If you are looking for camper van insurance, when you are getting a quote from one of the insurance companies, you’re going to have to go to the RV, not the car section, because a camper van is a class B Recreational Vehicle (RV). RV insurance offers the same coverage as car insurance with a few more options. Just like car insurance, camper van insurance offers the following:

Liability insurance: In all states except New Hampshire and Wisconsin you are required to have liability insurance. When you are shopping for a quote you’ll usually see the liability insurance in A/B/C form. For example, if you’re shopping for Mesa car insurance you must abide by Arizona law, which requires that you have 15/30/10 in liability coverage. Keep in mind that liability does not cover you, but those around you. Furthermore, it only applies if you are found to be at-fault (guilty) in an accident. In other words, in the state of Arizona, you must have $15,000 in bodily injury liability for one person in an accident, $30,000 in bodily injury liability for all people in an accident, and $10,000 in property damage liability. Bodily injury liability pays for medical expenses, wage lost, and/or pain and suffering. Property damage liability pays for damage done to other cars as well as fixed pieces of property such as fences, buildings, and telephone polls.

Liability covers you, anyone under your policy, your family members, and other drivers who have your consent to drive your vehicle. I explain, in depth, what happens if someone borrows a vehicle from you in Temporary Car Insurance.

Collision insurance: Pays for damage to your camper van, regardless of who is at fault in an accident. If you happen to get into an accident in which someone hits you, an at-fault (guilty) driver may dispute that they are at-fault. If you have collision insurance, your RV gets repaired no matter what. Just keep in mind that your insurance company only looks at the market value of your camper van, not the how much you still owe to the financing company. If your van happens to get totaled or stolen, there will likely be a gap between how much your insurance company will give you and how much you still owe in monthly payments to financer. This is where GAP Insurance comes in…

GAP (Guaranteed Auto Protection) Insurance: Applies if your car is stolen or irreparable. I explain it in depth in Bakersfield Car Insurance: Some Tips.

Comprehensive insurance: Usually bundled with collision insurance. Pays for any non-collision damage or loss. Some good examples are weather, wildlife, and theft.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist: A very valuable and inexpensive coverage. There are a lot of uninsured drivers out there. In some states the uninsured rate reaches 20%. The underinsured rate is probably higher. Uninsured/underinsured refers only to liability coverage. If, say, someone damages your and they are found to be at fault, their insurance should pay for it. However, they might not have enough property damage liability to pay you. If you or your passengers have bodily injury, they might not have enough bodily injury liability to pay you. If you don’t have uninsured/underinsured motorist you can sue them. However, with uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, all those questions are put to rest.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist also pays for your medical expenses if you happen to get into a hit an run accident.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or Medical Payments Coverage: Pays for medical expenses, wage lost, and/or replacement services (give you an allowance to hire someone while you’re injured) to you, your family, your passengers, and/or pedestrians. If you and your party have health insurance, PIP or Medical Payments Coverage is unnecessary.

Specific insurances recommended for camper vans or RVs:

Total Loss Replacement Coverage (TLR): If your camper van is damaged beyond repair this type of insurance pays for the cost to buy a brand new similar RV for you. Unlike collision and comprehensive insurance, this does not take into account the market value of your van. If you have TLR GAP insurance, explained above, may be unnecessary.

Emergency Expense Coverage: Pays for hotels and transportation while your camper van is being repaired.

Vacation liability: Pays for bodily injury liability and property damage liability that occurs at a vacation site.

Personal belongings insurance: Because your camper van is like your home, you need to insure the belongings within it. Standard car insurance companies do not specialize in covering personal belongings, that’s what homeowners insurance does. I explain home insurance, in detail, in Baton Rouge Home Insurance. Specialized RV insurance companies take into account your personal belongings when insuring your van.

Where should you get camper van insurance quotes from?

There are insurance companies out there, which specialize in RV insurance (just google “RV insurance). The big name car insurance companies also insure RVs. Regardless of who you get it from, it is important that you shop around. Premiums can vary wildly from insurance company to insurance company.

Other helpful insurance hubs:

Auto Insurance Discounters
Inexpensive Car Insurance
Short Term Car Insurance Guide
Cheap Car Insurance for Young Drivers Guide

And, of course, I have this camper van insurance hub!