Does RV Insurance Cover Water Damage? What You Need To Know

Many people can relate to unexpected water damage to either our home or RV. Whether it is caused by a faulty seal or an open window, the damage that water can do is surprising and often leaves us shaking our head and wondering just how much will need to be spent to repair the damages.

If the damage is significant, you will likely want to check into the coverage from your insurance company.

Does RV Insurance cover water damage? Yes, to cover your RV from water damage, you will need to make sure you have comprehensive coverage. This coverage level protects you from damages that are NOT a result of an accident. However, it is important to fully understand the insurance coverage you have on your RV before an accident occurs that requires you to use it.

Like auto insurance, you will find many options when it comes to insuring your RV.

When purchasing RV insurance, you must understand the available options. In this article, you will learn about the insurance coverage you should have on your RV in the case of water damage.

Table of Contents

What Does RV Insurance Cover?

RV insurance can cover a myriad of items, which makes it even more imperative that you fully understand the coverage you are purchasing.

The main categories or options of coverage are liability, collision, uninsured motorist, and comprehensive. Each option will protect you and your RV in different ways, and they are not the same.

The following chart explains the coverage provided to RVs with each type of insurance:

*Type of Insurance*	*What’s Covered*
Liability	Damage to the property of others.Bodily injury to othersProtection from lawsuits after an accident.Claims from visitors (Source: Trusted Choice)
Collision	Accidents that occur with another vehicle or non-living objectAnimal-related accidents not covered (Source: RV Dreams)
Uninsured Motorist	Protects you if you are in an accident with an individual that does not have proper automobile insurance. (Source: Haylor)
Comprehensive	Covers the repair or replacement of anything damaged that is not a result of an accident. (Source: Allstate)

As you can see, there are multiple options when it comes to insuring your RV. While it may seem cost-prohibitive to “over-insure” your RV, it could save you a lot of money in the event of an unexpected accident, whether vehicular or environmental.

I recently wrote an In-depth article on this subject, have a look at it: What Does RV Insurance Cover? A Comprehensive Guide

Comprehensive Insurance

If you have comprehensive insurance on your RV, water damage will be covered under the policy.

Typically, comprehensive insurance will cover damage incurred from fire, explosions, collisions with animals, floods, natural disasters, some falling objects, and theft.

Comprehensive insurance seems to cover all the bases. However, there are some caveats when it comes to actual claims and coverage. (Source: AmFam)

While comprehensive insurance claims to cover damages related to floods, it does not go into specifics about the flood. You will need to check with your insurance provider to determine what it considers to be a flood.

Some companies may feel a broken pipe could constitute flooding, while others only count the natural disaster of flooding. It is important to know the definition.

Not all Water Damage is Covered

Flooding is an event that can be covered under your comprehensive policy, likely because it is a naturally occurring event that you have no control over.

When thinking about other water damage that could occur within your RV, it is important to know what is not covered.

Here are some causes of water damage that may not be covered by your insurance:

Freezing temperatures
Age
Manufacturing issues
Water leaks
Dry rot or rust
Snow and Ice
Improper maintenance or storage

If you have damage to your RV because of any of the above-listed items, your insurance company will likely deny the claim.

If you notice, most of the problems listed above stem from a lack of maintenance and the natural aging of the RV.

How Do I Get Coverage?

After reading the list of exclusions, you may be wondering how you can get insurance coverage that will protect you if water damage occurs because of the excluded reasons.

The best way to determine how you can insure your RV so that it is fully covered is to work directly with the insurance agent. There is likely a full water coverage option available.

When choosing the full water coverage option, you need to weigh how beneficial it is going to be to have the extra insurance as well as the deductible that will need to be collected to use the benefit when needed.

What is the Cost of Full Water Coverage?

Knowing that many things can go wrong with the RV, even with the most meticulous care, will likely make you splurge on the added water coverage. When making this decision, the question of the cost usually comes to the front of the mind.

When placing full water coverage on your RV, you can expect to spend extra money simply because you are protecting yourself from many different issues that could arise with the vehicle.

While it would be nice to be able to give an exact cost of added water protection, it is nearly impossible to do so.

RV insurance prices vary from state to state and depend on several factors, including but not limited to your driving experience, the age of the RV, the amount of time spent in the RV, and previously filed claims.

If you have filed several claims for accidents, whether they are your fault or not, the price will likely go up.

Adding an extra layer of full water coverage will add to that price, but again, it is going to vary by state along with the other factors.

You will likely not see information about specific water damage coverages advertised because they are specialized and are a more customizable feature. (Source: The Wandering RV)

What is the Leading Cause of Water Damage?

If you are trying to determine if full water coverage is worth it, you may wish to know the number one cause of water damage in an RV. The leading cause of water damage in RVs are leaks.

Typically, the leaks occur when an RV is older and has been used for several years.

Leaks can occur in even the most well-maintained RV and are often the result of age. Usually, you will notice leaks occurring in the roof, on the sides, or from pipes or tanks.

Most of the time, you will be able to repair these things before they become problematic. However, sometimes a leak is not noticed until it is too late. In this case, extra insurance may be helpful.

How Can I Prevent Leaks?

You may be wondering how you can help prevent leaks if they are not covered by insurance. While maintenance is going to help reduce the risk of leaks, you must also make sure you are winterizing the RV properly, especially if you live in a cold climate.

When water freezes, it expands and can cause cracks to form.

You can also thoroughly check all the seals on the top of the RV as well as around windows and anywhere else water may be able to seep in. Over time, seals are susceptible to dry rot, which can allow water to leak through.

How To Fix Water Damage in a Camper

>> Check out the video below:

What Type of Water Damage Does Insurance Cover?

Honestly, it depends on your insurance provider and which type of insurance you have purchased. Usually, comprehensive coverage will protect you from non-accidental water damage, including hail damage.

However, it isn’t quite so simple (unfortunately). There are exceptions to this water damage coverage. Of course, we can’t list every single one because we would be here for a lifetime, but we will tell you about the common exceptions that RV owners experience.

Take a look at the following:

General wear and tear
Neglected maintenance over time
Freezing due to incredibly low temperatures
Water leaks
Corrosion
Dry rot or rust
Build up of ice
Build up of snow

If you are claiming because of the above, most insurance policies will deny it. If you are looking for a policy that covers you for everything water-related, then you need to ask your agent about a full water damage policy.

How Do You Know If Your RV Has Water Damage?

While experiencing water damage in a brick and mortar house is dreadful, it’s arguably more devastating when you live in an RV — and no, we’re not talking about the negative health effects.

I´m actually referring to all the machinery and moving parts that will be compromised due to water. Yup, it can be pretty awful and cost you a bomb.

So, with that in mind, it’s super important to know whether your RV does have water damage. Don’t worry, we’ve got some tips and tricks to help you when trying to figure this out.

Be Thorough

Unfortunately, you can’t just look for cracks in the wall. Instead, you have to dedicate some time into check your RV over. It’s really quite simple; just follow these easy steps:

Run hands along the doors, seams, and window seals on the inside and the outside.
Check the roof seals.
Press fingertips into walls to see if anything sags or is soft.

Stay Alert

You need to set up a regular schedule for the above water damage checks. It is not a one-time thing. You don’t want to end up missing something that could not only be detrimental to your family’s health, but also the inner workings of your RV.

Make Sure You’re Prepared

Try becoming comfortable with doing some minor water damage repairs. Small leaks are bound to happen and you need to know how to patch them.

How Do You Dry Out a Camper?

In the unfortunate event that water has found itself inside your camper, you need to give it a decent amount of time to dry out. There are a variety of different methods to dry out your RV, so let’s take a look, shall we?

Use a Dehumidifier

Whether you have wet floors, walls, or ceilings, you can run a dehumidifier to suck a lot of it up. Of course, you need to make sure it’s set up somewhere safe so it doesn’t fall over!

2. Use a Fan

Depending on which part of your RV is wet, you can point a fan at the damp spot to help it dry quicker. This is especially useful if the water damage is significant.

3. Ensure You’ve Got Good Ventilation

You shouldn’t do this if you’re traveling in an area that has super high humidity.

4. Use a Wet Vacuum

Make sure you get a good one otherwise it won’t be a very good investment! However, this is a really good way to eradicate the problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few common questions people often have about RV Water Damage:

Final Thoughts

RVs can be a lot of fun to travel and explore in, but they are also very susceptible to water damage, whether it occurs naturally or from a maintenance or age issue.

Knowing that comprehensive insurance will not fully cover all water damage will help you as you search for a policy that will protect you from all water-related damages. It may be costly upfront, but it could end up saving you money in future repairs.