Canadian Full-timers - Insurance Question

[bcbounders]

Hi all,

We are newly-landed Canadian Permanent Residents, residing in British Columbia. We are in the process of arranging insurance for our RV (we're full-timers), and have hit (what appears to be) a big snag when it comes to coverage.

Our agent is quoting us coverage through Aviva Elite... who appears to be the only insurer who provides "full-timers" coverage. The problem is that they seem to be VERY restrictive when it comes to what they'll cover... and want to exclude coverage for things like our computers (a desktop and laptop), any jewelry, and our Motosat Internet Satellite dish and solar panels. To us, this is unacceptable. We want to have insurance coverage that actually COVERS us in the event of a loss... but the insurance company doesn't seem to understand that, since the RV is our home, we have everything on our RV that a "normal" person would have in their home.

What are other Canadian full-timers doing for their insurance? Are there other companies we should be investigating?

I appreciate any input you can provide.

Thanks.

- John

[Ottawa]

You should check with your home insurance agent, as some of the things you have listed could be covered under your home policy. Although if you are full timing it an address may be an issue. Unfortunately, we do not have any choice with RV insurance in Canada, and we pay higher rates for less service.

[Matt Cassels]

John, since your residence is BC I can't give you any specific information on brokers who could help. I can tell you that if your residence was Alberta that you could insure through www.rvdirectinsurance.com in Calgary and with their fulltimer policy and have 15K contents including the items you mention covered.
These people understand fulltiming and will write a policy that will provide what you need.
You could call Al Dadswell at RV Direct and maybe he can advise you how to proceed.
Safe travels, Matt

[bcbounders]

Ottawa & Matt,

Thanks for the replies.

Ottawa... we are full-timers and, as such, don't have a "home address" that can be used to get a home policy to cover things the RV policy won't. Good idea, though!

Matt... thanks for the info on RV Direct Insurance. I've dropped them a note to see if they have any affiliations with BC Agents. Or to see if we can find out how underwrites their policies. Could come in handy. Also, their website uses some of the exact same language/limits that the BC policy is listing... but they do it in a much clearer manner. It is possible that our agent is just muddying the waters and that, in reality, we would be properly covered. We'll have to do some more investigating.

Ideally, we'd love to get a look at an actual Aviva Elite full-timer's policy, so we could read, in black-and-white, just what IS and ISN'T covered.

Appreciate the input!

- John

[paulmarg]

John,we deal with Wayfarer Insurance Brokers Ltd. here in Ontario...1-800-461-0318
Over and above our Motorhome Insurance,we have Fulltimers Contents and Liability Insurance..both are with AVIVA Elite...
We are in our sixth year fulltiming and loving it..
Paul and Marg

[bcbounders]

Quote:

Originally posted by paulmarg: John,we deal with Wayfarer Insurance Brokers Ltd. here in Ontario...1-800-461-0318 Over and above our Motorhome Insurance,we have Fulltimers Contents and Liability Insurance..both are with AVIVA Elite... We are in our sixth year fulltiming and loving it.. Paul and Marg

Paul and Marg,

Thanks for the referral. We'll have to give Wayfarer's a call to find out more about their coverage. Although, from their website, it looks like they are underwritten by Aviva Elite as well.

If you don't mind my asking, have you had any difficulty with the coverage they provide for "personal effects"? Maybe we're getting misinformation about what is/isn't covered. I'd appreciate any specifics about your policy you'd be willing to share.

Thanks again.

- John

[4farmers]

ok, this is a little off-topic, but I thought y'all might like a chuckle:

I spent over 2 hours on the phone with an imsurance rep trying to get coverage for our trailer, to be parked on a seasonal lot, as an extension of our tenants insurance. Answering silly questions like:

where's the closest water source? ....2 feet off the back of the trailer at the faucet

what kind of foundation is the trailer on? (because they wanted to insure it as a cottage) ... none, it has wheels ... oh so is isn't a permanent structure, will it be there for more than 151 consecutive days? ... yes, we are parking it there for the season( May - October and winter storage), but I will move it 5 feet forwards or backwards every 3 months if it will get me insurance ... so it's attached to a truck? ... ???

how far away is the closest responding fire hall? I dunno (I call the campground to find out) ... less than 1km .... how close is the nearest fire hydrant? I dunno (another phone call to the campground)- apparently they don't have hydrant's in the middle-of-nowhere .... where do the firetrucks get the water? I dunno, presumably the fire department has that worked out ...

yes, over 2 hours of these types of questions - from someone in a big city, who wasn't nice enough to say "you know what? I've never camped before and let me get someone who can help you better" - I had to send in pictures (for crying out loud - the trailer and contents are insured for less than $3000) AND THEN I get told "if something happens to the trailer and your house on the same we won't cover it" ...... they are nearly an hour away from each other, what's gonna happen? (note the $3000 trailer coverage and TENANTS insurance ... we don't have anything to gain from destroying our own property!)

So count yourself lucky if you're dealing with someone who knows what an RV looks like!

Happy camping!
Fran

[paulmarg]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by paulmarg:
John,we deal with Wayfarer Insurance Brokers Ltd. here in Ontario...1-800-461-0318
Over and above our Motorhome Insurance,we have Fulltimers Contents and Liability Insurance..
Paul and Marg,

John,I searched today,and did not find any literature on our Fulltimers Contents Policy..
I will call to ask about receiving this info...
I still think,if you call the toll free number,you can get all your questions answered..
Best of luck....Paul & Marg

[bcbounders]

Quote:

Originally posted by paulmarg: John,I searched today,and did not find any literature on our Fulltimers Contents Policy.. I will call to ask about receiving this info... I still think,if you call the toll free number,you can get all your questions answered.. Best of luck....Paul & Marg

Paul & Marg,

Thanks for looking for that information. If we can't get things straightened out properly with our current agent, we'll definitely give Wayfarer's a call and see if they can be of any help.

The more I'm looking into this, the more I think it's primarily an issue of whoever our agent is dealing with at Aviva not understanding the RV coverage very well. We're planning on going down to the office and getting Aviva on the phone so that we can talk to them directly and see if we can't get things ironed out.

Of course, our experience hasn't been ANYWHERE near as painful (or entertaining) as Fran's!

Howdy. I have been with Aviva Elite for many years and from what you are describing I would say your agent does not know what they are talking about.

I have heard that Wawanesa is also very good and that you can add as much value (contents) that you want. The premium will go up the more the value but that is normal.

[bcbounders]

Quote:

Originally posted by Aaron&Cheryl: Howdy. I have been with Aviva Elite for many years and from what you are describing I would say your agent does not know what they are talking about. I have heard that Wawanesa is also very good and that you can add as much value (contents) that you want. The premium will go up the more the value but that is normal.

Aaron & Cheryl,

Thanks. That's the conclusion I've been coming to, as well. Hopefully, we'll be able to iron things out when we're with our agent, in person, later this week. I think it's been a game of "telephone" between us, our agent, and Aviva.

We'll report back after our "pow-wow".

- John

[Maxter]

BCBounders,I'm curious as to what you found out. With B.C. having government auto insurance on your rig, do they not also cover contents as well, or do they have restrictions as to what would be covered. i.e. if it is not attached it is not covered.

[bcbounders]

Quote:

Originally posted by Maxter: BCBounders,I'm curious as to what you found out. With B.C. having government auto insurance on your rig, do they not also cover contents as well, or do they have restrictions as to what would be covered. i.e. if it is not attached it is not covered.

Maxter,

Thanks for asking this... I forgot to post an update after we got through all the insurance rigamarole. In the end, everything was covered. The satellite dish and solar panels are considered part of the "base price" (so-to-speak) of the coach, so we just upped the coverage number for the RV itself (i.e... they assume that to replace the coach, you would also replace the hardware ATTACHED to it). The computer's are covered too... the issue was an insurance representative not understanding the policy wording: computer SOFTWARE is limited to $2,500 worth of coverage... but the computers are considered part of our "personal belongings" and are covered, too.

In the end, we have perfectly satisfactory coverage. It's not quite as comprehensive as what we had in the States, through Progressive, but it will cover us.

Let me know if you, or anyone else, have any specific questions. I'd be happy to answer them, or provide more details of our experience.

[Island Nomads]

Well we moved to BC in June 2005 and ran into exactly the same trouble! The limits and exclusions were accurate but recently Aviva came out with a fulltimers package. This package gives you $15,000 contents coverage, coverage for your bikes, your computers, your jewelry (within certain limits). While the $15,000 maximum is still ridiculous, at least they seem to be catering more to an ever growing fulltiming community.