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Old 01-27-2016, 03:55 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
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Unhappy Local broker, GEICO & Nationwide will not insure

I'm having a pretty hard time getting (bare minimum liability) insurance for my skoolie so far. I tried a local broker, GEICO and Nationwide and others and am having no luck so far. This is a 35 foot International Thomas bus that has already been converted into an RV, though I am about to start some renovations. The title says the body type is BU.

Online research has produced these, though I don't know if they are any good and am interested in feedback:

Get a Quote, Policy Login, Make a Payment
American Modern Insurance Group
RV Insurance | Motorhome Insurance | Blue Sky RV Insurance
RV America Insurance | Motorhome Insurance & Quotes Online
https://www.trustedchoice.com/rv-ins...us-conversion/
https://www.aisinsurance.com/product...onversion.aspx

I also read through a long thread or two here on the forum and was not able to garner any additional leads. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I would be most thankful! I'm in TN.

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Old 01-27-2016, 04:20 PM   #2
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I had some trouble too at first, found this company called Auto Insurance Specialists. They might be able to help you, just be honest about what you have and you can get at the very least a commercial policy before your bus gets re-titled as an RV.
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Old 01-27-2016, 04:33 PM   #3
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I'm on the phone with these people...

https://www.aisinsurance.com/product...ersion.aspx#t3

...and they are saying they should be able to get me a policy through National General for $285 a year!
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Old 01-28-2016, 11:37 AM   #4
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Just curious as I'm about to be in the same boat (bus) so to speak, but has anyone tried Good Sam insurance? After all they are an RV/camping oriented business.
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Old 01-28-2016, 12:37 PM   #5
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They said that they'll insure mine if its registered and titled as an rv, and they will send someone out to look at it.
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Old 01-28-2016, 01:24 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyboyHPD View Post
Just curious as I'm about to be in the same boat (bus) so to speak, but has anyone tried Good Sam insurance? After all they are an RV/camping oriented business.
After calling numerous companies including USAA & Progressive who I had for my Class C the only place that would insure me was Good Sam.
& they set me up with National General, the only stipulations they had were "It could not be a van chassis & they wanted to know if any mods had been done to the suspension .
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Old 01-28-2016, 02:47 PM   #7
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Try Farm Bureau too if National General fails. Pretty sure Bansil is in TN. Can't remember who he uses though.
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Old 01-28-2016, 03:22 PM   #8
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I have all my cars and motorcycle insured through Farm Bureau. They flat out told me they wont insure any kind of conversion. Period.
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Old 01-28-2016, 03:27 PM   #9
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Don't go through online stuff. With a BU on the title you *may* need a commercial policy. Not as bad as it sounds.
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Old 01-28-2016, 10:00 PM   #10
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my first bus, the 97 IH is insured through progressive, commercial truck liability only, $400 a year, scares me since I do not have insurance on the second one yet
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Old 01-29-2016, 08:30 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slaughridge85 View Post
I have all my cars and motorcycle insured through Farm Bureau. They flat out told me they wont insure any kind of conversion. Period.
I have all my cars and house insured with FB plus the bus. I guess it's a local thing. Our bus is titled motorhome, our agent did do a walkthrough.
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Old 01-29-2016, 12:07 PM   #12
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Our Farm Bureau agent told us that they had to submit it into a high risk pool made specifically for special circumstances such as a bus conversion. They also said that the law says that insurance agencies are required by law to provide liability insurance to everyone. Our policy says it is a "business" policy but does not say "commercial." We are titled as a "house car" in NC which required an inspection for the title to be changed, but the insurance company didn't even need pictures if I remember correctly.
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A gal, a guy, three cats, two dogs, one rabbit, and one goat, traveling the country together.
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Old 02-05-2016, 03:13 PM   #13
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I just spoke with my nationwide agent about my future conversion and he said he'd have no problem insuring mine. But I've been with him for 16 years and he knows that I'm a bus mechanic.

We got into the topic of why insurance companies are dropping "skoolies" and he pretty much said that it's because they are being built by amateurs with out any mechanical or electrical knowledge, being made out of the cheapest materials, and are being used as full time houses and not as "recreational vehicles".

He told me that once I get it emptied, weigh it, then weigh it again once it's completed (most truck stops will do this). Have a licensed electrician certify the electrical work, and (this part doesn't apply to me because I'm a mechanic) get a known garage to give a statement on whether they deem the vehicle to be safe or not. He said if I do all this, then we should not have an issue with the under writers at nationwide.
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Old 02-05-2016, 04:36 PM   #14
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I hope that's the case! We had a "definitely we can insure you" response from National General, so we converted our bus and then they said "oh wait nevermind just kidding."
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A gal, a guy, three cats, two dogs, one rabbit, and one goat, traveling the country together.
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Old 02-05-2016, 04:42 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by onenationundergoat View Post
I hope that's the case! We had a "definitely we can insure you" response from National General, so we converted our bus and then they said "oh wait nevermind just kidding."
Y'all aren't too far down the road from me, so if I do run into problems when the time comes, I'll come talk to your agent
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Old 02-08-2016, 11:26 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by minty View Post
I'm on the phone with these people...

https://www.aisinsurance.com/product...ersion.aspx#t3

...and they are saying they should be able to get me a policy through National General for $285 a year!
I was able to get a policy with National General through AIS Insurance. They had me send them photos, but it was generally painless.
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Old 02-09-2016, 09:26 AM   #17
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We're going through The Hartford. One phone call, no pictures, no walk-through. The lady we spoke with couldn't find an RV on their list with our make and model, so she just entered "International Motorhome" and left it at that. We also verified with The Hartford that they won't mind if we install a wood stove - there wasn't anything in our policy about it, and they verified that they don't have a policy about that so it isn't a problem. There was some confusion because we'd called via an AARP-related number at The Hartford, but once we got it straightened out that we weren't AARP, they removed the requirement that we submit our AARP number to them...and it didn't change the policy or premium at all. We're paying about $38/month, and get all kinds of benefits like towing for large vehicles (!!!!), hotel and rental car, etc. So I'm pretty happy with our policy so far. Of course, we haven't made a claim on it yet...

Before my partner in this project talked to The Hartford, however, we got nothing but the run-around. We tried the State Farm I've insured my house and car through for years, nothing. Progressive wouldn't touch it. Farmer's said they'd have to call their main office and get back to me, but never did. I don't remember who else we tried, but nobody would give us the time of day once they found out she wasn't a pre-fab RV.
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Old 02-09-2016, 09:55 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VeldatheWonderbus View Post
Farmer's said they'd have to call their main office and get back to me, but never did. I don't remember who else we tried, but nobody would give us the time of day once they found out she wasn't a pre-fab RV.
Farmers, at least in NJ, goes through Foremost for their RV insurance. I found this out, talking to the local Farmer's agent. And, because its a DIY, Foremost won't touch it.
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Old 02-25-2016, 09:22 AM   #19
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I was accepted with National General (Goog Sam) 1-800-325-1088 for my 1995 Thomas.
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Old 03-03-2016, 05:17 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by minty View Post
I'm having a pretty hard time getting (bare minimum liability) insurance for my skoolie so far. I tried a local broker, GEICO and Nationwide and others and am having no luck so far. This is a 35 foot International Thomas bus that has already been converted into an RV, though I am about to start some renovations. The title says the body type is BU.

Online research has produced these, though I don't know if they are any good and am interested in feedback:

RV America Insurance | Motorhome Insurance & Quotes Online

I just got an email back from RVAInsurance:

Hi Heather,

Thank you for your interest in an RV Insurance Quote. Unfortunately we no longer have a market for school bus conversions.

Best regards,


We tried the Good Sam option - NGIC - and they said no go because of the "condition" per the underwriters but they wouldn't say which condition.
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