Skoolie Fam! Just wanted to share my experience getting insurance for the drive home - PRE-CONVERSION - with Progressive!
Based on everything I've read (thanks Skoolie Fam!) - we need a "Commercial Vehicle for Personal Use" Liability Policy. Those are the magic words apparently. You will get a different policy with a different carrier when your conversion is complete.
My experience:
1. Go online to Progressive Commercial (
https://www.progressivecommercial.com/ ) and start the "quote online process" by entering your zip and selecting "Commercial Auto" - click GET QUOTE.
2. On the next page, in the upper left, there is a little "REQUEST A CALL" button. DO THIS!
(Don’t waste your time calling the 1800 number - I spent a total of 40 minutes, 3 separate calls on hold until I clicked this REQUEST A CALL button - then I got a call in 1 minute and was talking to an agent in 4 minutes.)
3. Be super nice to your agent - they're your friend now
Key points: You have a "Commercial Vehicle for Personal Use" - tell them you're going to use it for storage on your property - “hey it's cheaper than a shipping container or free-standing shed!”
4.THE BIG QUESTION: They will ask "What kind of vehicle is this?" I started with "1995 International" and when he asked again I just told him "it's an old school bus, we got a killer deal on it!"
My agent was super cool about it, and didn’t skip a beat when I said “school bus”
Don’t mention anything about your conversion, RVs, motor homes, or anything like that - this policy is ONLY for the bus pre-conversion. You will have to call a different insurance company (I hear State Farm) for the RV / Conversion insurance.
5. Provide your VIN#, all drivers’ information (name, age, birthdate, driver’s licence #, etc)
6. They will run some numbers, and ask some questions about the vehicle:
- how far will the vehicle be driven? (I gave them the miles i will drive the bus home from auction, in my case 250mi)
- what will it be used for? (storage)
- where will it be parked? - (your property)
- does it have a wheelchair lift? (yes/no)
- does it still have all of the seats? (i said maybe, but i will take them out when i pick up the bus, my agent entered “no” on his side)
- just stick to your guns that this is an innocent little storage bus, no big deal!!
7. I opted out of any additional insurance, just stuck to a 6mo. Liability policy covering other’s property - I was off the phone with my policy in 26minutes - $260 for coverage!
I think I got the order of operations right there - bottom line, be friendly, stick to your guns, NO this is not an RV, it is a Commercial Vehicle for Personal Use - Liability Policy (available in 6mo, 12mo, MAYBE 1mo policies)
These guys have a pretty good guide also -
https://www.skoolielivin.com/school-...ion-insurance/
GOOD LUCK - DRIVE SAFE - HAVE FUN!!!