Insuring a FWC through USAA

[Ronin]

Most of us have had less than good experience with insurance...even though it is an important part of our lives.

We have to pay an extra premium for our FWC with Sublimity Ins. ( I think owned by United Heritage )
The agent asked me to declare value when writing the extra coverage...so I hope that is what settlement would be in a totaled claim.

A small sporty car was totaled recently while parked on a city street.

The adjuster who called me took more than two weeks to propose a settlement value so I finally presented the adjuster with Web based advertisements for the like model, year and mileage.

Adjuster averaged the three I had sent them and sent me a check overnight.

I was happy with the settlement but still sad at the loss of vehicle...I cannot REALLY go out and find one just like what we lost......and all the shopping and shipping and bother will be on me.

David Graves

The insurance company wants to know what the value of your camper is to give them a basis for what the cost will be. You will need to know if your coverage is actual cash value or stated value. If it's ACV your settlement will be based on the value at the time off loss, just like your car or truck. The problem with FWCs is they keep going up in value and insurance companies don't know how to value them. To my knowledge there is no KBB or similar price guide. The insurance adjuster usually has to contact an rv broker who will look up what similar campers are going for in the current market. This is a problem because as we all know FWCs/ATCs rarely come up for sale and "similar" campers are selling for quite a lot less. You did the right thing by providing values for your car. It's harder to do with our campers because our best resource for values is this website. It helps your cause by printing out what comes up for sale - the problem is we can't prove what it sold for and how fast. Still better than nothing. It's unfortunate that we have to do all of this work to get a fair settlement but in this case you have to fight for what you deserve. Again, your agent can provide a vital role by being your advocate for a fair settlement.

 

[rando]

I definitely agree with those who want to get explicit coverage for their camper (if they want it covered). We had a similar situation with our camper where the insurance agent insisted that it would be covered with the trucks comprehensive insurance without an additional charge, we then had a pretty significant hail storm that did a bunch of damage to the truck and dimpled the roof of the camper and broke the flexible solar panels. When we filed a claim with the insurance, they covered the truck with no issues, but not the camper. Of course the agent had never provided anything in writing, so her claim to us about it being covered with the truck was meaningless.

I am not sure we would have even had the camper fixed, as the roof didn't leak and it seemed like the roof replacement would not be as well done as the factory roof, and it wouldn't be worth the fight with insurance and agent and then the hassle of finding someone they approved of to do the work.

We now just have direct insurance, which is significantly cheaper, and assume the camper is not covered (which is fine by us).

 

[57Pan]

I recently covered my ATC Bobcat with USAA insurance. I live in Washington which does title and license campers. My auto policy does show my Bobcat as being covered for collision and comprehension, it is shown as a separate item and cost me $16.55 for six month.

 

[Wallowa]

Great input from others and I appreciate the information....here is my 2cents from spending 2.5 hours on phone today with a USAA Agent. First, I was impressed with her knowledge and how she conducted the review of my existing Farmers policies and then quoting me what the same, or very close to it, coverage would be with USAA. This Agent listened and responded to my many, many questions with coherent and concise answers.

To the issue at hand: Will my Hawk be covered with collision and comprehensive insurance. Yes on both. All insurance items covered for the Tundra would apply to the Hawk. It is considered a part of the Tundra and is listed on the declaration page as such. Any claim would be based on current value [ACV] of the Tundra and the Hawk. The Adjuster would find comparable '05 Tundra and '16 Hawk prices/value and then the claim paid would be based on these comps. Not current replacement cost.

I was sent the quotes as emails and will pour over them [home, vehicles and umbrella] in the next couple of days; however, up front it appears that USAA insurance would be significantly less expensive for very similar coverage than Farmers.

As an aside; USAA has approx. 13 million customers, high percentage on active military duty, and 35 K employees.

After shifting through these quotes I just received and contacting my Farmers agent tomorrow I will post more information as appropriate.

Phil

Note: In Oregon you do not have to register/plate a FWC Hawk; this could affect what your vehicle insurance will cover, since a plated Hawk could be construed as a second vehicle in your state.

 

[Wallowa]

Rando...what is "direct insurance"?

"We now just have direct insurance, which is significantly cheaper, and assume the camper is not covered (which is fine by us). '


Thanks...Phil

 

[rando]

As in buying insurance directly from the insurance company, as opposed to going through an agent or broker. In our situation anyway, esurance (which is Allstate) was significantly cheaper than what an agent/broker could quote us for the same coverage. I guess this kind of makes sense as there is no commission to be paid.

 

[Charlie]

I definitely agree with those who want to get explicit coverage for their camper (if they want it covered). We had a similar situation with our camper where the insurance agent insisted that it would be covered with the trucks comprehensive insurance without an additional charge, we then had a pretty significant hail storm that did a bunch of damage to the truck and dimpled the roof of the camper and broke the flexible solar panels. When we filed a claim with the insurance, they covered the truck with no issues, but not the camper. Of course the agent had never provided anything in writing, so her claim to us about it being covered with the truck was meaningless.

I am not sure we would have even had the camper fixed, as the roof didn't leak and it seemed like the roof replacement would not be as well done as the factory roof, and it wouldn't be worth the fight with insurance and agent and then the hassle of finding someone they approved of to do the work.

We now just have direct insurance, which is significantly cheaper, and assume the camper is not covered (which is fine by us).

We also have huge divots in our Hawk roof, as the result of an extreme hail storm (75 dBz as I recall). Didn’t pursue a claim with State Farm, since I think that with insurance, as in other walks of life, you want to pick your battles. And besides, like a golf ball, the dimples probably help the camper go further.

​Like others, we have the Hawk insured as an attachment to the truck. It is listed on the policy. One thing that hasn’t been discussed much here is how well the claims pay for damage repair, rather than full replacement.

But I do have to report that we had great service and a satisfactory settlement with State Farm when making a claim for our house which burned down in a wildfire. I think that being polite and respectful with the claims adjuster made all the difference. He’s just trying to his job.

 

[Mthomas]

Three years ago, USAA was pretty clear that in NV, they would only cover the camper as cargo with a fairly low maximum value since I am not hauling commercial and do not have a commercial policy, and referred me to progressive where I was able to set up a replacement cost policy. If they say it is covered with the truck in your state, get it in writing and the amounts as well. Not in writing and it never happened. I think that some of the “yes it is covered” answers are out of misunderstanding the difference between a truck camper and a cap on the part of the insco phone rep, who is really just a CSR, not a broker, agent, or underwriter.

 

[XJINTX]

Just a note: On March 12th of this year my Trekmate little gear trailer was broadsided by a stop sign running truck.I had on dash cam and local police got video from corner CEFCO. I have USAA and had always been told trailers I towed , like this one, and my Kayak trailer were covered. So I filed a claim for the trailer and contents Luckily I saw him moving so he missed my truck and FWC. Well after a week USAA told me I was only covered for the trailer with Liability even though I have no deductible Comprehensive on my truck???? FWC is covered separate by Progressive as that is what USAA had me do through them. Well over 3 months now and his Allstate Insurance is still dickering with me and has not settled. All I can say is get it in writing and not over the phone from your Insurance!!!!

 

[Wallowa]

TX,

Very interesting...in Texas are you required to register the FWC? Did USAA say why you had to insure FWC through Progressive and not them on your Truck insurance? With Farmers they do not directly insure my motorcycles but insure them also through Progressive.

I know that trailers here are treated different than our FWC and in fact my utility trailer that I bought to carry my sea kayaks does not require registration here in Oregon....need to check on insuring it as well. You correct that if it is not in writing it did not happen.

Thanks for info....

Phil

 

[windy]

I’ve been a USAA customer for 38 years. Been thru 2 hurricanes. 5 stars. Never any headaches or problems. You need to be careful though about how you word your request. If you say you need RV insurance they will immediately send you to Progressive as they do not cover motorized rv’s. However, they do underwrite trailers or truck shell/camper. So be accurate in your explanation and make sure they understand what you have.

 

[Seattle Mitch]

FYI my Farmers (Foremost) policy gives me full replacement value for my Fleet. $32/month.

 

[Wallowa]

Definitely a tangle of issues when purchasing insurance for anything, but for my Hawk especially since the concept of a FWC style camper attached to the bed of a pickup truck seems difficult to convey. I called my Farmers agent and spent a lot of time going over the details of our policies; many pit falls to be certain. Hawk was not covered for collision only comp; went back to USAA today and ran completely through the quotes I received yesterday.

USAA has three categories of what can be attached to the bed of a pickup and be insured: a flat topper, a camper cover [think "Gem Top"] and the last one is a "Camper Body" which can be attached or detached and contains a sink, stove, etc....in essence this "Camper Body" designation fits the FWC perfectly. USAA adds our Hawk to the quote and declaration page of the policy as being covered by all the element of the policy that the Tundra is covered by and at no additional expense. Includes comp and collision.

Could I buy a Progressive replacement policy for the Hawk and not go with the Actual Value of the Tundra policy? Sure and in the end it might make sense. Don't know if the Progressive would provide comp insurance as in the Tundra Policy or all the liability coverage.

Still mulling it over but about 99% sure to jump from Farmers to USAA for our Autos, Homeowners and Umbrella Policy. It will save us about $2K a year for the same and sometimes better coverage. Will add Progressive motorcycle coverage later.

Also we use the "storage" feature seasonally and USAA does cover that if storage is at least for 30 days. USAA also has a multi-policy discount called a "Bundle Discount"; not a lot but it all helps.

 

[DavidGraves]

WHAT motorcycle ???

 

[Wallowa]

WHAT motorcycle ???

Three to be accurate: '69 TR6; '07 GSA; and, '08 WR250R....the last two are off road bikes.

Made the jump from Farmers to USAA as of July 1, today. Three vehicles, homeowners and umbrella. Coverage better or equal and saved about 1K a year...time will tell, but I grew tired of being milked for insurance and never really knowing the details; yes, it took three days of 3 hours a day phone calls, but now I have a grasp of what is insured. My attitude about insurance is that it preys on fear of loss and personally I will not buy into that. Enough is enough.

'16 Hawk has full coverage, same as Tundra, but at ACV; will investigate if it worth going for full replacement on Hawk. Surprisingly I priced out a new Hawk with the options we have the price is 12K higher than we paid in '16; ouch!

Phil

 

[Davehwa]

Thanks Phil,

I’ve been on USAA since ‘95, nothing but good things to say. We insure all our vehicles, homeowners, lots of financial instruments, they’ve been great.

We have not looked into insuring our Hawk, and recently learned we need to plate it in WA (grrr), so your experience with USAA is super helpful.

Dave

 

[DavidGraves]

Thanks Phil also for sharing your research.

I have a Grandby Shell, which does not have an installed stove or sink.....dam expensive truck canopy I guess.

I am gonna speak with USAA also and possibly insure the new rig thru them.

My biggest concern at this stage in life is assurance that my INVESTMENT be insured against loss.

One can always buy another camper....

David Graves

 

[Wallowa]

Thanks Phil also for sharing your research.

I have a Grandby Shell, which does not have an installed stove or sink.....dam expensive truck canopy I guess.

I am gonna speak with USAA also and possibly insure the new rig thru them.

My biggest concern at this stage in life is assurance that my INVESTMENT be insured against loss.

One can always buy another camper....

David Graves

David,

Just for me the USAA has hit all the marks; plus, their information is easily available on-line and concise. "Stage in life"? Yup, I hear you, I am 78+ and that is exactly why I was getting tired of being pushed and pulled by insurance demands and hype. Time came for me to call the shots.

Phil

 

[patrkbukly]

Three to be accurate: '69 TR6; '07 GSA; and, '08 WR250R....the last two are off road bikes.

An 07 GSA is an off road bike?

 

[Wallowa]

An 07 GSA is an off road bike?


You bet, with mods, it was better at off road than I was a rider....only gripe was the 19" front wheel; WR 21" front wheel off road made a huge difference..GSA did everything I asked of it, but again not for long tight single tracks...torque pulled me out of "compromised" situations many times...rock solid and dependable; of course when it took 'naps' it was a grunt to tilt back upright...did several 2K dirt cross country[OR,ID,MT,Wy] trips....I named it [first time I have done that]..."Timex" after a particularly gruesome BOM "Road To Hell" battle...It [and I] "Took a beating and kept on ticking"...

Phil