Canadian Fulltime RV Insurance Policy

[Stan Birch]

[Little Kopit]

That's your take. They still get the rate, but the province pays them.

You can thank September 11 for that. It didn't happen in Europe, but over here some companies thought they could get away with greatly escalated rates. Europe has had terrorist activity in far greater frequency than North America. Their insurance are what their market will bear and it hasn't overreacted as it has in North America.

I think is more a case of knowing that one can take action and get results, but people have to act together. Some sections of the country have acted.

The point is no matter what the law is, not all insurance companies cover all of one country.


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My Photo Album, featuring Labrador 2006

[bobd]

Oh boy, now I'm more confused than before. I was told by 2 separate insurance places (brokers/whatever) that my 5th wheel was covered by my truck insurance while hooked up and my house insurance when parked. This answer doesn't make me feel too safe now that I'm fulltiming. Where can I get the right answer?
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No business, Free Advice - take what you want and leave the rest !

[Little Kopit]

I'm not a full-timer and never will be, but when I did my checking, a lot of RVers said check around, check everywhere. I see you're in the Yukon, at least part of the year.

In the US full-timers study what is is best place for their official residence. A lot of the choice is made based on licensing and insurance. I know full well that the more populous parts of this country have more options than the more sparsely populated places. How easy it is to change one province of residence I don't know at all.

But yes, check with those insurance brokers who deal specifically with RVs. I think you'll find they offer different options.


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My Photo Album, featuring Labrador 2006

[hpv321]

Hi, my husband and I live in Ontario and we are going to get a 2003 5th wheel trailer next week. (We are new to RV life). I tried to get a trailer insurance but since we are going to be full-timing and using the trailer as the principal residence, we were denied of a trailer insurance.

Actually, AVIVA Elite has a full-timers option to insure the personal property in the trailer, but their policy clearly states, “It is a condition of this policy that the property insured is used solely for private pleasure purposes and will not be used as a permanent residence or rented to others.” A broker told me that full-timing is okay with AVIVA Elite, but the fact that the trailer is being used while an occupant is still employed is a problem. In other words, if we were both retired, then we would be covered. They confirmed this fact with the underwriter.

I’ve tried other trailer insurance companies, but they all say that they don’t cover a trailer if it is used as a permanent residence.

My car insurance company wouldn’t even list the trailer under the auto – special item for the same reason. Even though liability is extended from the truck while trailer is being towed, we won’t have comprehensive or collision coverage on the trailer. While trailer is not towed, e.g. at campsites, we have no liability coverage. We will not have a house or apartment to get home/tenant coverage.

We would like to get a personal liability coverage and a physical damage coverage for the trailer. We plan to spend winter in the USA so liability coverage is the most important.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[RV Mech Tech]

hpv321: Could you please elaborate about the problem with being employed full-time and living in an RV full-time? What did the insurance company tell you as to why this would be a problem? In other words, why would a retiree(s) be insured for full-time living and someone who is employed would not be? To me this makes no sense unless you are operating a business inside your RV, but what about just using the RV to live in and going to work at a company somewhere else? There is another insurance debate going on in the 'Full-Time RVing' section as well.

[hpv321]

RV Mech Tech, thank you for your response.

I believe what the broker said was the trailer has to be used for recreational purpose only so you cannot be commuting from the trailer to work. What I said to them was what if someone was retired and got the insurance, then started to work again?? We are not operating business in the RV. I agree with you this does not make sense at all.

[RV Mech Tech]

hpv21: thanks for your reply. I guess you have to take the situation on an individual basis and check into that company's policies. I saw the same thing happen in the antique and special interest car hobby years ago. If you restored let's say a 1965 Chevy Chevelle and used it for both pleasure weekend events and you wanted to use it once in a while for going to work, then the standard insurance policy would have to change and the premium would increase because using the vehicle during the weekdays would be a higher risk (the standard insurance company policy would consider this to be 'full-timing' in a specialty vehicle. This is what I was pointing out in the Full-Timing thread on this forum). Then after a while, specialty insurance was offered for the old car hobby with the provision that allowed separate and specific clauses that would allow the use of the vehicle for weekday/work use for transportion only as long as the vehicle was not used for company business such as transporting merchandise in an old delivery truck for instance. From what I see full-timing is still a gray area subject to interpretation of the insuring company and at least in Canada, an RV owner has to be very specific in the description of use for their RV. I recently had an e-mail from an owner with a class A about a generator problem. He is living in his RV full-time and we were able to solve the generator problem over the internet, and he thanked me and said that his insurance company would not cover the generator repair because he was living in his RV full-time even though his policy stated the gen was covered no matter what! I have been hearing stories like this for the last few years and some people have told me that they do not insure an older RV anymore for comprehensive, just public liability to protect themselves, and they fix the RV themselves whenever they can. The other thing I am wondering about is the insurance coverage for mobile repair techs and dealerships. If some insurance companies are giving owners a hard time because of full-timing, then what about the insurance coverage for the service people who make service calls to campgrounds? You would think that this service insurance would not be affected but if something goes wrong with the repair and there is an insurance claim by the owner regarding the repair, then what happens then? Would this be another area where insurance would be denied? I don't know the answer to that one but I have seen it happen in the case of an auto repair shop. That one went to court and the auto shop insurance ended up paying the full bill. There are companies that sell insurance to the RV industry specifically and I am not including them here, but I think it would be a good idea as Mike (Motor 31) says, "Read the fine print." Any input from other members would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!