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Old 06-15-2014, 09:24 AM   #1
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Progressive has online bus conversion options

I am getting ready to purchase a crown and want all the ducks in a row. Progressive will insure on their website. You select RV, then Other and they have an option for professional conversion or non professional conversion. I selected less than 30 days a year of actual use and the basic was 210 a month and the plus was 387. I have to research the what their plus is and decide on AAA RV or what for motor club/prepaid disaster towing. Done! I did not purchase the policy but I know I can do it on the spot wit a cell phone when doing to pick up.

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Old 06-15-2014, 09:52 AM   #2
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

I had gotten Progressive through Good Sam and after 2 weeks, I got a cancellation notification in the mail based on an "invalid body style". From what I've seen on the board, they're pretty much kicking their school bus conversions...under the bus
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Old 06-15-2014, 10:49 AM   #3
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

Quit dealing with these companies directly and get yourself an insurance broker. My bus is insurred as a 1977 Chevy C/60, libality only, with no specifics ever asked about what it was exactly. I gave them the VIN and they never asked if it were a grain truck, fire truck, school bus, farm truck or otherwise.

After reading about all the troubles everyone here seems to have I called her and was basically told that by dealing directly with the insurance company you get questioned a lot more but when a private broker signs someone up they aren't as picky because the broker is suppose to know the rules so they don't look as close.

That all being said, I'll probably get an email from Progressive soon saying they're going to kick me off because it's a skoolie. That's how my luck usually goes .....
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Old 06-15-2014, 11:09 AM   #4
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

Quote:
Originally Posted by bamper
Quit dealing with these companies directly and get yourself an insurance broker.
I've got two looking for me right now.
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Old 06-15-2014, 09:19 PM   #5
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

Its going to sound dumb but if I get insurance and they kick me to the curb in two weeks, its a disappointment but I will have been able to legally move from the seller to the storage yard where the real work will happen, and I can deal with getting it re-insured much later.
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Old 06-16-2014, 05:13 AM   #6
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

Quote:
Originally Posted by mjh2901
Its going to sound dumb but if I get insurance and they kick me to the curb in two weeks, its a disappointment but I will have been able to legally move from the seller to the storage yard where the real work will happen, and I can deal with getting it re-insured much later.
I had my insurance before I had my bus. Which was good, because I picked it up in Maine and drove it back to NJ with it. Not something I recommend- marathon 9-ish hour drive, 4 hours of sleep, 11-ish hours back to South NJ.
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Old 06-16-2014, 12:36 PM   #7
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

well get ready for a world of issues. I have been fighting this with NUMEROUS companies and with agents/brokers. Everyones says no problem then it goes to the under writes and things sh#t the bed. Doesn't really matter what company you deal with most of them will only insure converted school buses. Seems the word on the street is they are a bigger liability when not converted. Thing is you have to insure it to get it to places to get it converted?

For those who have their stuff insured…. please keep it paid and up to date. Only issue i think you will run in to is if you have a mishap and have to make a claim well the devil in the details will come out as they always do with insurance companies. So choose your fight wisely.

The only real option when your in conversion process is to get it insure commercially while converting. Thing is no one will put in writing what they deem as "converted?" Seems my criteria and theirs seem to be different?

I have had others from here contact me and say…. give these guys a call….. NOTHING HAS WORKED. So again if you got yours to go through please keep it current. As this night mare seems to have no end in sight other than a commercial policy
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Old 06-16-2014, 03:35 PM   #8
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

Quote:
Originally Posted by mjh2901
I am getting ready to purchase a crown and want all the ducks in a row. Progressive will insure on their website. You select RV, then Other and they have an option for professional conversion or non professional conversion. I selected less than 30 days a year of actual use and the basic was 210 a month and the plus was 387. I have to research the what their plus is and decide on AAA RV or what for motor club/prepaid disaster towing. Done! I did not purchase the policy but I know I can do it on the spot wit a cell phone when doing to pick up.
Thanks for that. I just signed up and got basic for 125 a year. It was easy. I went in entered the year, selected the make as other and the model as other professional bus conversion. After that, enter the rest of the info and it's all a piece of cake. GMAC and Foremost wanted pictures, my blood type, and stool samples. As far as I'm concerned, as long as it is registered as an rv by the state, it is one regardless of what the insurance company wants to call it. That's why I bought a bus that already had the converted title.
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Old 06-17-2014, 02:32 PM   #9
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

Good luck with that….. the underwriters seem to be related to Satan so just be aware.

I agree if the state deems it a rv then it is but……. if you have a bus type like I do…. GMC B6000 and its not a choice to selects as an rv…. well your down hill slide will start to happen.

I am really getting frustrated at this whole process. Not sure why people won't put in writing whats converted and what is not
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Old 06-18-2014, 09:39 AM   #10
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

Quote:
Originally Posted by bapos
Good luck with that….. the underwriters seem to be related to Satan so just be aware.

I agree if the state deems it a rv then it is but……. if you have a bus type like I do…. GMC B6000 and its not a choice to selects as an rv…. well your down hill slide will start to happen.

I am really getting frustrated at this whole process. Not sure why people won't put in writing whats converted and what is not
I don't think you read quite what I wrote. You're exactly right, underwriters are the spawn of satan, but the way I did it, I didn't even talk to any of them. I'll pm you with pictures on how to do it.
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Old 06-18-2014, 10:30 AM   #11
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

I had an agent contact them…. they are not picking up any new school bus conversions.
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Old 06-22-2014, 10:30 PM   #12
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

I'm not trying to throw anyone under the RV of their choosing here but I suspect something like this here is why you are having issues with Insurance. I can only speculate that ANY claim made by/about/from anything to do with this bus would cause ANY reasonable person or entity a bit of heartburn.







I am sure it is a matter of a few bad apples ruining it for the rest of us. Let's say you were insuring someone and after an accident you found that they were hauling a vehicle in a vehicle without a restraint system and had an old couch that is unlikely able to withstand impact even if bolted to floor. Would you be happy to continue insuring this idea without some sort of proof of safety?

Or if you think this is a good plan I know where you can get a "toy-hauler/race chaser"
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Old 06-23-2014, 05:57 AM   #13
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

What it sounds like to me, and I may be wrong, is that the insurance companies do not want to insure a conversion in progress. They will insure only conversions that have already been completed. I'm assuming everyone is simply trying to get the minimums required for their states.

So your choices are...
#1. Get it completed as fast as possible. Either a permanent or temporary conversion.
#2. Take your time and don't drive it until it is completely converted.
#3. Drive around uninsured.

I do not advocate one choice over the other. I am simply stating the choices as I see them.
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Old 06-24-2014, 03:31 PM   #14
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

As I step up to my soap box once again……..

I am sure there are a lot of people who do the minimum to get a bus "converted" and if they want it that way… I have no issues with it. I am kind of a minimalists at heart with certain things. As I have told many of the A hole insurance companies if I wanted a prefab off the shelf unit I would have bought a 100k tiffin rv and accepted what the designers and builder gave me. However I choose to make my own, work on my own, and know it inside and out when it comes to such things. So yes Im sure some people screwed it up for others but I don't think the open market is righting it self here. If these things are SUCH high risk the rate would be through the roof. As I read they are not. I think its just a matter of who, what , and when you tell them.

As many of them have told me that want COMPLETED conversions. Not partials, empty shells, or works in progress. So if you plan on doing this choose your fight wisely. I personally think its a crock of horse sh$t. They are far too concerned as to what is in the bus than the bus period. Example of what I told the assho#e on the other side of them phone……. "So let me get this straight…..you want me to put in a cook stove (propane) instead of a hot plate on a counter to satisfy your cooking area requirement ? I asked which of those two do you think is safer from a unstring point of view? Needless to say the convo got very quiet." Its things like that really piss me off. People who are the "authority" have no clue how to build but yet are the determining factor if you get insured or not.

As they told me they want to the look and feel of a converted bus or travel trailer. Which means nice glossy finished slick type finishing. So if you have a conversion that is going to take a while I would "borrow" some pics to send to them. Like anything in life I reserve the right to tear it all out and start over if I so choose. I am sure they have no thought of that in their list of things to hammer us on.

Again I think they put too much weight on whats in the bus versus the bus period. I would be more concerned about someone who doesnt know if ball joints are good and they break while driving than if it has a sink with water? I get what they are trying to avoid which is a bus full of people and a mishap happen.

Not sure why the common sense is not common here? We now return you to your regularly scheduled bus convo.

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Old 06-24-2014, 05:33 PM   #15
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

The funny thing is they are only insuring liability in most cases. Why would they care if your bus burns down? They are not going to pay unless you set your neighbors house on fire.
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Old 06-24-2014, 09:41 PM   #16
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

Agree so why piss and moan about whats in it period? As I said they are more concerned whats in it than the stability of the bus as a whole?
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Old 06-25-2014, 10:38 AM   #17
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Re: Progressive knows bus conversions

The big issue that I've seen wasn't the legitimate conversions. Where I'm from they use old school busses as commercial transportation. They would line the seats around the outside wall of the bus and haul wedding parties, 21st birthday parties, prom parties, etc around to bars or wherever they were going. Its a good idea because it takes drunk drivers off the road. The problem is that they were titling and insuring those busses as rv's when they weren't even close to being one or used as one. That way operating costs were cheaper lowering the rental costs so that it was more appealing to the party. Problem is that a bunch of fly by night operations popped up and maintenance on those busses was horrendous. I'd assume that one crashed somewhere and killed people and the insurance for an rv wouldn't have come close to covering the expenses. That's why they've become so stringent about the qualifications regarding an rv and why insurance companies are leery about insuring them.
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Old 07-07-2014, 09:14 PM   #18
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Re: Progressive has online bus conversion options

so i have a side question: do i need to have insurance first to get it titled? do i get titled first?

thanks,
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Old 07-08-2014, 05:18 AM   #19
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Re: Progressive has online bus conversion options

Quote:
Originally Posted by rocket_kitten
so i have a side question: do i need to have insurance first to get it titled? do i get titled first?

thanks,
rocket
Check with the main Motor Vehicle office; and as always: Terms and Conditions subject to change, actual results may vary. But in NJ, I can be titled and not insured- I need to have insurance before being registered. But then, some of our MD owners may have a better answer.
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Old 08-20-2014, 08:17 PM   #20
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Re: Progressive has online bus conversion options

There's, as I see it, three ways to go about it: One by a coach/bus already titled as an RV/Motorhome/House Car. Two get it insured and then get it titled. Get it titled as an RV and then get it insured. Simple Yeah?

Never Mention the word Bus: Never mention the word bus. Never mention the word bus. The Rout I take is to always insure first and insure, in my case, as a house car: OK How? I'm not saying mine is the only way, but this is the way it has worked for me: If it's an International Bus, then it's an International Motor Coach. I have used Farmers. Yes it's expensive up front, typically about 238 bucks: I do have to provide photo's. However, let's get real. How difficult is it to glean photo's of interiors of RV's? Pretty simple. I've done it. Once insured I go to my Local DMV I take the Bus, because I have to in this instance, as it had never been titled or registered in the State. Seats Stripped out, some carpet thrown down, a couch and a dresser. I was in and out in 20 minutes with New title as a house car. This is not hypothetical: I have done this three times:

All I can surmise is both authorities, either the DMV or the Insurer, are willing to accept what the other determines. I believe walking into the DMV with papers insuring my vehicle as a motorhome carries a lot of weight with the DMV. They don't know if it was a home and I'm stripping it, All they know is it isn't seated like a bus and it has been insured. Prior to four months, I notify Farmers of my cancellation and then shop for insurance for a vehicle formerly insured as a House Car, currently titled as a house Car: And the I just insure it with the company I insure my car with.

Also, i might add, that if you have house and car insurance already, through a local subsidiary or broker, these vehicles can be added for a nominal fee, and usually with little hassle at all, if you have any kind of relationship whatsoever with your local insurance agent...........
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