Is anyone using their state's Risk Pool for insurance?

[Hotpuppy]

I am contemplating selling my current coach and beginning a new conversion on a skoolie.

In checking around it seems that nobody wants to insure a school bus, of any kind, or anything that looks like a school bus.

I seem to recall it was a PITA to insure my first skoolie in the 90's.

I also know that each state has an insurer or last resort that is mandated/regulated for liability coverage.

In Texas it is the Texas Auto Insurance Program Association aka TAIPA. Each state has one. In Texas you are required to have two rejections for a policy to be written, but there is not any proof required. So two phone calls would work.

Has anyone gone that route?

I'm also curious if anyone has filed a complaint with their Department of Insurance? Our buses are legally titled, legally owned, and inspected to be roadworthy. That should be the beginning and the end of the insurance company's concern. Any further delving into what it looks like, how we use it, what it used to be constitutes a form of discrimination that could have them open to discipline. I see plenty of regular cars and trucks that are a bigger safety risk than our buses.

[john61ct]

Every state is different.

Many travelers just re-domicile, but a vehicle just needs to be registered / insured where it is "garaged", not in the owner's state.

[Hotpuppy]

To clarify I'm really asking if anyone is using their state risk pool.

As for coverage, my opinion of it is below. I work in the insurance industry and am licensed in 27 of the 35 licensing states for claims adjusters. I do learn new things every day, but there is more consistency from state to state than differences. The differences tend to be in the minor details.

Every state has a risk pool for property and auto. These are "insurers of last resort" that are intended to provide an option for individuals and risks that carriers are reluctant to write for one reason or another. Skoolies fit the profile perfectly. Carriers are feeding us a bunch of environmentally friendly bull by-product about why they won't write a policy for an otherwise legally titled, registered and inspected vehicle.

While someone could re-domicile, I would expect the insurance policy to match the title and registration. The carrier (insurance company) is authorized to issue policies on a per-state basis and while they are typically some variation of an ISO policy (standard policy) they are required to be approved by each State Department of Insurance. The vehicle is titled property in a specific state. Not all carriers write policies in all states. Even though you may be insured through Big Red Insurance Co if you do some digging you will find that you are insured with Big Red County Mutual Insurance of East Black Bird Texas, etc. Each carrier typically has several operating companies doing business under the brand umbrella. They normally have rate/risk criteria for each company. This ensures that they meet that states particular and peculiar requirements. Generally, the states now require proof insurance with DMV transactions.

This is a different animal from having a multi-state coverage claim. i.e. a Texas vehicle and policy involved in a wreck in Florida.

Lastly - I can't stress enough the value of printing out and actually reading your policy, before you need to file a claim. If you don't understand something ask your agent.... they have a fiduciary responsibility to you and an obligation to explain the policy to you. The vast majority are good people btw.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by Hotpuppy

To clarify I'm really asking if anyone is using their state risk pool.

Yes and I hope we get answers to that.

From hundreds of real-life threads across dozens of forums from the POV of the (prospective) buyer

including self-built conversions based on passenger vans, ex-commercial vans and trucks, cargo trailers etc etc

The one consistent success factor - besides trying from a different state jurisdiction - has been a knowledgeable agent, often specializing in mobile-dwelling travelers.

Those just calling the insurance company sales lines can get turned down by every single one, but then they find an agent with a solution.

And I know you're focused on liability only here (right?) but there is also a huge need for comprehensive + buildout/ contents coverage, ideally at a specific agreed-value with reasonable depreciation.

Without an established conversion company doing the build, that is extremely rare to find.

There is a huge business opportunity here.

So, sorry if you can't help make things easier and increase the HowTo knowledge of all these related communities,

but I'm hoping you can, even just a bit.

If you are willing to do so, a separate thread will be fine of course.

[Hotpuppy]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Without an established conversion company doing the build, that is extremely rare to find.

There is a huge business opportunity here.

I don't think it's that big of a business opportunity. We represent a very small portion of a small market (RV). It's a specialty within a specialty and that makes it difficult to quantify the risk.

As for the conversion being done by a "conversion company".... I call BS. The work they do is better than Stick & Staple Inc, but only marginally. I think this is discriminatory tactic used to deny coverage.

That is like saying you won't write a policy on an old Chevy truck because it has aftermarket seats and carpet in it. Or that you won't insure a work van because there are tools loose in it that might fly forward and injure occupants.

I am focused on Liability because that's the legal requirement and the obstacle.

Comprehensive is nice to have, but I think it's just not as big of a deal for me. Unless you have a stated value policy it would be difficult to properly insure a conversion RV. It's easier to write comprehensive on a professional conversion because you have a Fair Market Value in the invoice. It's hard to do that on a DIY conversion. Insurers are always leery of Betterment where an insured can profit from a loss. I don't want to go down that rathole because I don't think it's important right now.

What is really clear is that some people get coverage some of the time and others don't. It is not supposed to work like that.

[robert fulton]

I had Progressive and got a letter a couple of days ago That said they aren’t going to renew my coverage when it runs out in March. Now I’m finding it hard to get coverage anywhere.

[Tango]

That seems to be the standard MO for frikkin Progressive.


"Ya, we'll take yer money...but if you ever want to actually drive it...we'll cancel you."

We should run a Poll here to see just how many people they have screwed so far.

[EastCoastCB]

Way back in the day USAA denied me coverage after a fender bender. They were basically like "here's our legal team, come at me bro".
From then on all insurance is to me is a piece of paper to show johnny law so I can drive.

[sutphinins]

You're unlikely to get anything other than Liability coverage on a converted bus. So far I haven't had luck trying to get comprehensive applied to any of the quotes I've done with National General.