There is a great deal of overlap between RV and auto policies. If you have a motorized RV, you will need some of the same coverage’s provided by an auto policy plus specialized RV coverage’s. I will attempt to explain a few things to consider without confusing you.

Regardless of the insurance company you decide to use, there are a handful of basic coverage’s you will need to have in your policy. Again, this coverage is very similar, if not identical, to the coverage you have on your personal auto insurance policy. This coverage can be broken down into two different categories; liability and physical damage. All motorized RV’s will have some form of liability coverage. Towable RV’s like travel trailers and 5th wheel trailers do not have any liability coverage. However, if you own a travel trailer or 5th wheel the section on liability may contain information helpful to you regarding the vehicle you use to tow your trailer.

There are many things to consider, here are just a few:

Liability Coverage

There are a number of coverage’s that fall under the category of liability coverage including Bodily Injury, Property Damage, Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury, Underinsured Motorist, Uninsured Motorist Property Damage, Personal Injury Protection and Medical Payments. Some of these coverage’s vary by state.

Note: The Department of Insurance in the state you live in can be an excellent resource for additional information regarding state specific coverage’s. Most states offer a Consumer Buyer’s Guide on their website that will explain state specific nuances to each of these coverage’s.

Bodily Injury is third party coverage. This means it provides protection for claims due to injuries to a passenger in your vehicle (other than you or a family member) or passengers in another vehicle, or pedestrians. It provides you, the owner/operator of a motor vehicle, with protection for your legal liability due to the ownership, maintenance or use of your RV. It is very important to select a limit that is high enough to protect your assets. You may be responsible for any amounts, related to injuries received to the third party, over and above the limit on your insurance policy. You can also purchase a separate umbrella policy that sits over all of your liability limits on your cars, your house and your motorized RV.

Property Damage is also a third party coverage, and provides protection for claims due to damage to other people’s property. For example, Property Damage would pay to repair damage to the bumper of a car that you rear-end in an accident. Bodily Injury and Property Damage limits typically work together and can be either a split limit or a combined single limit. A typical split limit has a different limit for damages to each person, each accident and property damage. For example, a common split limit would be $100,000/$300,000/$50,000. This means that for Bodily Injury coverage you have a maximum limit of $100,000 per person for each person injured not to exceed $300,000 per accident and a $50,000 limit for Property Damage. A common single limit for Bodily Injury and Property Damage is $300,000 meaning you have $300,000 to pay for all injuries and property damage arising from any one accident. It can be split any which way between injured parties and damaged property. Bodily Injury and Property Damage are required for all motorized RV’s. For travel trailers and 5th wheel trailers liability follows the unit towing the trailer, so Bodily Injury and Property Damage coverage’s are not necessary.

Uninsured Motorists (UM) and Underinsured Motorists (UIM) coverage’s can be first or third party coverage’s. UM provides protection for injuries you or someone else sustains in an accident due to the fault of another party when the at-fault party does not have any insurance. UIM provides protection for injuries you or someone else sustain in an accident due to the fault of another party when the at-fault party does have insurance, but not enough insurance to cover your damages. UM and UIM are sold on a split limit and combined single limit basis, just like Bodily Injury and Property Damage.

Your RV insurance can and should fit your RV. To get a free RV insurance quote with absolutely no obligation, I recommend Explorer RV Insurance Agency, Inc. you can call 1-888-774-6778.
Happy Camping,

Copyright 2006 by Mark J. Polk owner of RV Education 101

Casualty auto insurance has a common name of “liability auto insurance”. From the word liability, it settles all legal liabilities once a driver caused an accident. That includes damage to property and bodily injury liabilities. These two basic liabilities are the minimum a state usually requires for each car. While it gives security in financial aspects, it may extend its coverage for legal assistance in some instances.

What is damage to property liability?

Damage to property liability covers not only the damage to car in case of an accident. It also covers the damages to the property inside the car caused by collision. Auto casualty insurance pays for the cost of car repairs and even replacement of wrecked parts. It also covers damage costs once the car collides with stationary cars or structures. This includes parked cars, posts, fences, walls among others.

The state usually imposes for minimum of $5,000 damage to property liability coverage. The $5,000 damage to property liability coverage also gives you the minimum services you might need. In cases that the amount of damages you inflicted cost more than the maximum insurance coverage, you will have to pay the rest from your own pocket. So you have to make sure that you have enough of damage to property coverage for unexpected cases.

What is bodily injury liability?

Bodily injury liability is for the injuries to people caused by collision accident. It covers the liabilities of the blames driver in paying for medical services and the like. Bodily injury liability is could be very expensive. From the ambulance at the site of the accident, first aids, up to more expensive cost of medical attendance, the bodily injury liability insurance will cover the costs. Also included in the bodily injury liability is the cost of legal assistance if you are sued in court. Your fault or not, the insurance company is responsible for your defense which includes bail bonds.

In case the victim becomes incapable of working, you have to pay for its compensation loss which costs a really big amount of money. Plus, you have to finance the medical needs for the recovery of the victim. It may last for a long time depending on the injuries the victim acquired. The insurance will cover all the cost if your car is insured but only for certain amount. If it exceeds more than the insurance maximum responsibility, you also needs to settle the cost from your own pockets.

You need to make sure that you have the enough auto casualty insurance because you will never know when accidents will happen.