what does everyone do for insurance on their Pop UP? we have a 2000 Coleman Niagara, did not pay a lot for it and paid cash so don't have to have insurance, but would like to hear what you'all do...
My car insurance added the trailer to the policy for free - well, I think there was a $5 service charge But it’s only for accident liability. Theft from my driveway is under the house insurance but an accident or theft away from home would leave me out a trailer.
The way I look at it, if I can afford to replace an item if lost or damaged, I dont insure it. My previous camper was a 94 Starcraft that I bought in 2001 for $2500. I never covered it for damage or theft. The liability was included with my TV. My new camper has a lien on it, so I'm required to carry full coverage, but I probably would anyway. Full coverage through Good Sam is only $11/month.
I have Geico vehicle insurance and added the Pup for $8 a month. It is covered under the vehicles insurance as long as it is attached to my jeep. Otherwise I have a $500 deductible, trip interruption reimbursement. $10,000 medical coverage and a few other perks
Me too. I did not cover my 2003.5 Carmel, but I do cover my 2010 Niagara, for stated value. I also have coverage for the contents up to $2500, as well as trip interruption, and a few other things. I pay about $110 a year.
I didn't carry it on the pup because it was an inexpensive trailer. I have stated value on my TT because it is an expensive trailer.
I insured my Aliner through Progressive for stated value. The policy was fairly inexpensive and covers the camper & my personal effects.
I have accident and trip insurance from Progressive. It costs about $125 a year. I have used it twice. Once it repaired the camper. Ten years later it was totaled. The payout bought my current pup and paid for hotel rooms during my vacation and a uhaul to get my gear home. Worth every penny I paid out.
We had the RV rider on the PUP when we had it. Now that we have the hybrid, we opted for the stand alone insurance. Covers a lot more and the bank also required it. It's a bit more piece of mind.
Fortunately my car insurance will cover anything attached to the vehicle up to a certain value (I've forgotten what that value is). So we were pretty much covered, especially since the camper is only about a thousand dollars. We could get additional coverage if we wanted to but haven't.
Insurance = transferred risk. For the cost of insurance verses the investment in our PUP I'll take the risk. When home it's covered under home owners and while being towed it's covered by auto policy. The only time it isn't covered is while actually camping. That's about two to three weeks out of the year.
While that may be true, to a certain point, it isn’t true for everyone. My home owners insurance doesn’t cover my camper because I can’t store it at my house. My auto insurance only covers liability while towing not damage done to the camper. Because of two incidents, with my previous camper, I have gotten every penny back that I’ve ever paid in premiums. But to each his own. The insurance/camper debate has many threads here. Do what you want and can afford.
One thing you might want to consider is towing coverage on the trailer itself in addition to towing of the tow vehicle. Most car policies will not cover towing of the trailer if it needs to be towed in addition to the tow vehicle.
Coming from someone who works in insurance claims, speak to your insurance company and don't take advice off the internet. Forums, Facebook or any other social media... if there's one topic with so much mis-information, it's definately insurance. Different states and provinces all have their own regulations. Speak to your broker or insurance company and determine what's best for you, based on your needs and finances. Please don't take any advice online as anything more than a grain of salt.
The less I have to deal with insurance adjusters the less likely I am to injure my fist. A $2000 PUP isn't worth the expense and hassle to me. It very unlikely I will damage it and if someone else does I'll sue them or their insurance company for the damage. If a limb falls on it while camping I'll just be stuck fixing or replacing it.
Also, careful with that thinking. Not sure if you can sue for damages in all states in the U.S where there is a no-fault agreement, but Canada pretty much has a no-fault system in every province. You can't sue for vehicle/trailer damage, even if it's someone else's fault. Some places you can't even sue for injuries. For example, you can't sue for injuries in Quebec, but you can in Ontario, but there is approximately a 35,000$ minimum threshold.
We have the same pup, 2000 Coleman by Fleetwood Niagra Grand Tour Elite we bought it cheap so we don't worry about insurance.
+1 My father-in-law is my insurance agent, so I ask him all kinds of questions. Find a qualified one; he's told me stories about how even the insurance companies don't fully understand what's in their own policies and he has to argue with them. He's been doing this for 30 years and actually reads the policies For me, trailers are automatically covered under my auto policy while on the road (liability only), and my homeowner's covers it otherwise. I could separately list it on my homeowners, but since my camper cost me less than my deductible on my homeowners, I didn't bother. So essentially I'm self-insuring my camper when not towing it.