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Old 01-31-2019, 10:37 AM   #1
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Bought retired bus, now need to drive it 100 miles

Hello all!

SO I recently bought a bus to convert it into an RV but the problem is, is that I was told there is no way I can get temporary insurance/registration in order to transport it from where it is to my home so I can begin working on it? Doing commercial policy quotes show me $621 dollars a month which is really absurd. I'm not even going to need the insurance for the full month. I have a regular car insurance with state farm and I live in NY, any ideas?

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Old 01-31-2019, 10:43 AM   #2
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Normally we get a "Commercial for Private Use" policy for the build out. Then RV insurance once its converted. Check with your existing car policy and see if they automatically cover you in a new/used purchase for a short (1-2 weeks) period. If you get an expensive policy to get it home, cancel the insurance once you get home for a refund of the unused time. State Farm is who I'm with and they will and DID cover the bus on the trip home fro Seattle to Atl. You will be insured by them whether you buy a new policy or not.
Where is the bus? Fill out your profile in the UserCP so we can better assist you in finding solutions, every state is different.
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Old 01-31-2019, 10:43 AM   #3
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Each state has different regulations. That is to say that not all insurance companies serve all markets. I have insured my bus in California with both AllState and Progressive.

The initial policy I got was a Commercial for Personal Use from Progressive for about $50/month.

I then switched over to AllState RV insurance once it was registered in Vermont (6 weeks from purchase to tags and title) with a California address.

But beware - this was for a bus that was registered with a California address. Each state is different. You will have different results. Best when asking about insurance, is to include what state you want to register/insure it in.
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Old 01-31-2019, 10:46 AM   #4
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It's located in Stamford CT and my house is located in New York. So if State Farm does cover new car purchases, how would I present this to the NY/CT DMV?
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Old 01-31-2019, 10:49 AM   #5
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It's located in Stamford CT and my house is located in New York. So if State Farm does cover new car purchases, how would I present this to the NY/CT DMV?
Why would you deal with either of them if you are legally transporting your bus that is covered under your existing policy and has a temporary tag applied. Ct is a stickler for DMV enforcement, so I would buy a temp tag to get it home.
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Old 01-31-2019, 10:49 AM   #6
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Welcome,

You will find that insurance offerings and regulations vary notably by carrier and state.

I have insured three buses with State Farm with good success.

New vehicle purchases are automatically covered for 14 days under my existing policies. Marc, down in Georgia, has mentioned that he gets 7 days coverage extension on new purchases.

Another member told us that their policy extended to New purchases but commercial type vehicles are excluded.

So..... To start with, I would suggest that you check with your existing insurance company and see if your existing policy will cover your trip home.
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Old 01-31-2019, 10:49 AM   #7
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It's located in Stamford CT and my house is located in New York. So if State Farm does cover new car purchases, how would I present this to the NY/CT DMV?
If you are going to register with a NY address, then you would need to get a NY policy.

As for registration, like insurance, each state DMV has different requirements for converting from a School Bus to a MH registration. California is very strict, I went the route of converting it without inspection through VT registration.
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Old 01-31-2019, 10:51 AM   #8
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Why would you deal with either of them if you are legally transporting your bus that is covered under your existing policy and has a temporary tag applied. Ct is a stickler for DMV enforcement, so I would buy a temp tag to get it home.
When I called both DMV's I was told the bus had to be on the policy ID card, is this not true?
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Old 01-31-2019, 10:53 AM   #9
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Why would you deal with either of them if you are legally transporting your bus that is covered under your existing policy and has a temporary tag applied. Ct is a stickler for DMV enforcement, so I would buy a temp tag to get it home.
See above comment, I forgot how to quote on these fourms lol
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Old 01-31-2019, 10:56 AM   #10
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When I called both DMV's I was told the bus had to be on the policy ID card, is this not true?
If your State Farm office will insure it for the trip home remember that buses are basically invisible on the road to LEO. You have to drive like a complete idiot to get pulled over in a bus, they often don't do more than the speed limit. I drove over 3k miles with no tag , only my current insurance policy, a bill of sale and a signed title. Registration , in the great scheme of things, is minor compared to insurance requirements. I think we have a member here who has been driving unregistered for years.
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:00 AM   #11
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If your State Farm office will insure it for the trip home remember that buses are basically invisible on the road to LEO. You have to drive like a complete idiot to get pulled over in a bus, they often don't do more than the speed limit. I drove over 3k miles with no tag , only my current insurance policy, a bill of sale and a signed title. Registration , in the great scheme of things, is minor compared to insurance requirements. I think we have a member here who has been driving unregistered for years.
Oh wow. How would I find out if my policy covers new purchases? Do I say it's a bus or do I just say it's a new vehicle purchase.

Also you do recommend going on local roads or highways.

Also last question, did you drive with or without a CDL?
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:02 AM   #12
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Oh wow. How would I find out if my policy covers new purchases? Do I say it's a bus or do I just say it's a new vehicle purchase.
Call your insurance company and ask them. Be honest - last thing you want is an incident and them not covering it because information was occluded.
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:08 AM   #13
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Oh wow. How would I find out if my policy covers new purchases? Do I say it's a bus or do I just say it's a new vehicle purchase.

Also you do recommend going on local roads or highways.
Take the highway. In my case, State Farm said they would NOT insure my bus while it was a bus, once it was converted they would then insure it under an RV policy. When I questioned them about the 7 day coverage on ALL new vehicle purchase, ALL meaning all , including the bus they won't insure. Call your agent and ask these questions to get the best answer for your particular issue. State Farm in Washington insured Steves bus while it was a bus, but not here in Ga.
Once the bus has been decommissioned it is no longer considered a commercial vehicle and thus a CDL is not required. Now some states are picky and require the seats to be removed so as not to allow 16 or more passengers.
Bottom line is get insurance, drive it like an adult and you will have no issues getting home. If you do happen to get pulled over just explain the real deal, you just bought this, here's my BOS and signed title and proof of insurance.Unless he is a real dick cop, you won't have to worry about a thing.
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:08 AM   #14
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For my latest two buses, I emailed my insurance agent and asked "I am purchasing a vehicle vin#123456789. Can you please confirm that coverage from policy#1234 extends to this purchase for 14days?".

I carried a copy of the email exchange and my insurance card from my existing policy. It worked here but, as I mentioned, things do vary considerably by state.
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:21 AM   #15
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Take the highway. In my case, State Farm said they would NOT insure my bus while it was a bus, once it was converted they would then insure it under an RV policy. When I questioned them about the 7 day coverage on ALL new vehicle purchase, ALL meaning all , including the bus they won't insure. Call your agent and ask these questions to get the best answer for your particular issue. State Farm in Washington insured Steves bus while it was a bus, but not here in Ga.
Once the bus has been decommissioned it is no longer considered a commercial vehicle and thus a CDL is not required. Now some states are picky and require the seats to be removed so as not to allow 16 or more passengers.
Bottom line is get insurance, drive it like an adult and you will have no issues getting home. If you do happen to get pulled over just explain the real deal, you just bought this, here's my BOS and signed title and proof of insurance.Unless he is a real dick cop, you won't have to worry about a thing.
Well I just called my agent, he was really rude, and he said that this information is wrong, coverage does not extend to another newly purchased vehicle and hung up on me. I didn't even get to the part where I said it was a bus
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:24 AM   #16
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Well I just called my agent, he was really rude, and he said that this information is wrong, coverage does not extend to another newly purchased vehicle and hung up on me. I didn't even get to the part where I said it was a bus
Start looking for a new agent.
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:29 AM   #17
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Start looking for a new agent.
Alright I'll ask my other agent and see what he says. But, which other insurance company have people gone with to transport their vehicles?
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:31 AM   #18
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Start looking for a new agent.
Absolutely!

No need to tolerate rudeness when you are trying to spend your $$. Take your business elsewhere.
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:32 AM   #19
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Alright I'll ask my other agent and see what he says. But, which other insurance company have people gone with to transport their vehicles?
The best procedures so far has been to get a Commercial for Private use policy while you are building it out. Most independent agents end up getting you insured through progressive. It seems it is easier to do this through an agent and not directly with Progressive.
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Old 01-31-2019, 11:41 AM   #20
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The best procedures so far has been to get a Commercial for Private use policy while you are building it out. Most independent agents end up getting you insured through progressive. It seems it is easier to do this through an agent and not directly with Progressive.
This is just to funny. I called my other agent and she said State Farm does not insure buses and that my policy only extends when I'm selling my 2005 car, not when I'm adding a vehicle. It's funny because when this bus was in service, the insurance card showed state farm.

Time to talk to progressive!
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