RV insurance is important for protecting you against damage or loss of your motorhome, fifth wheel, travel trailer, pop-up camper, or other type of RV.
RV policies are also designed to cover your liability in case of an accident, medical payments, and coverage for any of your personal belongings that you have in the RV.
In this post we cover the basics of RV insurance.
We also include a list of insurance companies that provide RV insurance. You will need to contact them directly to get insurance quotes based on your specific situation.
See below for the list of insurance companies.
When is RV Insurance Required?
Depending on where you live, you most likely are going to need to obtain RV insurance. The one exception will be if you have a towable RV, like a pop-up camper, that you own outright. In that case, you may not be required to have insurance in your state.
However, if you have a loan on your RV or if it is driveable, such as a Class C motorhome, then you most likely are required to carry insurance by your state or your lender.
When in question, buy RV insurance. You don’t want to end up in one of these unfortunate situations, whether or not it is your fault!
Insurance Coverage for Your RV
Collision and comprehensive insurance cover damage to your RV. The other components of your insurance cover medical payments and damage to other vehicles and property.
Collision Coverage
Collision coverage insures your RV if you are in a collision with another vehicle, a wall, a pole, etc. Collision coverage will cover your RV whether or not you are at fault for the accident. Deductibles typically range from about $250 to $1,000.
Comprehensive Coverage
Comprehensive (i.e. “comp”) coverage covers the damage to your RV that is not caused by a collision with another vehicle or property. Comp covers things such as theft, hitting an animal on the road, fire, hail damage, vandalism, damaged windshields, etc. Like collision coverage, you choose the deductible amount, which generally range from about $250 to $1,000.
Course on Buying an RV
RV Education 101 provides a video training program on How to Buy the Right RV & Save Thousands. It covers all of the information needed to make the right RV purchase for you while ensuring you get the best deal.
Other Components of RV Insurance
In addition to insurance to cover repairs to your RV through collision and comprehensive coverage, RV insurance will protect you in other ways. RV insurance can cover your liability in the event of an accident, medical payments, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
Liability Coverage
Liability coverage pays for medical bills, legal settlements, and repairs to other vehicles or property that are your responsibility.
Liability coverage is typically required for RVs in all states, but the amount required varies based on in which state you live. (One exception is if you have a towable RV that is fully paid for.)
Liability insurance is commonly broken down into three amounts, such as 15/30/10, 50/100/50, and 100/300/100. These represent the per person limit for bodily injury / per incident limit for bodily injury / property damage limit.
The first and second number represent limits for bodily injury and the third number is for property damage. If you have a 50/100/50 policy and you are liable in an accident, they your policy will pay up to $50,000 for any one person’s injuries, and up to $100,000 total for all people’s injuries in an accident. Your policy will also pay up to $50,000 for all property damage.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured motorist coverage pays for an accident in which the other driver does not have insurance. It is set up similar to liability coverage. If you have a 50/100 uninsured motorist coverage, then the insurance will provide up to $50,000 for any one person’s injuries, and up to $100,000 total for all people’s injuries in an accident.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage
If the person who is at fault has insurance, but not enough to cover the full liability, underinsured motorist coverage will pay the difference.
Medical Payments
Some RV insurance policies will include payment for medical treatment for any passengers in the RV who were injured during an accident, regardless of fault. With an increase in high deductible health care plans, medical payments coverage on RV insurance are becoming more popular.
Other RV Insurance Endorsem*nts
Full Replacement Cost
Some insurance companies will offer things like full replacement cost coverage which will cover the cost of replacing your RV with a brand new RV if yours is totaled. Others will only offer the replacement cost of your existing year’s model.
Emergency Roadside Assistance
Emergency roadside assistance is something that will give you a lot of peace of mine when traveling. If you break down and need to be towed, get locked out of your RV, or other similar scenarios, emergency roadside assistance will come to your rescue.
Insurance companies will sometimes offer this an endorsem*nt to their insurance quote. You can compare the insurance company endorsem*nt to a quote you can buy separate from your insurance company.
For example, Good Sam offers an auto and RV roadside assistance program that covers unlimited towing, flat tire repair, emergency fuel, battery jumpstart, locksmith, and other emergency services you may need while traveling in your RV.
Rental Reimbursem*nt
Some insurance companies will offer a rental reimbursem*nt endorsem*nt to your policy. Be sure to check what this will cover, especially if you will need a new vehicle and a hotel room while your RV is being repaired if you’re in an accident.
RV Personal Property Coverage
Contents coverage will cover your personal belongings in your RV. Depending on whether your RV qualifies as a second home, your homeowner’s insurance will not cover the contents of your RV if your belongings are stolen, damaged, or otherwise lost. You’ll need to make sure that your RV insurance also covers your personal property that is stored in your RV.
Other Things to Consider
Claim Responsibility
There are benefits to having all of your insurance with one insurance provider. For example, if you have a tow vehicle and a travel trailer (like we do), and were unfortunately in a vehicle accident that damaged both the trailer and the tow vehicle, it’s going to be a whole lot easier to deal with one insurance company that two.
There are some stories of insurance companies saying the other is responsible for paying the damage but if you only have one company, then they can’t say the other insurance company is responsible.
Discounts
If you have more than one policy (e.g., auto or homeowner’s insurance) with an insurance provider, you may be eligible to receive discounts.
Deductible
Your insurance deductible is the amount you must pay out of pocket before your insurance covers the rest of the expense. Choosing a higher deductible means your insurance premium will decrease, but you’ll have to pay more if you get in an accident with your RV or otherwise need to make an insurance claim.
Dashboard Camera
Some insurance companies offer discounts for drivers who use dashboard cameras (i.e. dashboard cam) in their vehicles. Dashboard cameras record hours of video in a continuous loop, with recent video recording over older video that is no longer needed. Some dashboard cams (such as the one below) offer a sensor to ensure that if it detects a collision, the current video will be locked so it can’t be recorded over.
For anyone that has had a person cut them off in traffic while you’re driving or towing your heavy RV, you can understand the importance of having one of these dash cams to have a record of any accident to show who is truly at fault. High quality cameras are now starting at less than $100.
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Insurance Companies that Insure RVs
Listed below are links to some of the insurance companies that insure RVs. The ones listed below are the ones that are frequently mentioned on RV discussion forums by RV owners. There are likely other RV insurance providers available.
Not all insurance providers provide RV insurance in all states. You’ll need to contact them directly for more information. They are listed alphabetically below and linked directly to their RV insurance page.
- AllState
- GEICO
- Good Sam Insurance Agency
- Farm Bureau
- Farmers Insurance
- Hartford Insurance (AARP)
- Liberty Mutual
- National General
- Nationwide
- Progressive
- Safeco Insurance
- Shelter Insurance
- State Farm
- USAA
(We’ve put together a list of other resources for beginner and experienced RV’ers that includes helpful websites and apps, training programs, financing, and more. Check it out here.)
Factors That Affect Your RV Insurance Rates
As you’re comparing rates between insurance companies, keep in mind that there are a lot of factors that matter that make it difficult to compare RV rates with another RV owner’s rates. These include:
- Which state do you live in? RV insurance is regulated by state governments so rates vary by state. For example, some states have higher minimum requirements for liability insurance than other states.
- Which zip code do you live in? Factors such as crime, traffic, number of stolen vehicles affect your insurance rates.
- Who is being insured? Insurance companies have complicated calculations that they use to come up with rates charged to different people based on characteristics such as the driver’s age, driving record, number of insurance claims made, credit score, marital status, and others.
- What RV is being insured? The value of your RV will greatly affect the rate you are charged for insurance. More expensive RVs will cost more to insure.
Final Thoughts
Buying RV insurance does not need to be an overly complicated process, but you do need to do your homework to make sure you’re properly covered and get the best rate.
Your best bet is to contact insurance companies and ask for similar quotes. Be sure you’re comparing rates for RV insurance policies that have the same coverage limits (e.g., 100/300/100), same endorsem*nts and add-ons, and same deductibles.
Having RV insurance with a reputable insurance company will give you peace of mind to be able to fully enjoy your RV travel adventures!
