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About Working With Charlotte Insurance

The California RV Insurance Specialists at Charlotte Insurance are Ready to Help You Protect Your Rig!

Californians spend nearly $550 million per year on RVs, more than anywhere else in the country. Buying an RV in California makes you part of a growing number of people who want to see more, do more, and go more places. Whether you want a luxury RV experience at Marina Dunes RV Park in Monterey Bay or a more nature-focused adventure in Yosemite, your RV makes it all possible.

Make sure you can get on the road and stay there longer by protecting your recreational vehicle, no matter what life, bad drivers, and the road throw at you.

SPEAK TO A CALIFORNIA RV INSURANCE SPECIALIST

CALL THE CALIFORNIA RV INSURANCE HOTLINE: (704) 887-5513 FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Before you pull out onto the highway, you’re going to need RV insurance as a California resident. Some coverage is required and all of it is highly recommended to make sure you, your family, and your RV are protected from accidents and liability.

At Charlotte Insurance, we’re to help you find the right California RV insurance coverage for the RV life you want to live and where you want to go.

Contact us for a free California RV quote for your first or next policy. Protect your home-away-from-home no matter where the road or adventure takes you.

Common California RV Insurance Misconceptions

Won’t homeowner’s insurance cover an RV?

While your RV is parked at your California home, homeowners insurance offers some protection, based on what’s spelled out in your policy details. But once you leave home – and especially while you’re on the road, your homeowners insurance doesn’t offer the coverage you need.

What about my personal stuff? Doesn’t my home insurance cover that in my RV?

Again, while you’re parked in your home in California, your homeowners policy may provide a limited amount of coverage. But it won’t cover everything like additional accessories you’ve added. More importantly, it probably wouldn’t offer enough to replace everything inside your RV.

Once you’re traveling in your RV, it likely won’t cover you at all, so you need a separate policy.

Isn’t California RV insurance expensive?

RV insurance in California can be surprisingly affordable, depending on the type and amount of coverage you select. The overall cost of coverage is determined by a variety of factors including how you’ll use your RV – part-time versus full-time. Your own driving habits, previous claims history, deductibles, and policy limits also have an impact on your premiums.

California RV Insurance Requirements

California requires liability coverage for all types of recreational vehicles. This includes motorhomes, travel trailers, toy haulers, fifth wheels, and more.

  • $15,000 bodily injury per person
  • $30,000 bodily injury per accident
  • $5,000 property damage per accident

In no part of the country would these minimums be considered “enough” after an accident. But in a state like California, where the cost of living makes everything more expensive, this level of liability coverage will likely have you paying out of pocket for almost any accident where you’re at fault.

Most importantly, if you’re sued after an accident, you’ll wish you had more coverage to help pay the legal fees and any settlement you may owe.

Types of Coverages for California RV Insurance

Liability

As we talked about above, liability coverage is required in California for all recreational vehicles. Liability insurance covers two forms of damage:

  • Bodily injury
  • Property damage

Both pay the victim of an accident for their injuries or damage when you’re the one at fault for the accident or when injury occurs to a third-party while they’re in or near your RV. Their damages will be paid, and you’ll be covered – up to your policy limits – if they decide to sue you later.

If this seems similar to the liability coverage for your home or auto insurance, that’s because it is. A deductible will apply.

Comprehensive and Collision

Your California RV isn’t just your home away from home, it’s also a motor vehicle. When something happens to your RV – whether there’s a fire or you collide with something – comprehensive and collision coverage pay to repair or replace your RV. Deductibles apply.

Financing the purchase of an RV often means you’ll be required by the lender to carry both comprehensive and collision insurance.

Physical Damage

An important part of your California RV policy is the physical damage coverage. This is what pays you when your vehicle is totaled after an accident or other covered claim. You have three options for payment:

  • Actual Cash Value (ACV): ACV is the most common payout after a loss. If your RV is considered a total loss, you’ll receive an amount based on the value of your RV at the time of the loss. ACV considers the age and condition of your RV when determining what you’ll receive.
  • Agreed Value (AV): If your RV is labeled as a total loss, AV pays a value agreed upon at the time you purchase coverage. It protects the value without considering depreciation for up to 10 years. The amount you’ll be paid will be listed in your insurance policy on the Declarations page.
  • Replacement Cost (RC): Replacement cost is ideal when you purchase a new RV. If your RV is totaled within the first few years, you’ll receive enough to purchase a new or comparable vehicle. After five model years, you’ll receive the amount listed on the Declaration page instead. To qualify, your RV must be the current model year or one model year old when you insure it. It can have no previous owners and never have been titled or insured prior to you.

Payments received are minus your deductible.

Emergency Expense

Traveling in your RV, or living in it full-time means that when you’re on the road, you won’t have a place to live or a vehicle to drive when something goes wrong. Emergency expense helps pay unplanned expenses if your RV is inoperable after a covered loss and you’re more than 50 miles away from home or your usual storage facility.

You’ll receive help paying for these emergency situations:

  • Rental costs while your RV is repaired.
  • Temporary living accommodations
  • Transportation back to home.
  • Bringing your RV home, as long as it’s not declared a total loss.

If you live in your RV full-time, your coverage will vary slightly as the “50 miles away from home” rule won’t apply. Ask your independent insurance agent about this when discussing coverage for your RV.

Personal Effects

Your RV is more than a vehicle. It’s also a home filled with your stuff. Personal effects coverage covers the cost to replace your belongings in your RV. Much like home insurance, your clothing, electronic devices, appliances, and more will be covered up to your policy limit. A deductible will apply.

If you keep high-value jewelry or other items in your RV, talk to your agent about additional coverage in case those items are lost, stolen, or damaged in a covered peril.

Full-Timers Coverage

If you want to live in your RV full-time and make it your primary residence in California, you’ll need full-time coverage. It provides protection whether you’re in state or traveling. You can also purchase full time RV insurance while you’re living in your RV during home repairs or construction. The primary vehicle use must also be your primary residence.

Policies include a variety of coverage options: Personal Liability, Medical Payments, Loss Assessment, Adjacent Structures, Additional Accessories, and more.

Medical Payments

When you or your passengers are injured in an accident in your RV, medical payments cover the costs of those injuries, regardless of who was at fault for the accident. The same coverage limits will apply to all vehicles listed on your policy.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist

Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) protects you, relatives who live with you, and your passengers in your RV when the other driver is at-fault in an accident but they don’t have any or enough liability insurance.

When you (the named insured) request Stacked Uninsured Motorist coverage, then the policy limits for each motor vehicle listed on the policy may be added together to determine the total amount that may be recovered (stacked) for all covered injuries to the Name Insured and resident relatives.

If the Named Insured requests Non-stacked Uninsured Motorist, then the injured person may not add or combine the coverage provided as two or more motor vehicles together to determine the limits of uninsured motorists available, except in very limited instances.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Personal Injury Protection (PIP), also known as No-Fault coverage, protects you whether or not you cause the accident, up to your policy limits.

What else does PIP coverage?

  • Your children who live in the same household, if they suffer an injury while riding on a school bus.
  • You and any relatives living in your home
  • Certain passengers who don’t have PIP coverage
  • Certain licensed drivers who drive your RV with your permission.
  • While in someone else's vehicle.
  • When you are a pedestrian or bicyclist injured in an accident involving a motor vehicle.

PIP coverage pays 80% of reasonable medical expenses, 60% of lost wages and all reasonable expenses for replacement services like child care, and $5,000 for death benefits.

Extended Personal Injury Protection can be selected for an additional cost. It pays 100% of reasonable medical expenses and 80% of lost wages.

Personal Injury Protection Deductible lets you choose a PIP deductible of $250, $500 or $1,000. The deductible is then subtracted from your PIP benefit or the total amount you can collect.

  • PIP with a deductible for “Named Insured only” means the deductible will only apply to the named insured and spouse and not any other relatives that live with you.
  • PIP with a deductible for Named Insured & Resident Relatives means the deductible will apply to the named insured, spouse, and all dependent relatives living with you.

Work Loss Exclusion allows you, as the policyholder, to exclude benefits received for loss of gross income and earning capacity from your PIP coverage.

Roadside Assistance

Roadside assistance covers you and your RV when you’re stuck on the side of the road due to a covered peril. You can access it 24/7 while in the United States and Canada.

Roadside assistance coverage for your California RV:

  • Towing to the nearest qualified repair facility.
  • Pulled out of mud, snow, water, or sand with a motor-powered cable or chain, within 100 feet of road or highway.
  • Jump start when your battery dies
  • Gas delivery to your RV to get you to the nearest gas station. You’ll be responsible for the cost of fuel.
  • Help from a qualified locksmith when your keys are lost, stolen, or accidentally locked inside your RV. You’ll be responsible for the cost to replace your keys.
  • Changing a flat tire
  • Up to one hour of on-scene labor when your RV breaks down.

Ready to see the sights – around California and beyond? Make sure your RV is well-protected with the best RV insurance you can afford. Contact Charlotte Insurance for a free quote today!