Insurance Question

For those who left their truck tandem

They required that I insure the truck and RV as a combo (funny too since they already had my RV policy but insisted on re-writing it).  They were also very clear that if I tow ANYTHING else with the truck... they don't know me.  For now, that seems fair. FYI - I'm registered in NJ as a private truck.

We have CoachNet for road side service.  We recently had a "loss of air" on a tire on the truck.  They sent out service truck w/o problems.  We paid for service.

Everything seems OK with both providers.

Just my two cents.
Russ

I can use my truck for ANY purpose that is not commercial.  I can bobtail it all I want.  I can NOT tow another RV other than mine.  And I can not use it as a "camper" alone without the trailer attached.

My policy document has no other restrictions in it.  I'm getting REALLY tired of "changing rules", if in fact they have changed.

I moved to Farm & City because 1) Poliseek did not support their policyholders when needed, and 2) it was cheaper, with better coverage.

BUT Poliseek had NO RESTRICTIONS on my policy.  None at all - other than commercial.

The issue with calling so close to Christmas is...well, Christmas.  Called four offices and was greeted with voice mail on two and spoke to two.  The second person to entertain my questions was Miller Insurance. She gave me a quote but said she'd have to firm it up with the insurance company before she could write the policy.

Issues:
1. Tandem axle restricts who will write the policy since the insurance companies still see it as a commercial truck
2. Commercial hitch still installed - same as above (Henry's south for the winter so not much I can do there and explained as such)
3. Wanting to use the truck beyond pulling the RV. Explained that this and the Smart car are my only means of transportation.  I have no intentions of traveling in the Smart but will always haul the Smart when I go somewhere.  Also, I have a flatbed trailer.  If I'm working on my RV lot and want to go get a load to pavers I'll use the truck to pull the trailer.  She said all are valid and very good examples of using the truck beyond pulling the 5th wheel.

Now for the ironic issues and I explained as such.  Just because the truck is singled the insurance company no longer sees it as a commercial truck.  Bad thinking because it can still be used commercially if the commercial hitch is installed.

And lastly, sad to say but the insurance companies are taking a more restrictive view of us using class 8 trucks to pull our RVs with.  As always the few bad apples who say it's non-commercial but still operate it commercially from time to time are creating waves for those of use who simply want all the benefits a class 8 truck provides.

Progressive jerked us around every single time I tried to pin them down on this, 4 calls said bobtail okay, 5 calls said bobtail not okay.  Next they told me I was only legal with a RV trailer on the same policy, yet we have not even OWNED a 5ver in over 5 years now.  The policy was specifically for the Volvo itself.  They followed up with "pull whatever you want so long as you aren't making money with it."  Yeah right, I'll put a lot of faith in that after everything else they flip flopped on.

This topic is starting to really piss me off.  If Farm & City is telling everyone they have these restrictions - when they told me otherwise - I'm not covered for MOST of the miles I use my HDT.  I reiterate - I SPECIFICALLY ASKED Farm & City about bobtail and I was covered.  I'm placed with Allied, and my POLICY has nothing in it about not being able to bobtail, and I covered this in excruciating detail with the agency.

Bobtailing was one of many of my questions.  I gave the specific example of running to the in-laws for the weekend (300 miles each way) with out the 5er, just the HDT.  I was assured that it was not a issue as long as I was not doing anything commercial.  I was also told it could not be my daily driver.  I did move the 5er but it was not a requirement.  I was not given the restriction of I could not overnight in the truck.

As stated many times before, if a HDT owner wants definitive answers on this, why they rely on a forum for them?  Call an attorney, pay them an hour for the consult and have them lay out the yes or no answers with your underwriter in writing.  I hate crawling at the feet of lawyers for something like this, but the alternative to simply take an insurance company's word for it is never going to be an option for us again.

On edit referring to Mark's post below:

I've had policies in Montana, Georgia, South Dakota, Alabama and Louisiana.  Progressive could not find the same answers no matter which state we based the policies in.  State Farm policy is underwritten in Louisiana, Volvo is still registered in Montana along with our big trailer.  The rates for Progressive varied within $75 to $100 annually with the same coverages in all the states above.  We kept the same limits each time, far above the bare minimum requirements for any state we've been in.

If you are going to claim you have insurance from XYZ company, also state your Residence State and if you own another vehicle.  Just these two items can totally sway what the agent can quote.

So you may have the circumstances that you qualify for a policy from XYZ company and no one else on the Forum can.

And then Jack won't have to get upset.

Are agents saying one thing but the policies don't reflect that?  Buy the insurance and see what it says????  I don't know.

I just renewed my policy with National Interstate thru the Thum Agency (must be singled, therefore treated as an MDT and so stated on the policy) what ever is being towed/connected to the "toter" is covered, bobtail/personal vehicle use permitted.  I live in Maine and have 4 other vehicles either commercial or personal use registered and insured with "other" underwriters
My 2 cents
John

When I changed from GMAC to Allstate in talking to them they said Allstate would not insure an HDT single or tandem.  However, the agent could get it insured commercially and I suppose big bucks for that.

Since Arizona requires a full fledged class A CDL and the truck still has to be registered commercial no MH option available no matter how modified may have to insure commercially anyway just because of that.  Has anyone ever checked commercial insurance option to do what we want?  Will they do it and is it really that expensive in comparison?
Just wondering.

I did talk to my Allstate agent a few days ago about a quote on a Sterling Bullet 5500.  (I haven't given up on getting a HDT)  Somewhere in that conversation he told me that Allstate could insure any truck up to a 25,000 lb. weight.  I didn't clarify what he meant by 25,000 lbs. because I had already talked to his office about insuring a HDT truck registered as a motor home and I got absolutely no where with them.  Heck, just insuring the fifth wheel with them and me no longer having a sticks and bricks house/address was trying enough.  Trying to communicate with an agent that's not familiar with a fulltiming RVer is difficult enough.  The idea of not having a house is a foreign idea for most people and particularly for an insurance agent.  It probably doesn't help that I have a house in Colorado, work in Texas, but the 5ver will probably never go to Colorado and it's registered in Texas.  My Allstate agent knows this but seems to have a hard time grasping the idea that the 5ver is home and the house isn't !!

Anyhow, I'll resume my search for a suitable policy after the first of the year.  I want to make sure I can get suitable insurance coverage before I spend a bunch of time (and other's) looking for a HDT.  I will want the ability to bobtail with the truck and still be covered.  I do remember that the conversation with the other agent (it may have been Dougherty but I don't remember for sure) involved use of the truck bobtail.  She was concerned about my driving the truck to work everyday.  I did explain to her that I don't go to work everyday (it's 2 to maybe 4 times a month), and that if I was driving the HDT to work it would be because the other vehicle is in the shop.  I tried to seek clarification and was told that you can't drive the truck bobtail but had been told earlier in the conversation that occasional use bobtail was okay.  I don't think she really understood what the limits of the policy were and she was blowing smoke up my arise.  We had already been on the phone a good 10 or 15 minutes in the conversation, this was my first quote on a hypothetical Volvo 770, so I relented and we pressed on so I could hear how much the policy was going to cost.  I can see that unless, a person has a good lead on an agency that is up to speed on a fulltimer's unique requirements and the use of a HDT, this is gonna be a loooooong process.  Thanks again for you folks that have shared you knowledge and insight.  As an outsider looking in with no experience in HDT's there's a lot to consider and your experience and knowledge is of huge importance with us that haven't joined the "darkside" yet.  Thanks again for sharing your insight and knowledge.

My policy is up for renewal in February, I do plan to contact my agent again and have her take another run at it.  You prove that State Farm will write the policy, it appears of being a issue of getting ahold of a educated underwriter or at least a underwriter who is willing to be educated.

I've called Blue Sky RV Insurance and left a message.

All I can say is this is a little disappointing.  I've been following this forum off and on for almost seven years, been to an HDT Rally, and even know a few of the other HDT owners.  I knew there could be challenges in the registration so when I moved into the RV fulltime the only two states I would consider for my domicile were South Dakota and Texas.  Seems that somewhere along the line I didn't read any posts about insurance challenges.  Then again, as this topic is showing, the rules are changing.

The bottom line on this is the insurance companies are starting to take a restrictive position on insuring these trucks.  What they should be looking at is how the truck is registered and then set up a policy based on their customer's needs.  I guess there is still too much gray area from the way they see it.

When the Service Writer at Volvo ran the VIN he said the truck originally sold in Nov '04.  There was no history of the truck ever being in for any type of warranty work.

SuiteSuccess, on Dec 23 2010, 09:23 AM, said:
Check with "Blue Sky RV Insurance" (Google).  They insured my truck and trailer with no problem.  I am tandem and will remain so.

SuiteSuccess, thanks for the lead, I'll give them a call.............