All Insurance companies to drop Skoolies? Possible?

[Big11beard]

It's a lot of work but keep your chin up and just keep crossing off local agents in your phone book. Each agent contacts different underwriters and its up to personal discretion on the underwriters part

[TAOLIK]

I got my bus insured last year as a food truck. I lost a lot of sleep trying to figure out if I would ever legally be allowed to drive it, but finally I got it insured through an eager insurance agent from a small company. She ran the numbers a few different ways and got me insured through progressive commercially. (about 100/month in Washington)

[Docsgsxr]

I've been with Good Sam/NatGen for 3 years. I have an Arizona policy for 100/300. Only liability. When I first got it, they didn't require a photo album of your conversion. If I were to change anything on my policy, I have to submit pics. So it will stay the same until it's done. Heck, it's only 315 bucks a year.....

-Doc

[moteinsun]

New here

I just spoke with Allstate on Thursday and they were happy to quote me on a conversion. The gentleman doing the quote even stated that typically, you have to have been insured for at least 6 months prior in order for them to even consider you. He then stated that conversions may fall under a different category, and sure enough, he called me back 20 minutes later and we worked a quote for a 20 passenger shuttle for $360.00 ish a year. I started out looking at smaller buses but the more I look, for the price and the effort, bigger is better. I wonder how they will quote an 18 window international, well I hope.

Try Alstate, and if not them, esurance (same as Allstate)

[Robin97396]

Oddly enough State Farm just insured my bus, I mean van. I was offered a commercial policy through Progressive but it was higher.

[lizzabus]

Interesting, Robin. We have all our other vehicles insured with State Farm and they told me I have to have pics of the completed conversion before they will even talk to me.

I've already gotten the title changed to motor home but State Farm won't budge.

Huh...

[Robin97396]

I'll admit it shocked me to get accepted by a major insurer but maybe they're starting to see the light, or perhaps they're just messing with my mind. It's not exactly set in stone. Previous to this policy Nationwide gave me a policy that they cancelled ten days into a six month policy. Take backsies are allowed in insurance.

I've registered on several of those multiple insurance quote finders which don't seem to do anything, but a week later I'm receiving email from several insurance companies with the correct vin #s. I specifically asked them to check and be sure about the policy. It says it's a transit bus on their policy but it says van on the title.
I kept looking because I couldn't deal with a commercial policy. I feel it's bunk to force commercial policies on private owners.

We're bus owners, so now we're a minority that insurance companies discriminate against. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

We're bus owners, so now we're a minority that insurance companies discriminate against. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Even more so, we're specialty bus owners. A majority of bus conversions are coaches, not skoolies. But even the DIYers of the coaches find that they can get insurance easier than us, because as soon as a school bus (safe for transporting kids and military personnel) moves into the hands of a DIYer, it suddenly becomes "an unsafe platform for conversion."

[Docsgsxr]

Originally Posted by Scooternj

as soon as a school bus (safe for transporting kids and military personnel) moves into the hands of a DIYer, it suddenly becomes "an unsafe platform for conversion."

You're right on that end, someone can design and build a new type of super car and they will insure it, but gutting and painting a skoolie???? What a serious risk, unless, they are worried one of us may be texting and driving and run into a group of stopped cars......

Who knows what they're thinking. I just know it isn't fair that we get the run around a lot when we try to insure.

-Doc

[polar bear]

Bless you if you build to codes. Not everyone does. Too many out there end up burning because of poor wiring or heating/cooking system issues. Insurance companies aren't going to inspect before writing a policy and I for one don't want the government doing it. Like most have said, keep bugging a local agent that you do your car/s, house, boat, motorcycles with and make them afraid of losing all your business if they can't find insurance for your rolling palace...

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by polar bear

Bless you if you build to codes. Not everyone does. Too many out there end up burning because of poor wiring or heating/cooking system issues. Insurance companies aren't going to inspect before writing a policy and I for one don't want the government doing it. Like most have said, keep bugging a local agent that you do your car/s, house, boat, motorcycles with and make them afraid of losing all your business if they can't find insurance for your rolling palace...

I honestly can't remember reading or hearing about a Skoolie burning up, if you have links to articles I would like to read them, But I have seen many S&S's burnt or burning.

[Jolly Roger]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I'll admit it shocked me to get accepted by a major insurer but maybe they're starting to see the light, or perhaps they're just messing with my mind. It's not exactly set in stone. Previous to this policy Nationwide gave me a policy that they cancelled ten days into a six month policy. Take backsies are allowed in insurance.

I've registered on several of those multiple insurance quote finders which don't seem to do anything, but a week later I'm receiving email from several insurance companies with the correct vin #s. I specifically asked them to check and be sure about the policy. It says it's a transit bus on their policy but it says van on the title.
I kept looking because I couldn't deal with a commercial policy. I feel it's bunk to force commercial policies on private owners.

We're bus owners, so now we're a minority that insurance companies discriminate against. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

My bus has been insured with nationwide since I bought it in N.C. 5-years now. No pics. And so far No take back's
My wife and I have been with them for 20-years so maybe it hels and maybe not?
For inspection I have to do the full DOT inspection and so far I have been good. But last year the inspector pointed out a few things he would like to see taken care of before the next inspection.

[Robin97396]

Yeah, Nationwide didn't give any explanation. Just that they were cancelling after selling me a policy. Apparently the sign up for policies works faster than their rejection process. I have no idea what their thought process was.

Previously I have been with a certain insurance company for years, and not being able to get insured by my same insurance company was the beginning of the problem.

No DOT inspections here that I'm aware of. Maybe that's why the insurance companies are pushing for commercial policies, so we would be in effect under DOT rules for safety and maintenance. Sounds reasonable.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Yeah, Nationwide didn't give any explanation. Just that they were cancelling after selling me a policy. Apparently the sign up for policies works faster than their rejection process. I have no idea what their thought process was.

Previously I have been with a certain insurance company for years, and not being able to get insured by my same insurance company was the beginning of the problem.

No DOT inspections here that I'm aware of. Maybe that's why the insurance companies are pushing for commercial policies, so we would be in effect under DOT rules for safety and maintenance. Sounds reasonable.

The insurance policy doesn't have anything to do with DOT and all that.

[Robin97396]

EastCoastCB; Perhaps you should explain to Jolly Roger, "The insurance policy doesn't have anything to do with DOT and all that", not to me? I said I don't have DOT inspections.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Yeah, Nationwide didn't give any explanation. Just that they were cancelling after selling me a policy. Apparently the sign up for policies works faster than their rejection process. I have no idea what their thought process was.

Previously I have been with a certain insurance company for years, and not being able to get insured by my same insurance company was the beginning of the problem.

No DOT inspections here that I'm aware of. Maybe that's why the insurance companies are pushing for commercial policies, so we would be in effect under DOT rules for safety and maintenance. Sounds reasonable.

That's what I was responding to.

[Robin97396]

No worries EastCoastCB. I'm just saying some builds scare me to think that they will be on the road someday. I'm not talking about the builds I've seen on this site. I'm not an engineer, just an old diesel specialist. Most people here have excellent skills in fabrication and mechanics. There are some builds that are more extreme and of questionable safety. As have been said many times on this site, there don't seem to be a lot of schoolies burning up or having problems on the road. The problem is getting and keeping insurance. I'd like to identify why skoolies are singled out as being dangerous.

[EastCoastCB]

When one looks at how RV's are constructed, any school bus conversion is an improvement, imo.
And no worries here, enjoying the discourse.

[Robin97396]

Are our school bus axles actually significantly narrower than a commercial bus? I keep hearing that recited as a safety factor in these buses, a combination of top heavy builds and a narrower axle than say MCI or other large buses.

[Scooternj]

I don't think so, considering BB built Wanderlodges on bus chassis for years.