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Old 06-07-2009, 10:46 AM   #1
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10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Hey all I wanted to let everyone know the experience I had. I went online looking for insurance on my bus, went to progressive just to see what they had. What a surprise all said and done it took me 10 minutes, and 430 bucks to insure my AMtram pusher for a year. I live in New Jersey which is notoriously tough to do anything in. Went to the DMV, I reged it as a private vehicle, total cost 116- no fuss no muss. No installing anything- ran it through inspection passed, so I'm good to go.

When I went to progressives site I chose RV and then under manufacturer, other, filled out the rest of the form. Put in the card paid, ad got proof in 10 mns. Now I the wife and I both have class A CDL's that helped with our rates- couldn't beat the ease of the transaction. Didnt have to subit pictures, or talk to anyone, all done online.

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Old 06-07-2009, 12:05 PM   #2
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Interesting because I called Progressive for a quote and they wanted $1500/6 months for my conversion. They couldn't see past the fact that it was a bus at one point in its life.
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Old 08-25-2009, 04:51 PM   #3
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

GMAC is the only one who would insure us knowing its a bus .

I don't know what kind of trouble one might get into if you had a wreck if they then find ut its a conversion , especially if it was serious injuries .

I think having class c license is good, I had them 25 years ago to work at Atlanta Airport carrying passengers to parking .
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Old 08-25-2009, 08:53 PM   #4
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Progressive has been going through their ranks and purging all the school bus conversions. Likelyhood is this user will eventually get the same letter others have got... I'm guessing GMAC is raking in some bucks on all these Progressive customers that have been given the boot...
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Old 09-10-2009, 10:06 AM   #5
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Same here...10 minutes. My first quote was $288/year. I bumbed up the coverage from 100k to 250k and 4 payments to $402/year. I'll let you know if progresive dumps me.
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Old 09-10-2009, 11:31 PM   #6
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

I got the same treatment for "The Insurance King" that DuckfOOt joined up with a no-hassle signup, instant no questions coverage, instant cards etc etc etc... But then on the same hand I got the same nice treament when they so politely cancelled me no more than 10 days after - said I had 30 days to find a replacement. No matter what anyone chooses I am beyond happy with GMAC...
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Old 09-11-2009, 01:49 AM   #7
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

did they refund your money?
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Old 09-11-2009, 06:44 AM   #8
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Quote:
Originally Posted by mfrederick
did they refund your money?
They allowed payments so we got a partial refund as we hadn't paid for the whole policy at that time...
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Old 09-11-2009, 10:44 AM   #9
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

How was the process with GMAC? Mind if i ask what they are wanting for 12 months of coverage....
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Old 09-11-2009, 12:17 PM   #10
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Quote:
Originally Posted by mfrederick
How was the process with GMAC? Mind if i ask what they are wanting for 12 months of coverage....
Actually very easy. They do not probe into what has or hasn't been done to your bus. If it is a bus, conversion, toy hauler or whatever you call it they will insure it. You cannot get full coverage on a conversion bus tho if anyone wanted it. I signed up online & was approved right away & the policy takes affect as soon as the funds clear. They did make a mistake on my policy number & had to reissue the number but even that was no hassle as they took care of everything. We pay about $250 for 6 months...

We originally wanted to use USAA for insurance & was told they would cover it. When we bought the bus USAA transferred us to Progressive & told us they now insure conversions, not USAA. The problem with Progressive is they are telling folks they insure conversions & at the same time telling other folks they no longer insure conversions... I really can't say I would trust their word anymore, either you want the business or you don't!
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Old 09-11-2009, 12:57 PM   #11
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

great feedback...thanks, i'll post again if they cancel me...then i'll head to GMAC ;)
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Old 09-12-2009, 10:00 PM   #12
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Got mine through USAA for a nice price, the VIN on my Grumman shows up as a 2 1/2ton truck in their system. I had checked out Progressive, they had a helluva time just trying to find a classification. When they finally decided where to put me, based on an icon that looked like a UPS truck, they came up with a premium almost 3X what USAA wanted.

Still, Progressive has my motorcycle insurance, the bill on my Goldwing actually went down this year! {$112 to $96}
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Old 09-17-2009, 10:54 AM   #13
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

I went through progressive. I insured it on the 3rd of August. I got a notice in the mail and called them yesterday to discover they were dropping my policy and they gave me five days to find someone else.

Their online setup has the option of stating that you live in an RV conversion, so it was odd to me that they would say they insure them and then don't. Now that ain't progressive!

My policy was 700 a year for insurance that basically didn't mean anything. I valued my bus at $0, and I think I had about $50,000 in total medical coverage between all passengers.

I guess you can try progressive, but from what others in this post have said, you may suddenly cancel you.
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Old 10-03-2009, 08:45 PM   #14
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Thats about what I'm paying, $57 per month... It beats NOT having insurance I suppose!
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You just might be a Redneck if...
...your motor home used to be a school bus!
...Your living room has a steering wheel!
...Your home has brake lights

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1989 Thomas Diesel Pusher (Cat 3208/Freightliner)
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Old 10-13-2009, 02:25 PM   #15
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Wow. I was paying about $70 a month through progressive, which as we have all learned no longer provides skoolie insurance. I noticed a guy up above went through them, and WILL be dropped. I was under the same circumstances and understand. What was really funny though, was after I went through the insurance nightmare the DMV didn't even ask. They just titled my bus as an RV and said "have fun driving it around now."

GMAC insurance (play around with the numbers, you'd be surprised how much more coverage you can get for only a few dollars a year more)

Bodily Injury 100,000 perperson/300,000 per accident
Property damage 100,000
Medical payments 10,000 each person
uninsured/under-insured motorist bodily injury 20,000 per person/40,000 per accident
comprehensive deductible 1,000
collision deductible 1,000
RV towing service ($18 a year!!)
Personal affects insured to $5,000

$794 a year (Way more than a new bus costs!) Which equals $73 a month I could get it down to $63 a month, but what I get for that extra ten dollars is just too good to pass up.

I like that towing service. That could cost a good chunk of change real fast.
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Old 11-23-2009, 09:56 AM   #16
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

I recently signed up for insurance through GMAC and they told me because we have a bus conversion they will only cover the basics required by the state of Texas (basic liability). for those of you who've gotten more coverage on your conversion - how do you get it? especially towing?

for 6 months, i'm paying $389 - and that's just basic. should i be questioning them?

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Old 09-07-2012, 09:56 PM   #17
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Yeah I just looked at Progressive's website and on their online quote system, they are very explicit about school bus conversions being unacceptable, whether professionally done or not. Seems like they're ok with other conversions, ie coaches. I would not want to be in a situation where I get in an accident and they find out and drop me and leave me with the bill (even medical, etc).

I don't care so much if it's just liability, because I've spent so little on the interior (maybe $4,000) and it's unlikely any of it will be damaged unless the vehicle gets totaled, given that the floor is 4 feet off the ground. Otherwise I'm guessing the OTHER guy (because it's gonna be their fault, not mine, naturally), would have to pay for internal damage via their insurance. Living in the motorhome is going to save so much money that I can live a more realistic lifestyle not so damned stressed. It would suck, but I wouldn't really mind needing to re-do the bus or start over with a new bus if need be. C'est la vie. Live spontaneously and be non-attached. Don't invest too much time or money into anything and act like everything is temporary. Better that I pay for a home in 6 months than 30 years. Because as much as we pretend that things are permanent, everything does change and sometimes if we just lower our expectations and accept that, then we can deal with crises (and recovery) more easily.

Once I get my motorhome title back from Trenton then I guess I'll check out GMAC.

I LIKE the idea of having RV towing included!

I was able to get passenger plates even without the motorhome title because I already did the part that eliminated it's identification as a 'school' bus. Paint, seats, flashers, stop sign. It's still a 'bus', but knowing I just needed the plates to get the bus weighed and to flip the title, they were happy to give them to me. As per insurance, I took the risk and just listed my auto insurance (Progressive, which I realize now doesn't cover it). I never called Progressive, I just told the DMV my auto policy number. I've only driven it a tiny bit and mostly to fill up the gas and get it weighed. I'll likely not drive it until it's properly insured. I'm realizing honestly how much of our lives are lived in totally unwarranted fear, with this whole insurance/non-insurance thing. The one thing about being in a school bus is that it's 15,000 lbs of pure steel (ok maybe less excluding the engine) and so if anyone needs to be worried about getting in an accident, it's the OTHER guy.

My local zoning officer complained about the bus, saying others have been complaining. I'm on some watchlist since I hadn't mown my lawn all spring. Honestly I just don't like my neighborhood/neighbors. My John Deere tractor not only had it's transmission jam, but the blades went dull and the head gasket blew (over a 4 month period), which left me with a messy 3/4 acres of waist high grass that everybody hates me for. So I was a bit under pressure to get plates. The zoning officer asked me to write an official letter with pictures, etc of my progress, but since I already got it registered, I think they can just see the plates on the vehicle and the fact that it's brown instead of yellow and if they have a fit about it still then they can waste their lives being nosy and worrying over something that as far as I care is legit and legal. I'm left a bit bitter about the whole thing so I'm waiting for another complaint instead of going out of my way. I don't owe them anything.
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Old 09-08-2012, 01:57 AM   #18
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

i have used gmac for both my coach and school busses since around 1990..
no way i would ever use progressive as they cheap out on car rebuilds you do for people...
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Old 09-12-2012, 08:33 PM   #19
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

I would go with GMAC except I found out they DON'T insure in NJ. Progressive Commercial does (if you tell them it's a former school bus), but their online system quoted me for $150/month. Not sure if they could cut me a better deal by finding understanding my situation better.
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Old 09-13-2012, 06:45 AM   #20
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Re: 10 minute insurance-under $500.00

Progressive Commercial says they can't insure a 'motorhome' if used to live in for more than 30 days. It's one of those occasional business use type of things. And as a 'bus', I can't use it for personal (living) use. It needs to be a fundamental purpose of some business use. GMAC sounds like the best but they don't insure in NJ (and the irony is that I'd like to officially move to upstate NY, where they do cover, but don't have an address for the insurance), so I don't know what to do for insurance.
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