Millions of American households own an RV and the trend towards the RV lifestyle is increasing year after year. It is becoming more and more important to find a good RV insurance agency that meets your needs.
Progressive is one of the most popular RV insurance companies in the market. Many of our readers ask: Is a Progressive RV insurance good?
Is Progressive RV insurance good? Progressive insurance is not necessarily a “great” RV insurance option, as its broad list of offerings in areas outside of RVs does not make it an RV insurance specialist. Nethertheless, Progressive’s RV insurance is ok, as it is a strong national brand that offers favorable rates and is backed by substantial financial reserves.
The key to getting a good insurance policy in any realm, from home to auto, and extending into RVs, is having a thorough understanding of what is covered in the plan to avoid any confusion at the time a claim is filed.
If there is something your RV policy is lacking, you can build it up to make a good plan great, and Progressive’s RV coverage is generally no exception.
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What You Must Know About RV Insurance
It can be difficult to shell out money for insurance, as it is essentially a bet that something terrible is going to occur. As most people are optimistic and want to believe that nothing wrong will ever happen to them, they tend to look at the various coverages offered in specific insurance policies and decline anything optional that will make their premiums rise.
This leads to significant drama when it comes time to file a claim. For example, when an RV only carries the basic liability coverage and the RV is found to be at fault in an accident that causes $25,000 worth of repairs to the RV, customers become disillusioned when the insurance company does not pay.
Therefore, it is critical that RV owners understand how RV insurance works. RV insurance is a binding contract between the policyholder and the carrier.
When a policyholder suffers a covered loss, the carrier is required to payout. However, if the policyholder suffers a loss that is not covered, the carrier has no obligation to pay just because the policyholder is a nice person.
How RV Insurance work >> Check out the video below
When reading through the customer reviews for Progressive RV insurance, there are a lot of scathing reviews from policyholders who are bitter that Progressive did not payout after an incident.
When reading through these reviews, however, it is fairly easy to see from the description of the accident that their policy likely did not cover the incident they described.
Insurance policies can be exceedingly nuanced, with many insurance salespeople themselves not able to fully understand the products they are selling.
This complexity is magnified when auto insurance salespeople attempt to sell RV policies, which have additional layers that are not included in regular auto policies (especially those RVs that are used by traveling nomads).
The more that the customer knows about RV insurance before purchasing a policy, the better off he or she will be. Do not follow the example of most policyholders and throw your plan in a drawer and never look through it.
If you have misplaced your policy, call your company, and request a declaration packet. This will outline exactly which incidents you have covered.\
As we walk through these essential elements of an RV insurance policy, let’s take a look and see how Progressive RV insurance rates on each aspect.
Bodily Injury/Property Damage Coverage
All RV insurance policies will vary by state, but one aspect that every plan will contain is Bodily Injury/Property Damage Coverage (BI/PD).
This will be the first entry on your RV insurance policy and is required by law to operate an RV. It is sometimes referred to as liability coverage and will often be accompanied by a number, such as 100/300.
These two numbers refer to the coverage limits that your carrier will payout in the event that your RV is in an at-fault accident and causes bodily injury and property damage to the other party.
Bodily injury refers to the other party’s medical expenses, pain and suffering, and death, while property damage refers to damages to their vehicles, real property, or chattels.
The coverage levels can be broken down as follows:
- First number (100): This is the maximum amount of bodily injury and property damage your policy will payout to each person of the offended party. In this case, you would be covered for $100,000 per person.
- Second number (300): This is the total amount of bodily injury and property damage your policy will pay out per accident. So, if you get in an accident that injures five people, in this case, your plan would be capped at $100,000 per person, with total expenses not to exceed $300,000.
There are a few essential points to note in regard to BI/PD coverage:
- It does not cover damages to you, your RV, or the property you are carrying in your RV.
- While minimum BI/PD coverage is usually very affordable, you have to consider that RVs are big vehicles capable of causing a lot of damage.
- If your personal assets and/or net worth exceeds your BI/PD coverage maximums, the offended party can sue for the difference. So, if you are a millionaire, get in an accident with your RV that causes $500,000 worth of damage but only have BI/PD insurance up to $300,000, the injured party can sue for the $200,000 difference.
How Progressive Rates for BI/PD Insurance
Progressive should be considered a solid choice for basic liability coverage on your RV.
When talking about incidents that cause bodily injury and property damage to others, the costs can get very high, and you will want to make sure that you have a reputable company that has enough financial reserves to pay out if they get hit with an influx of claims.
While Progressive may not have the depth of specialization that an RV-specific insurance company such as Good Sam has, its established reputation and deep client pool can leave you feeling confident that they are there for you if you ever get into an at-fault accident with your RV.
In addition, their broad base of policyholders, diverse instrument offerings, and extensive bundling options allows Progressive to keep premiums affordable, with a basic RV coverage plan starting at $125 in most states. Furthermore, additional liability coverage, which is recommended for RVs, can be purchased at a minimal cost.
Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
When looking at your RV policy, the most critical component, the BI/PD coverage, will be at the very top. However, the second most crucial component, the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM), will be at the very bottom.
This coverage will protect you and your RV in the event you are not at fault in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist. Although this is an optional policy, most insurance companies highly encourage you to purchase it, with some even requiring you to sign a waiver acknowledging that you understand and are voluntarily declining it.
With estimates indicating that roughly one-third of all motorists are uninsured in 2020, this is arguably the most important type of RV insurance you can have.
When you consider that many RVs are valued at over $100,000, an owner declining this coverage would be in a world of hurt if their RV got t-boned by a vehicle running a stop sign.
How Progressive Rates for (UM/UIM)
When reading through the reviews of Progressive RV insurance, you will find discussions where customers are critical of them in this regard.
There are one-star ratings such as “was in a fender bender, and Progressive refused to pay” or “used a technicality in my policy to decline coverage after my accident.”
While it is impossible to know every user’s specific customized policy without reading through it, it is highly likely they declined this coverage and thought they were covered by everything just because they “have RV insurance.” Unfortunately, UI/UIM motorist accidents are far too prevalent, so you should definitely accept this coverage when building your Progressive policy.
If you carry UM/UIM on your RV through Progressive, you should feel comfortable about making an excellent choice. Like with BI/PD, these types of accidents can get expensive, and Progressive’s large pool of premiums gives them a wide safety net should they have to process a bunch of costly claims.
While the cost of adding this to your basic liability coverage is noticeable, which is why many people decline it since it is “optional,” Progressive is very competitive, if not more affordable, than many other companies.
Full Coverage
There is a misleading term in auto and RV insurance known as “full coverage.” When purchasing full coverage, many RV owners think that “everything is covered” in terms of damage to their RV. However, this is not close to being the case.
By selecting a full coverage policy for your RV, you are merely adding collision and comprehensive coverage to your BI/PD and UI/UIM. These provide the following coverages:
- Collision: This covers you and your RV in the event that you are at fault in an accident. Examples would include when you sideswipe a car in a parking lot or back your RV into a tree.
- Comprehensive: This protects your RV from those “freak” accidents that usually occur when your RV is parked, such as hail damage, vandalism, or flooding.
These are also optional coverages, but when considering the size and nature of how you will use your RV, they should definitely be added to your policy. In addition, many companies will not offer more nuanced RV coverages unless the full coverage option is purchased.
Related reading: Do You Need Collision Insurance on a Travel Trailer?
How Progressive Rates for Full Coverage
This is another area where Progressive most likely gets unfairly reviewed for its RV policies.
For example, if you only have the minimum PI/BD insurance and take your RV camping in the mountains, and it gets its side caved in by a rockslide, you will not be covered. Progressive is contractually not bound to pay out just because you have loyally bought PI/BD with them for 20 years.
With that said, Progressive should be considered an excellent choice for full coverage policies for the same reasons they are strong in BI/PD. Moreover, by enrolling your RV in a full coverage policy, full-time RVers and other people who spend the majority of their time living in an RV are qualified to receive coverage, something most major carriers decline.
RV-Specific Coverages
In the preceding section, it was mentioned that the term “full coverage” could be misleading as it pertains to RV insurance. After all, what else can there be that needs to be covered outside of BI/PD, UI/UIM, collision, and comprehensive?
Unfortunately, even if you have all of these coverages, there are a surprising number of considerations that will not be covered should you get into an accident with your RV. Some of the most common include:
- Contents (Personal Effects): As RVs carry significantly more valuable cargo than traditional vehicles, such as televisions, extensive bedding, cookware, and clothing, RV policies will not cover these losses in the event of a “normal” accident, limiting their payout to damages to the passengers and vehicles themselves.
- Towing and Roadside Disablement: Most regular auto insurance policies include some kind of towing with their plans, but RV policies require this coverage to be purchased separately, as special tow trucks and mechanical assistance are necessary for the larger vehicle.
- Loss of Use: This is especially important for those who are living out of their RVs. If your RV is damaged in an accident, you will need this coverage to put you up with transportation and a place to live while it gets repaired.
- Pet Coverage: Let’s be honest: the vast majority of people traveling in an RV will be doing so with a pet. A full converge policy will not pay out for vet bills or any other losses pertaining to your pets.
- Vacation Liability: This will cover you if your RV or someone in your party is damaged or hurt in the regular use of the parked RV for vacation purposes.
While Progressive is generally very strong for the more basic RV coverages, it is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of these more nuanced RV-specific considerations.
How Progressive Rates for RV-Specific Coverages
The great news is that Progressive does offer all of the previously mentioned RV-specific coverages and does so at an affordable price. This is yet another advantage of choosing to be insured by a major national brand. In addition, Progressive will continue to offer you coverage even if you declare that you are a full-time RVer, a point at which most majors will decline your coverage.
The troubling news is that the payout for these coverages is nothing special. While the amounts will vary by state, the payout for personal effects is generally capped at a total of $10,000 total, $3,000 for a category, and $500 for a specific item type.
So, for example, if you were in an unfortunate accident where you lost all of the contents of your RV, the most you would be reimbursed is $10,000. This gets really troubling if you are in a specific niche, such as a traveling photographer, because you would then only be reimbursed $3,000 for photography equipment and $500 in a particular category, such as cameras.
Some more specialized RV insurance companies will offer to cover more significant amounts of specific personal effects. Progressive does not offer this option. Some states will allow for a higher total loss limit for an increased premium, so you will want to check and see if that is an option for you.
Another frustrating matter for those who live in their RV full-time is that loss of use payout is capped at $750.
This means that if you live in your RV and it will be in the shop for two weeks getting repaired, the most you can get for transportation and lodging while you wait is $750. This will not take you very far.
Progressive RV Insurance Customer Service
One area that Progressive seems to get consistently panned for their RV insurance is in the realm of customer service.
This is not an uncommon occurrence for companies that are significant players in the big three (home, auto, life) insurance policies and offer specialty add-on coverage, such as RV, pet, or jewelry, as well as additional options.
Most Progressive agents are trained in one of the three primary focus areas and handle RV insurance as a secondary product. Therefore, they are not as well versed at answering RV-specific questions as agents from companies focused primarily on RVs. This makes knowing the ins and outs of RV insurance ahead of time all the more important when building your Progressive policy.
Recommended RV Insurance Agency
Good Sam RV Insurance caters to different types of RVs. Good Sam is specializing in RV insurance that helps tremendously when you take your RV on the road.
I recently wrote an article on this site called “Is Good Sam RV Insurance Any Good? An Honest Review“. In it, I mentioned the pros and cons of Good Sam. Check this out.
Good Sam Contact Information
If you have questions about insurance policies, the Good Sam Club, Good Sam roadside assistance, or if you need to file a claim with them, you can contact them directly.
Good Sam insurance phone number: 1-888-514-1116
Good Sam insurance mailing address:
64 Inverness Dr. E, Englewood, CO, 80112
If you want to learn more about their insurance options, visit their website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few common questions people often have about insurance:
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