GEICO experiences?

[LA-HODAG]

I was renewing my motorcycle insurance with GEICO today, and just out of curiosity asked for a quote on my bus. It came back less than half what I am paying Liberty Mutual. I quizzed the guy about how this is possible, and he said they discount heavily based on number of days per year of usage. (I have only about 60 days usage per year.)

My feeling is that you get what you pay for, but the coverages offered seem to be about the same. Does anybody have any claims experience with GEICO coverage on their bus? Thanks.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

We have had National Interstate for a long time. It got its test when our coach caught fire while traveling five years ago.

I have zero insurance claims experience with any other company so I have no basis for comparison, but I can tell you I write a renewal check as soon as it is due. I do this for a couple of reasons.

First, when we first shopped insurance out of all the companies that could cover a BUS CONVERSION they were the most competitive. That may have changed.

Second, when we were standing along side of the road, fire out, waiting for a tow truck I called and instantly got a claim number and instructions to do what I felt I had to do. What I felt was the correct decision was to have it towed almost 200 miles to the closest Prevost Service Center. There was no disagreement and all they asked was I retain the receipts for the tow.

Third, an adjuster was assigned the case and he met with Prevost and the instructions were to restore it to the way it was before the fire or better. He went so far as to authorize the entire AC system rebuilt because excessive systems pressures were the root cause of the problem. There was no argument or discussion whatsoever. He just told Prevost to repair it.

When it was finished I flew down to Prevost, and after additional repairs were made I accepted the coach and the insurance company covered everything but my deductible. No BS, no cutting corners, no arguments.

I would never deal with anyone in insurance that could not understand the difference between a motorhome and a bus conversion. National Interstate understands clearly.

[dale farley]

Bryan, I've had GEICO on my vehicles for 30+ years, and they have always been excellent in claims coverage. Both buses I've had were insured with National Interstate (Explorer RV), because they do seem to be very knowledgeable about our units, and they were significantly cheaper than GEICO.

I switched my motorcycle insurance last year from GEICO to another company because of the premium. When I called to cancel the GEICO policy, they told me they would have matched the other company's price if I had given them the opportunity. I am still very happy with GEICO for 4 cars/trucks.

[tdelorme]

Since I have recent experience with an insurance claim, I'll chime in here. The company that did the repair on my bus had no problems from National Interstate with the estimate they turned in. It was so high, that I volunteered to take the bus for a second estimate. The supervisor at NI told me not to worry about a second estimate, they had insured Prevost buses for enough years to know what the repairs cost. The owner of the repair shop told me that if my coverage had been with a company that did not normally insure Prevost buses, the claim would have been denied and an outside adjuster would have had to come in and look at the bus. He said the "good hands" people were the worst. Regular plastic RV insurance is one thing, but coverage for a Prevost needs to be with a company that knows the difference between plastic and stainless.
And for what it's worth, we had RV coverage with Foremost for over twenty years and their quote for the bus was over twice what National Interstate is charging.

[Steve Cooper]

Out of curiosity, I got a quote from National today and it's HALF of my Progressive policy with the exact same policy limits. Is this too good to be true?
Somebody tell me why I should stay with Progressive

[tdelorme]

Out of curiosity, I got a quote from National today and it's HALF of my Progressive policy with the exact same policy limits. Is this too good to be true?
Somebody tell me why I should stay with Progressive

Steve, that's exactly the reaction I had when I got the quote from National Interstate. They are actually less that half of what Foremost quoted for the bus. Switch, you won't regret it.

[Steve Cooper]

That's one in the plus column. Anybody else?

[rmboies]

I apparently have an in with the Geico Gecko who visited our Pilots N Paws booth at Sun N Fun.....Would be happy to call him and ask for a discount for all POG members:D

[truk4u]

Steve,

I switched from Progressive to National with my first bus and haven't looked back!

[Orren Zook]

National Interstate will only write coverage on vehicles up to 20 years in age, while Progressive doesn't seem to have this age limit expect the premium rate to double on agreed value coverage.

[dsaylrn]

We are new Prevost owners and we checked out virtually every agency. I was finally told that GEICO is new to RV coverage and they were underpriced right now, based on very little claims history for this product line, which most likely will not last long.....when I talked with Progressive, they told me that GEICO had the best rates now hands down.
Debbie

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

We are new Prevost owners and we checked out virtually every agency. I was finally told that GEICO is new to RV coverage and they were underpriced right now, based on very little claims history for this product line, which most likely will not last long.....when I talked with Progressive, they told me that GEICO had the best rates now hands down.
Debbie

Dwight and Debbie, welcome to the group.

You need to compare insurance rates from Explorer, one of our sponsors.

Ph, 888-774-6778.

There are many past discussions about insurance, do a search.


JIM

[michaeldterry]

We are new Prevost owners and we checked out virtually every agency. I was finally told that GEICO is new to RV coverage and they were underpriced right now, based on very little claims history for this product line, which most likely will not last long.....when I talked with Progressive, they told me that GEICO had the best rates now hands down.
Debbie

Dwight & Debbie - welcome to the asylum! Never fear - most of the inmates are harmless! ;) Tell us a little about yourselves and your new bus! It saves us having having to make up lies about you to fill in the blanks! Do join in and have as much fun as you can take. There is an incredible amount of knowledge and expertise about all things Prevost and conversions within this group. Don't be shy about asking questions about your new bus and sharing your own knowledge/expertise. You'll always get answers to your questions and sometimes they're even correct! :p Your POG membership is the best $10 a year you'll spend on your bus!

I see you're in Salem, AL. That's only a little over 2 hours from us. When you are in the Atlanta area, give us a shout for an impromptu POG micro-rally or even for just a quick meal to swap bus stories and other lies! :D

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I think before you make an insurance decision you should consider the experiences of those who have had to turn to their insurer.

Stroking a check for the cheapest insurance makes us sound like the smartest folks on earth until we have a problem that involves our insurance company. When that occurs, and you find yourself on the line trying to explain your 45000 pound bus is not a Winnebago and that you need a wrecker big enough to handle the bus, and that you are not going to get it repaired at the local Camping World you know you are in trouble. Very few people, including most insurance companies can even picture what a Prevost is, and fewer still understand the relationship between Prevost and the converters.

I will continue to remain with National Interstate. They truly understand what a bus conversion is, and how to deal with problems arising as a result of accidents or incidents.

[michaeldterry]

I think before you make an insurance decision you should consider the experiences of those who have had to turn to their insurer.

Stroking a check for the cheapest insurance makes us sound like the smartest folks on earth until we have a problem that involves our insurance company. When that occurs, and you find yourself on the line trying to explain your 45000 pound bus is not a Winnebago and that you need a wrecker big enough to handle the bus, and that you are not going to get it repaired at the local Camping World you know you are in trouble. Very few people, including most insurance companies can even picture what a Prevost is, and fewer still understand the relationship between Prevost and the converters.

I will continue to remain with National Interstate. They truly understand what a bus conversion is, and how to deal with problems arising as a result of accidents or incidents.

Jon is (as usual) right on the money (pun intended). We originally insured Evangeline with American Family Home Insurance based on price and reputation. We had a relatvely minor claim last August (an unfortunate parking lot "incident") and the company paid the claim with no muss/no fuss. We were quite pleased - until the other shoe dropped. In November, I got a notice that American Family declined to renew my policy for the coming year. I re-shopped and this time, based on the collective experience of several POG members, went with National Interstate through the Explorer Agency. Kraig Kelly with Explorer made the switch simple and painless. At the end of the day, the premium difference was just a few dollars more than I was paying anyway! Lesson learned: Take the advice of "those who know" and don't "cheap out" on the important stuff! :o

[dale farley]

We've had GEICO on our cars for over 30 years, and I have been very happy with the service and premiums. When we started to insure the bus, GEICO was several hundred dollars more for the same insurance. From my discussions with GEICO, I got the impression they have minimal experience with insuring Prevosts. I would definitely check with National Interstate (Explorer) before buying insurance on the bus.

[James]

When we were shopping for insurance last November Geico was less than 1/3 of the cost of Progressive but would not do actual value.

[Ray Davis]

Be VERY careful when insuring your coach. When I purchased my first coach, I put it on AAA with my auto policy. I learned later that it was essentially insured as an automobile, and if I'd needed help, I would have been in a bad way.

Make sure that you go with a company that insures RV's, and preferably bus conversions. Explorer has been mentioned several times, and was my insurer when our bus was involved with the hangar fire. I can't speak enough for them.

Ray

[dale farley]

I think the bottom line with insurance is that we shop several companies before making the initial decision, then verify we still have a fair price every 3 or 4 years. I think they sometimes raise our prices thinking we are too comfortable to mess with changing companies.