MH broke into, little or no insurance coverage

[Retired House Husband]

On Friday October 4th our Bounder was burglarized, while sitting within 6 feet of the house. The police were called and a report was filed. Then the insurance company was contacted. Much to our surprise, very little was covered. I made the mistake of telling my agent that I wanted insurance on the MH and took what he sold me. DUH! The $500 personal coverage on the MH excluded any devices capable of transmitting or receiving RF. That eliminates any coverage on computers with WiFi, cell phone, GPS, or CB. My agent, of 25 years, and I were under the impression that Homeowners would cover most personal items in the MH. That was not the case. American Family Home Owners Insurance has exclusions for MHs that exclude any items plugged into the MH, such as computers and peripherals, GPS, cell phone, CB, cameras on chargers, rechargeable lantern, etc. As it turns out, American Family Insurance has NO provisions for covering the electronic toys that most of us carry in our MHs. So beware, read all of the fine print of your policy. THE BIG PRINT GIVETH...the small print taketh away. I took a $3000 hit by trusting my agent. Yes, I'm in the process of moving all my insurance to a new provider. Education is expensive

[Retired House Husband]

On Friday October 4th our Bounder was burglarized, while sitting within 6 feet of the house. The police were called and a report was filed. Then the insurance company was contacted. Much to our surprise, very little was covered. I made the mistake of telling my agent that I wanted insurance on the MH and took what he sold me. DUH! The $500 personal coverage on the MH excluded any devices capable of transmitting or receiving RF. That eliminates any coverage on computers with WiFi, cell phone, GPS, or CB. My agent, of 25 years, and I were under the impression that Homeowners would cover most personal items in the MH. That was not the case. American Family Home Owners Insurance has exclusions for MHs that exclude any items plugged into the MH, such as computers and peripherals, GPS, cell phone, CB, cameras on chargers, rechargeable lantern, etc. As it turns out, American Family Insurance has NO provisions for covering the electronic toys that most of us carry in our MHs. So beware, read all of the fine print of your policy. THE BIG PRINT GIVETH...the small print taketh away. I took a $3000 hit by trusting my agent. Yes, I'm in the process of moving all my insurance to a new provider. Education is expensive

[Retired and Happy]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss and the invasion of your property. We like to think we're secure in our little space, but you have evidence to the contrary. My insurance has paid off in the past for damage caused by a blowout, but I have not given much thought to the contents we carry. I will definitely dig a little deeper into what coverage I have and make changes if needed.

[RedneckExpress]

In addition to changing insurance agents, its time to install an alarm in the motorhome. Something extremely shrill and loud that will wake everyone within a two mile radius. I've been wanting to get my hands on a couple of those old Fire Exit alarms they have in the Fire Exit doors at stores. They run on a six volt lantern battery and are as loud as they get.

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Joseph C. McKenzie:
In addition to changing insurance agents, its time to install an alarm in the motorhome. Something extremely shrill and loud that will wake everyone within a two mile radius. I've been wanting to get my hands on a couple of those old Fire Exit alarms they have in the Fire Exit doors at stores. They run on a six volt lantern battery and are as loud as they get. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A friend of mine went that route and one better as the alarm was touted to cause disorientation, nausia and ultimately unconciousness. He was broken into and the theif cut himself as he tried to get out quickly and in his nausiated disoriented state left a gruesome trail that he was stuck cleaning up. He got rid of it as he now felt it would have been easier to deal with replacing the TV, Stereo etc then the mess he was stuck with.

When there is anything of value left in my coach there is a 100 Lb Bear Hunting dog who does not react well to uninvited guests in there also. I doubt a theif would survive the encounter if he pressed the issue.

[AFChap]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">American Family Home Owners Insurance has exclusions for MHs that exclude any items plugged into the MH, such as computers and peripherals, GPS, cell phone, CB, cameras on chargers, rechargeable lantern, etc. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sorry for your loss and the grief you got along with it. Sounds like American Family Home Owners Insurance is a stick-home insurance company that insures a motorhome as a VEHICLE rather than as a HOME. This is a good example why you need to be sure your insurance company understands RVs, and sees them are more than just another vehicle.

[Finhawk]

So where do we get the "sickening" alarm system??

[Lorna]

David used to sell home security systems. The #1 deterrant is the SIGNAGE that states that you have a security system. This works so well, that some folks omit the system (we don't recommend that). #2 is an alarm siren... a loud one combined with lights is another thing to look for. Thes 2 things are true whether you are alarming a vehicle or a home. Criminals are (generally) lazy and don't want to be seen. I have a system from this outfit. I used it for our home and it will be incorported into our conversion. It is all wireless and I like it as it's easy for me to use. For home use, it would dial out our home phone to our cell phones. I don't know if it can dial out on another cellphone (haven't looked into it). My biggest concern is someone breaking in while we are sleeping.

Any security system that you buy will need to be easy for you to use.

[RVThere]

Richard,

Sorry for your loss but based on your story, I have my agent checking my policy. At first she said that 'everything' was covered under my homeowners policy. When I pressed her, she said that there 'were exceptions' and it mattered if the electronics were used for personal or business (I own my own company so everything is business). She is looking into it and will get back to me tomorrow.

[NeilV]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Finhawk:
So where do we get the "sickening" alarm system?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I believe they stopped making it very quickly. It was about 30 years ago and the unit looked like a speaker cabinet with a rechargable battery and a amp with a motion detector and key pad. It had a heavy steel inner liner covered with wooden cabinetry so you couldn't just smash it to silence it.

It really was a man trap type device so not very legal and was probably made by some local wiz kids.

Asside from the dog I also put a few motion detector drive way alarms nearby and inside my coach when unoccupied so I will know if anyone is snooping around it.

Friends have also set up motion detecting web cames that fire off emails to themselves and some select friends/family members with photos of who/what set them off which has helped them catch theives in the act and get the police on site in time to get them.

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

I've got an alarm installed that monitors any movement. If a window is broken, or the door is opened it will go off. Although I don't have it, one of the options is when someone gets to close on the outside it gives a lower volumn beeping warning. I've thought about getting the option installed but haven't decided for sure yet. I've seen some that actually has a voice warning not to get to close. But I think that might be a little overkill. But it might be okay when not staying in it, like when it's parked or in storage.

But I too believe the signage and the flashing LED's indicating the alarm is active is a good deterant. I have two LED's with the alarm system. One is right next to the door handle and another one is mounted in the dash board just inside the windshield if someone were to walk up to it from the front it's the first thing they see.

[Bobby C]

I am sorry for your loss. My parents home was broken into. What a sick feeling you get when something like this happens.

Please, don't let your homeowners policy be your primary policy for your MH. You wouldn't let your local bank teller decide how to invest for your retirement.

Please find a company that sells dedicated MH policies. You should look for (based on what you want to spend) full replacement cost if the MH is totaled, contents insurance with no limits, trip interuption, perscription coverage, etc.

I had Progressive, GMAC and Geico quote me. I selected Progressive because they offered me the lowest rate. Geico quoted similar coverage while GMAC was quoting their basic coverage and telling me that was all the coverage I needed. Once I had the coverages upgraded, GMAC was much higher. I might add, Progressive gave me a multi-policy discount because I have my Harley already insured with them and a paid in full discount as well.

Best of luck to you.

[MtManLee]

I went with Allstate who also has an RV Policy and I included with it a 20,000 dollar personal property coverage and it was the lowest rate I could find out of many many I called.