastrophic incident where everything is damaged or destroyed, your coverage may fall short. The trailer is still covered, but it comes out of the same, limited pot of money that covers all the rest of your personal possessions. Jewelry, appliances, furniture, clothes, lawn equipment, electronics, etc.. That’s the reason you list expensive items on the policy, which essentially bumps up your personal property coverage to make sure there is enough.

If you can handle the risk, then you are saving money by dropping it for now.

[travelnutz]

mich800,

You are completely wrong that "you can't do that in Michigan anymore". Just did storage only on an SUV on Jan 2nd 2020 with our Michigan based insurance policy and off storage coverage only on March 26th 2020. All done thru our insurance agent and was over the cellphone when we left for Florida and on full coverage on the return trip. Have done it for boocoo years and it works just fine. We specified the dates for on storage and when back off on 1/2/20. Wife cashed the rebate check at our bank wirelessly on her cellphone.

Have the documents to prove it so we know it's a fact! Maybe you need a different agent or ins company?

[Etstorm]

PamfromVA wrote:
First off, we paid cash for our camper. Secondly, when sitting at your house, the homeowners policy covers any damage like storm or tree falling on it. When hooked up to your truck moving down the road, your car insurance covers it. The insurance for the camper is for when it is sitting at a campground or perhaps water damage from defective material. This was all discussed with the insurance company this morning. Therefore not needed since it will just be in our yard for the next six months.

Most HO policies will cover a TRAILER (not a motor home) while at the property. Your auto carrier provides only liability insurance when towing. The RV policy would be needed for any collision or comprehensive coverage on the trailer while on the road.

[mich800]

travelnutz wrote:


We also have and exercise the option of calling our insurance agent and having just storage insurance on any one of our vehicles/tow vehicles when we don't plan to be using them for X time

You cannot do that in Michigan anymore. Unless the storage also includes the state minimum liability. They will cancel your plate now.

[riven1950]

CavemanCharlie wrote:

Yup that is how my insurance man would do it for me if I asked him. That is why I have policy with a company that has a person that I can drive to and ask him questions.

I'm not a big fan of these internet companies that has no one you can meet face to face and talk to.

Actually my TT insurance is through an internet Company. Other insurance, except boat, is through Allstate which is a walk in Company but I hardly ever go there. Most conversations with them are usually by phone or Email. I prefer email, that way I have a written record of their answers.

[travelnutz]

RV insurance is very cheap in our state unless it's motorized/self propelled. We have always bought our RV's new and always paid cash for them for 55 years now, so financinng rules couldn't even require the RV to be insured. However, we do keep full coverage on all our RV's 12 months each year and always have.

We also have and exercise the option of calling our insurance agent and having just storage insurance on any one of our vehicles/tow vehicles when we don't plan to be using them for X time, like for instance when we are in Florida for our ~2-1/2 months each year. Costs nothing for us to do and saves us a lot of $$$ each year.

[Edd505]

PamfromVA wrote:
First off, we paid cash for our camper. Secondly, when sitting at your house, the homeowners policy covers any damage like storm or tree falling on it. When hooked up to your truck moving down the road, your car insurance covers it. The insurance for the camper is for when it is sitting at a campground or perhaps water damage from defective material. This was all discussed with the insurance company this morning. Therefore not needed since it will just be in our yard for the next six months.

Might be how your insurance works, not every one has the same type coverage. I'm sure my renters don't have home owners, I carry insurance on the structures, what there they own is not covered. To just cancel insurance with out discussion with an adgent you trust is not smart. It's all in the fine print.

[Grit_dog]

You must have great home and auto policies because we have what I feel to be very good policies and they don’t cover toys hooked to them or parked near them.

[PamfromVA]

First off, we paid cash for our camper. Secondly, when sitting at your house, the homeowners policy covers any damage like storm or tree falling on it. When hooked up to your truck moving down the road, your car insurance covers it. The insurance for the camper is for when it is sitting at a campground or perhaps water damage from defective material. This was all discussed with the insurance company this morning. Therefore not needed since it will just be in our yard for the next six months.

[CavemanCharlie]

riven1950 wrote:
When ours was up for renewal last fall I was facing Stem Cell Transplant and knew it would be sitting a while. We kept the comprehensive coverage but dropped Collision etc. we would need on the road. Cut premium in half. When we can camp again we can turn it back on.

Yup that is how my insurance man would do it for me if I asked him. That is why I have policy with a company that has a person that I can drive to and ask him questions.

I'm not a big fan of these internet companies that has no one you can meet face to face and talk to.