Typical Process for Titles and Insurance? - Page 3

grimmwerks · 02-22-2018, 12:18 PM

Think I was an idiot with progressive commercial - mentioned the rennovation and they said they don't do that, suggested someone local who also said they won't do that.

So do I try again with progressive commercial and not mention the conversion or am I already in their system as a no go? I'm too honest for my good.

Robin97396 · 02-22-2018, 03:20 PM

Go to an "INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENT" and zip your lip. Learn how to change the subject. Discuss the weather. Ask the agent if they bowl. Just about anything breaks their routine train of thought.
We don't ever recommend lying to get insurance, because if they find out you lied they keep your money and don't cover you when and if you're in an accident.
Private vehicles have passenger limits so reduce the number of seats in that bus. Call it a tailgater vehicle or whatever you want, but do not talk about modifying it in any way. Not modifying it today anyway. Insurance companies claim we make these buses into top heavy dangerous vehicles, and that's just not true.
My bus is titled as a “van.” Now that I’ve got living quarters established in this van it’s easy to change to RV plates and successively RV insurance. Most try to do that change at the two year mark when you have to buy tags for your van plates.

PNW_Steve · 02-22-2018, 03:39 PM

Robin hit it pretty much on the head.

I do have one minor difference of thought.

I think that there are a few out there that really do try and put 500 gallon water tanks on the roof and cast iron wood stoves that are not bolted down as well as other attempts to qualify for the Darwin Awards.

I suspect that the few I am speaking of have caused some of the bias against Skoolies.

Like Robin suggested, find an independent broker. They will shop multiple carriers for you.

I would also recommend checking with your local State Farm agent. A handful of us have had good luck with them.

2martins · 02-22-2018, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twigg

For some reason unknown to mankind, that insurance seems easier to get if you go to Progressive Commercial ... online.

Fill in the quote request form, get a quote and a reference number and call the phone number the website gives you.

For me it was a painless 15 minute process and I had the Insurance Card in email the following day.

I'm not totally sure how to answer the questions to get the result I want, which is to be able to drive the bus home legally.

Did select the BUS icon?

2martins · 02-22-2018, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twigg

For some reason unknown to mankind, that insurance seems easier to get if you go to Progressive Commercial ... online.

Fill in the quote request form, get a quote and a reference number and call the phone number the website gives you.

For me it was a painless 15 minute process and I had the Insurance Card in email the following day.

Just called the local office. What do you do? is the vehicle titled in the business name? and on and on. according to her, there is no such thing as a commercial policy for personal use.

Twigg · 02-22-2018, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2martins

Just called the local office. What do you do? is the vehicle titled in the business name? and on and on. according to her, there is no such thing as a commercial policy for personal use.

This is what happens when you call the office, and the reason why we tell people Do Not Call The Office.

On the Progressive Commercial website you will start answering the Business questions. The first question is about the type of business.

You type in "Per" and a drop-down will appear from which you can select "Personal Use Only".

2martins · 02-22-2018, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twigg

This is what happens when you call the office, and the reason why we tell people Do Not Call The Office.

On the Progressive Commercial website you will start answering the Business questions. The first question is about the type of business.

You type in "Per" and a drop-down will appear from which you can select "Personal Use Only".

I just said never mind and called the national number on the website. I need to get the damn thing home and then if they drop me I can get insurance once I have finished converting it even though it's already titled RV.

2martins · 02-22-2018, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by o1marc

I just did an online app. with progressive for a 2001 Bluebird All American with value of $20K and they quoted me $618 a year for full coverage. That is much better than I would have expected.

wow they want that from me for liabilty with higher than minimum limits.

Did you click the bus icon and say the seats were removed? i did, because that was true and they told me they can't ever do ANY school buses except for like a church maybe.

I have to say it's an international so they know it's a bus. i did not say the conversion word. she said her system kicked it out as soon as she put in the seats were removed.

grimmwerks · 02-23-2018, 01:48 PM

Steve - that's exactly what I did - I asked for commercial insurance for personal use, and it gave me a quote after I filled out the info. Then I had to call to finalize -- here's what happened as it's long.... I'm about ready to give up on this and I have a bus waiting for me in NJ:

I filled out the progressive commercial 'commercial for personal use' online and got a quote of 343 and to call in. I did. They asked me what it's for - it's a 1990 MCI 102 c3. They asked me why I need that - I said here in town we have this one day a year (it's true) where everybody does a sort of give-back program -- there's many painted buses. I said something along the lines of driving seniors to our facility to put on a show. They asked if I charged for that. I said no. It all seemed like it was going to all pan out, the guy said we can do it, then asked why I came to progressive, do we have progressive for our cars? I said no, we've got USAA -- which stopped him cold. He said for this I'd need to talk to USAA first, but he gave me his direct line and said if it didn't work out with them I could go through him. Okay... so I called USAA and they couldn't put it under my car insurance because of the size. They then told me to call progressive insurance for USAA members - I did, but it wasn't commercial, they couldn't see my original quote. I asked can I call the guy I spoke to direct and he said sure. I then tried but went to voicemail 3x. Finally called progressive again, another person answered. I gave the spiel about what happened - they said they could see the notes Alex left and did I want to get in touch with him. I said I just wanted to finalize it so either talk to him or you. They put me on hold and after said "I don't know what Alex told you but we can't do it for you" and gave me local people.
I actually SPOKE to a local person two days ago and they said THEY couldn't do it either, so now I'm freaking out as I've got a bus in NJ waiting for me to transport it to CT.

2martins · 02-27-2018, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grimmwerks

Steve - that's exactly what I did - I asked for commercial insurance for personal use, and it gave me a quote after I filled out the info. Then I had to call to finalize -- here's what happened as it's long.... I'm about ready to give up on this and I have a bus waiting for me in NJ:

I filled out the progressive commercial 'commercial for personal use' online and got a quote of 343 and to call in. I did. They asked me what it's for - it's a 1990 MCI 102 c3. They asked me why I need that - I said here in town we have this one day a year (it's true) where everybody does a sort of give-back program -- there's many painted buses. I said something along the lines of driving seniors to our facility to put on a show. They asked if I charged for that. I said no. It all seemed like it was going to all pan out, the guy said we can do it, then asked why I came to progressive, do we have progressive for our cars? I said no, we've got USAA -- which stopped him cold. He said for this I'd need to talk to USAA first, but he gave me his direct line and said if it didn't work out with them I could go through him. Okay... so I called USAA and they couldn't put it under my car insurance because of the size. They then told me to call progressive insurance for USAA members - I did, but it wasn't commercial, they couldn't see my original quote. I asked can I call the guy I spoke to direct and he said sure. I then tried but went to voicemail 3x. Finally called progressive again, another person answered. I gave the spiel about what happened - they said they could see the notes Alex left and did I want to get in touch with him. I said I just wanted to finalize it so either talk to him or you. They put me on hold and after said "I don't know what Alex told you but we can't do it for you" and gave me local people.
I actually SPOKE to a local person two days ago and they said THEY couldn't do it either, so now I'm freaking out as I've got a bus in NJ waiting for me to transport it to CT.

Same problem here. Have you found anything other options yet? Local broker couldn't find anything. He thought he had with progressive, but it was actually only commercial use and when he double checked with the underwriter about personal use, he said they said NO.

I'm starting to panic.

Robin97396 · 02-27-2018, 03:07 PM

I know you're tired of hearing from me on this subject. I do live in Oregon, after all. Promise this is the last time I'll write to you on this subject.

My insurance is through a broker, but only after having three policies cancelled after several weeks. The broker I used had never heard of this "commercial policy for private use" before. Instead of saying no, they actually looked it up and there it was. In 30 years they had never seen this policy.

If you'd like you could have your broker call my broker. Sounds like Wall Street.

Brokers, like all of us, determine that they have seen it all. Your broker may not even check for this policy the rest of us are on, and the person he calls may also not have heard of the right policy. There are numerous insurance brokers out there and as you can see by now applying directly to insurance companies doesn't work for all of us. Why it works for some is unknown.

I don't know it all, but I've seen this process work numerous times in numerous states. If you get a broker that thinks he knows it all, get another broker and ask them to check the drop down menu on their computer while searching for the policy. It's on there.

PNW_Steve · 02-27-2018, 03:22 PM

Sorry I am having a senior moment and cannot think of the proper term. There is a form of liability insurance that covers the drive specifically. It covers you on any vehicle that is registered to you. The vehicles must be registered to you and it does not cover any other drivers.

I wonder if this may warrant further investigation?

2martins · 02-27-2018, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I know you're tired of hearing from me on this subject. I do live in Oregon, after all. Promise this is the last time I'll write to you on this subject.

My insurance is through a broker, but only after having three policies cancelled after several weeks. The broker I used had never heard of this "commercial policy for private use" before. Instead of saying no, they actually looked it up and there it was. In 30 years they had never seen this policy.

If you'd like you could have your broker call my broker. Sounds like Wall Street.

Brokers, like all of us, determine that they have seen it all. Your broker may not even check for this policy the rest of us are on, and the person he calls may also not have heard of the right policy. There are numerous insurance brokers out there and as you can see by now applying directly to insurance companies doesn't work for all of us. Why it works for some is unknown.

I don't know it all, but I've seen this process work numerous times in numerous states. If you get a broker that thinks he knows it all, get another broker and ask them to check the drop down menu on their computer while searching for the policy. It's on there.

I just talked to an Allstate that insists that she cannot write a commerical vehicle for personal use policy. It's one or the other. She will check on the personal policy for me, but seemed very doubtful because USAA wouldn't insure it because of the weight. I never mentioned "bus," I just gave her the VIN number. I said, well, a lot of people do the commercial policy for personal use but she said there was nothing like that available to her.

Robin97396 · 02-27-2018, 04:59 PM

You talked to an insurance agent, again. You need to talk to an "independent insurance agent" of which there are many listed in your phone book. The independent insurance agents deal with all the insurance companies including the ones we haven't heard of before.

Some of the independents may summarily say no too, but that means in their experience what you're seeking is not available. It is available because a lot of us already have it. Usually not directly from any of the major insurers though. It's like going to Progressive through the back door.

Mine is Progressive on the insurance card, but it's actually through some trucker's insurance that I've never heard of before. That is the kind of stuff an independent insurance agent can do for you. They do the hunting for the right policy. If they don't find it, consider it a fail on their part. Go to another independent insurance broker/agent. They don't make money unless they're able to find you a policy, and it doesn't cost you a nickel extra.

2martins · 02-27-2018, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin97396

You talked to an insurance agent, again. You need to talk to an "independent insurance agent" of which there are many listed in your phone book. The independent insurance agents deal with all the insurance companies including the ones we haven't heard of before.

Some of the independents may summarily say no too, but that means in their experience what you're seeking is not available. It is available because a lot of us already have it. Usually not directly from any of the major insurers though. It's like going to Progressive through the back door.

Mine is Progressive on the insurance card, but it's actually through some trucker's insurance that I've never heard of before. That is the kind of stuff an independent insurance agent can do for you. They do the hunting for the right policy. If they don't find it, consider it a fail on their part. Go to another independent insurance broker/agent. They don't make money unless they're able to find you a policy, and it doesn't cost you a nickel extra.

I left messages for some brokers, emailed others, and managed to get TWO people today to agree to LOOK for insurance for me. Re- sent emails from Friday that did not get responded to yet. I described it to the last one as "it's basically a really big van."

Robin97396 · 02-27-2018, 06:46 PM

I said mine is a fishing cabin, and it is registered as a van on the title. Others have said theirs was a tailgate vehicle. You just need some plausible intended purpose, without saying conversion or camper, because people don't buy stuff like this without having a purpose in mind. Movable storage is a popular reason or a workshop for some craft thingy. If you say you don't know what you're going to do with the bus it puts up a red flag. Have a benign purpose for it.

I used to haul my kids to school activities in our bus. I don't think the kids appreciated it very much, but it was a nice place to rest during long activities.

2martins · 02-27-2018, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I said mine is a fishing cabin, and it is registered as a van on the title. Others have said theirs was a tailgate vehicle. You just need some plausible intended purpose, without saying conversion or camper, because people don't buy stuff like this without having a purpose in mind. Movable storage is a popular reason or a workshop for some craft thingy. If you say you don't know what you're going to do with the bus it puts up a red flag. Have a benign purpose for it.

I used to haul my kids to school activities in our bus. I don't think the kids appreciated it very much, but it was a nice place to rest during long activities.

OMG I think I finally got it! Cross everything please! I called AIS back. The first person I talked to tried to get it done thru National General which only does completed conversions. I asked to speak to the commercial side and they are totally cool with it being a bus with no seats. She said the price was firm as she ran my DL and it was $595/ yr 300k liability if paid all in advance and they will prorate and switch me if I do convert it.

SO relieved!!!! I have never been so excited about paying $600 for a piece of paper in my life!!! I REALLY hope this works as she seemed very confident that I would. She's done a lot of them apparently. She said she's starting to want a bus!

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Robin97396 · 02-27-2018, 07:10 PM

Cool, glad to hear it. Yeah, it's a very stressful thing when nobody wants to take your money for insurance. I was so frustrated back then.

Mine was $400 the first year and $300 per year since. It's just liability but I'm legal.

If you're thinking about using Good Sam for a towing insurance, they will also try to get your bus insurance business now. It's easy to get more offers when you don't need them.

2martins · 02-27-2018, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Cool, glad to hear it. Yeah, it's a very stressful thing when nobody wants to take your money for insurance. I was so frustrated back then.

Mine was $400 the first year and $300 per year since. It's just liability but I'm legal.

If you're thinking about using Good Sam for a towing insurance, they will also try to get your bus insurance business now. It's easy to get more offers when you don't need them.

I did buy Good Sam platinum for roadside because they specifically day they will how a bus. They would not insure me until it's an actual RV, not just titled MH in Oregon. I am not worried about all that but I was freaking out about getting it all the way home next week when the mountain passes are supposed to get up to now they are saying FIVE FEET of snow Thur. - Sat. It's one thing to drive a bus. It's another thing to do it the week after 5 feet of snow. And my personal car insurance would not cover me after March 9th because I bought it Feb. 8th. Without specific insurance for this vehicle I would be very pressured to keep driving even if the smart thing to do would be to park it and wait til the roads are better. That's not good for anyone. There is RV storage in Susanville if I can make it that far. I may be buying lots of bags of sand for the sanders in Oregon.....

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Robin97396 · 02-27-2018, 07:46 PM

I recently bought two sets of chains for this bus. Not that expensive either. Rear chains ($95) for snow and some front wheel diamond chains ($159) if steering becomes a problem. With a little luck my chains will stay shiny, bright and unused.

Yeah, the weather has been building up for a while. Now that you've got insurance and gone through all that stress, is it possible to postpone pickup due to the weather? I know they wouldn't let me start up the pass to Trukee without chains when I was there.

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