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LD insurance value
Does anyone have an idea if market value is pretty close to what insurance would pay if an LD was totaled?  There is a value estimate chart for used LD’s somewhere on this forum which says my 2003 RB is worth about $22,500.  Maybe it could sell for something in that range.  Upside is more bells and whistles than average (400 watt solar, 4 house batteries, hydraulic levelers). Downside may be high mileage (115,000) and though well maintained it has been lived in by us a bit over 4 years and perhaps a bit more tired interior than some.

I have it insured for $30,000.  I think it is time to drop that value to $25,000 or maybe lower.  I know insurance will not pay more than the value an adjuster puts on it in case of loss even if it is insured for more.  I have owned it for a little over 5 years and Progressive has never lowered the $30,000 value insured for.  I originally had asked them to raise it from some lower amount.  I paid $42,900 for the LD and a 2005 Subaru Forester set up to tow, so probably a bit more than $30,000 for the RV.


Jay Carlson
2003  LD RB
2005 Bigfoot 40MH35LX
rvingjaygwynne.wordpress.com
Re: LD insurance value
Reply #1 –
Quote from: Jay Carlson  - 
Does anyone have an idea if market value is pretty close to what insurance would pay if an LD was totaled?  There is a value estimate chart for used LD’s somewhere on this forum which says my 2003 RB is worth about $22,500.  Maybe it could sell for something in that range.  Upside is more bells and whistles than average (400 watt solar, 4 house batteries, hydraulic levelers). Downside may be high mileage (115,000) and though well maintained it has been lived in by us a bit over 4 years and perhaps a bit more tired interior than some.

I have it insured for $30,000.  I think it is time to drop that value to $25,000 or maybe lower.  I know insurance will not pay more than the value an adjuster puts on it in case of loss even if it is insured for more.  I have owned it for a little over 5 years and Progressive has never lowered the $30,000 value insured for.  I originally had asked them to raise it from some lower amount.  I paid $42,900 for the LD and a 2005 Subaru Forester set up to tow, so probably a bit more than $30,000 for the RV.
I believe with Progressive you have to set the value at renewal time. I just lower the value a bit each year. They don't do it automatically. Also, Progressive decides the value of your LD if a total loss. You would have to provide supporting data to support your claim if you didn't like their offer. Progressive also offers Agree Value Coverage for an addtl premium. I don't know the details.
Chris
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: LD insurance value
Reply #2 –
I suggest checking your policy wording and talking to your agent (get anything your agent says in writing if it doesn't match your policy text).
Some policies do replacement value, so you can shop for the equivalent replacement item and they will cover that price.
 Our LD is listed that way on the policy - replacement value.  However, expect you will have to "prove" it since your LD is valued lower than it's actual replacement value in standard places like NADA & KBB.
See more in the final paragraph below on how to prove the value of your LD (it will take a big chunk of your time effort).

Here is our experience with replacement value:
We had a claim (first one ever) for a theft of belongings from storage.  We had replacement value for our belongings (standard part of homeowners/renters policy - note it was not in the text it covered storage, our rep said it did and when I asked nicely gave us a written statement that storage items were covered).  The thief did a number on a handful of storage units, spending the night going thru the entire units, doing a through sorting of items, and taking things that interested him (which didn't make sense to others as turned out he was a long term meth user).

The process:
1) We submitted a list of stolen/damaged items with the prices that we found for sale.  Note:  We kept the links where we found them, I figured in case they disagreed with our values I knew where we got the info from, and this turned out to be invaluable.

2) A rep ran things thru their computer to double check prices (often done by computer and works better for electronics - e.g. what would an older tablet be if you bought it now).
They got some very odd numbers for household items, a couple at 50% of the prices I found and a few higher even at 200% or one at 1000% of what we found it at.  So I called back to ask where they found their numbers at. 
The first standard answer was we use internet sites where things can be bought and found those prices.
I pointed out a power tool and said you tell me where I can find this for your price (50% of what I found it at) I will gladly by it. 

I got the standard answer we use several internet sites... I said if you tell me where I will gladly buy it for that, but you HAVE to tell me where as I can't find it for that price anywhere.  As they looked at the list they realized many things were way out of whack and many of my prices were less than theirs, often significantly (that might have helped a lot that many items were significantly higher than what I submitted).
Our entire valuation was around $8000, but a long list of items and the long list caused more issues to get the original numbers correct (per their comments).  In the end they just took my prices, since it was shown that many of my prices were lower then theirs I guess they trusted me.

3) They put a depreciation calculation on the items (based on age and a computer formula they had) and this was very low if the items was not bought recently.  They called this the cash value.  We had several damaged items, some would cost more to repair then to replace so they were treated as a stolen item.  One was cheaper to repair, so we got an estimate and they paid the full amount of the repair.
They issued the first check based on this cash value for all items.
We also had a list of the replacement value for the items.

4) As we replaced items and submitted receipts, they reviewed the receipts submitted and issued the remainder of the money for those items.  The same link often showed a slight price adjustment (up or down) since I first gave the estimated prices.  They covered it if the price was close.
Note:  They allowed "like items" for replacement.  The amount given you was based on replacing the original item.  Example:  If you had a tablet that was 5 years old, the replacement price would be for that old tablet (maybe 1/2 of what you paid for it).  However, you could buy a new tablet (of any price, any brand/model, any features) and they would pay the entire replacement value of that old tablet. 

Translating that to your LD:
If you show that you can't get an equivalent replacement LD a good insurance company would up the price allowed (from their NADA/KBB price).  Yes, you might have to argue some, submit some documentation, go see some LDs and provide documentation on them, etc.  No:  You don't get reimbursed for any of your time/effort including travel costs/time. But most sellers would be willing to give you information such as if there was/was not upgrades, and general condition with pictures.

This process can be hard if you own an older one (e.g. over 10 years when they start to leak) and ones out there have leaks and yours didn't. 
So any documentation to show the condition of your LD (receipts, pictures, etc. that showed that you resealed yours regularly, that showed the recent condition of your seals, that showed Larry's leak test to show there was no leaks).  But then you need the same pictures/information to show the ones you looked at had leaks (hard to get them to let you do a leak test or do one for you, and you would not get reimbursed for travel costs/time).

Same with rot spots (show you poking at yours to show no rot and then poking at the new ones - this would look better with a video of a pro doing the inspection).
Maybe even have an inspection report done on yours regular by an RV inspector (a 3rd party pro's word will have more weight than yours) and then paying for one at the prospective replacements - again these costs not reimbursed.

Make sure you have pictures showing condition (if your LD is above average) and of any upgrades (e.g. upgraded charger/converter, solar, new fridge, etc.) with the model number and serial number. I would suggest pictures of the upgrade in your RV with if possible the model info (visible if zoomed in on the picture).   Any documentation/receipts on purchases / installs you did of the upgraded items is useful also.  And the same documentation of your belongings so you can get those replaced also.

A last note.  I knew we are all supposed to take pictures and description including model/serial numbers of all our belonging, but in a sticks and bricks home (larger, things collected over decades, items coming and going over the years), this is a lot of effort.  I would guess that the extra money we would have gotten for having a full documentation of our belongings would offset the effort/time spent obtaining that information (e.g. I would have earned $1 or less an hour for my time spent over the years or something ridiculous like this).   Having a general picture that shows the type of things (e.g. pictures of the room and closet and cabinet contents) can help you remember what you had if anything happened.
Also LDs are not totaled often. 

So it is your choice if you want to:
- Do a stated value (pay more but less trouble later if anything happened), or
- Gather some basic information/pictures/receipts on your LD (of course keeping this safe outside of your LD, maybe scanned and with your computer backup info), or
- Going to more effort to thoroughly document the value of your LD.

Jane



Jane & Scott
Currently have a 1989 TK  LD we did a lot of upgrades on.
Bigfoot 25RQ Twin on order with early summer 2024 ETA

Our smartphone autocorrects into very poor English.
 We disclaim the illusion of ignorance this creates as we have enough ignorance we rightly claim.
Re: LD insurance value
Reply #3 –
I would add a couple of things to Jane's detailed response. If something your insurance agent tells you turns out to contradict the policy language the contract will generally prevail. If the agent is an employee of the specific insurance company and not an independent contractor that could change the outcome. That's why you should read your policy, if not when you get it certainly at the time of loss.

In regards to replacement cost. If you are paid actual cash value initially you usually have 180 days to replace it in order to collect the difference between ACV and replacement cost plus sales tax. Again, check your policy language to confirm.

Jim
Re: LD insurance value
Reply #4 –
A simple way to document the contents of your LD (or home) is to open each cupboard, drawer and outside compartment and take a photo of the contents. These storage areas are mostly shallow and photos fairly accurately reflect the contents. Once you have the photos, save them to the cloud or somewhere safe.

Chris
Formerly: 2002 30' IB