Thor Forums

[TurnerFam]

the last post is a good reason why the Insurance 'landscape' is not as simple as it seems, as even we, as good minded folks, often use terms that don't coincide with the actual 'insurance' world, such as the aforementioned 'Good Sam' insurance - as there is no such thing.
Good Sam is simply advertising and acting just as any neighborhood on-the-corner downtown INSURANCE AGENCY - they are just marketing themselves as 'RV' professionals, as though they 'know' the insurance markets better than any other agent or agency, and trying to appeal to those, especially, who are already 'Good Sam' Camping World members, of course.
Good Sam does nothing more than 'sells' you a product, and insurance policy, from one of the same insurance companies that you could by from directly, online, via a phone call, or from almost ANY insurance agency in any city anywhere. Good Sam is not an insurer, not an insurance company, and does not 'service' any policy they sell you. They are simply an insurance 'agency'.

While this doesn't mean much to most folks, as they are simply looking for the easiest and best avenue to procure insurance when they need it, it starts to cloud the insurance landscape when mentioning their name. What we SHOULD be mentioning is the actual name of the INSURANCE COMPANY that the policy is with, whether it be National General, or Progressive, or Safeco, or Liberty Mutual, or Hartford, or any of the numerous national and regional and state-wide insurance companies that abound.
Yes, 'every' auto insurance company doesn't write RVs, or some only write 'certain' RVs, and some write EVERY imaginable RV, but the fact that we ask the 'who is the best RV insurance company' tends to take us down roads that are no applicable to everyone, and many times not even those who posted the question.

What folks are really asking is 'where' can they look for RV insurance, although most who even ask the question already HAVE an auto and home insurance policy and will certainly, I would suspect, ask the company that ALREADY insures them. I also suspect that many who are new to buying an RV don't understand the differences between them and a regular 'auto' that we all insure and drive everyday - the ambiguous policy that we 'must' all have - and a much greater 'commodity' policy than one for an RV.

RVs are strange creatures - they are almost all different, they are built on differing 'platforms', and are certainly in many various sizes and values. People are different, too, as some have no experience driving a huge motorhome, or even a 'small' one, and some have little experience behind the wheel in towing any type of travel trailer or fifth-wheel. It's certainly understandable that many insurers decide to forego this type of 'risk', while others are so large and general in nature that they would ostracize many of their existing customers if they did not - but it's not always something they advertise or even strive to be 'competitive' with - it's a 'secondary' policy for their customer base.

I would suggest that most folks don't 'ask' who is the 'best' RV insurance company, as there is certainly no 'right' answer, not even close. Even as I speak, my rate is an enjoyable amount, but my neighbor, right next door, in the same style and size house, at the same age, with the same record, and the same motorhome, is not so happy about theirs... with the same company.
Everyone has a view of what's 'best' for them, but insurance is not so easy to pin down. You MUST do your due diligence and check with AS MANY INSURANCE COMPANIES as you possible have the patience for, to really find out. Your neighbor may can remind you of a company you haven't thought of, or a local agent can get you a quote with a company you didn't even KNOW wrote RV insurance, and your brother in another state may say that their's is the 'best', but then you find out that his company doesn't write RVs in your state! Crazy. True.

Insurance is hard. Sometimes you 'luck' up on what you think is a good fair rate the first call. Sometimes you try and try and it seems that NO ONE is on your side, price wise, but checking with as many companies as possible is the only way.