Very unhappy with Thum agency and prgressive--time for a change i guess
suse1023 said
11:50 AM Mar 5, 2015
In 2013 we purchased full timer coverage with the Thum Agency as recommended here iirc. Folks there were super helpful and friendly on the phone and I asked a ton of questions in an attempt to get the very best coverage available.
Last month my truck was stolen while grocery shopping and as it turns out my comprehensive full timer's policy will not cover anything stolen out of the truck.
AAA has the truck insured, and they covered the body damage, hitch, hub caps, bike rack and toolbox, but not the contents of the vehicle, which typically are covered under homeowners' policies.
I made another call to Progressive and they say if I wanted homeowner type coverage I should have bought a mobile home policy!!
WHY am I just learning this now when I was ASSURED I had the best policy I could buy?
Thum says too bad so sad, only items inside the camper are covered, not my bike or bbq or Dish unless they are inside the rig.
So it seems i'm out thousands of dollars (unless someone here knows how i can fight and win this battle!) and need a new policy.
What do people who do not also have a permanent home do in cases like this?
The Junkman said
05:35 PM Mar 5, 2015
You want fulltimer insurance..
When I call progressive for fulltimers insurance, they asked me where I will have it parked and is is secure... That to me was a clear indication of something wrong... either they are playing games with the term "fulltimer"... or they are lost.. either way i walked..
Got mine through national interstate...
PIEERE said
06:34 PM Mar 5, 2015
Some will disagree but I used Good Sam, National General Ins. and they do know what type of insurances. Fulltimers and the policy has a 3k $ personal belongings which can be upgraded. Had them continous since 1999 and had two claims; winshield and wind damage to awning. Paid within a week and the repair shop and I had to sign the check which was sent to me.
Alie and Jims Carrilite said
07:09 PM Mar 5, 2015
We're with Blue Sky with both truck and rv. We went thru Daughtery in Sioux Falls SD. They knew exactly what we needed with no hassle. $1700 for both with agreed upon value on the truck, and replacement on the rv.
Glenn West said
09:24 PM Mar 5, 2015
If you have an address that is where you tell them it will be garaged if it ever is. Op agent dropped the ball here. We are covered with Progressive. I called Blue Sky last year. They could not compare with Progressive for identical coverage.
Terry and Jo said
10:47 PM Mar 5, 2015
Susan,
I can't help you with regards to getting compensation from your current insurance. However, if you do decide to go with a different company, check out Miller Insurance out of Oregon. National Interstate is the actual insurance company with Miller Insurance being a broker. We've dealt with them now for a couple of years and Marlene has been great to work with. We were "static" full-timers living in Oklahoma for three years. Marlene told us it was too bad we weren't already traveling, as our insurance would have been cheaper. When we moved to Colorado, again in a "static" mode, we called Marlene to change our state of residence, thus the need for a new policy. When we made the change, residency in Colorado saved us about $1200 or so over the Oklahoma residency.
Terry
suse1023 said
07:08 AM Mar 6, 2015
Thanks folks.
I most definitely have what is called fulltime and comprehensive insurance, neither of which term is really accurate as it turns out.
I am shopping around for a better agency, as Thum's seems to not give a darn what they tell or sell to consumers.
Bill and Linda said
07:56 AM Mar 6, 2015
X2 on Terry’s comment about Miller and “RV” insurance.Not all agents, regardless of what they say, have access to all companies, like Progressive’s, total product lines.Most “local” agents can’t write the best policies for many of the rig’s we own and the specialized tow vehicles, etc. regardless of what they tell you.This is a major issue and not one to be taken lightly.Miller, for one, is a specialist in RV / full-time – insurance and is one agent who can help with what most require in the RV world.
Miller and Progressive have been great and Progressive has been excellent as to service and payments to us over the last 9 years.
Very sorry for your trouble but this could be an agent problem not having access to to the correct insurance product(s) you require.
The Junkman said
02:37 PM Mar 6, 2015
If you have a address.. they will put you in leisure rv policy.. Pretty sure with progressive.. if you tell them you rv more than 8mo.. rates go sky high...as you are a full timer, with no home ... Thats the difference..
I think many will have issues if they total the rv.. as progressive will most likely point out the fact that you never told them you don't have a home.. and are in your RV all year..
Just a fyi..
I seen rates as low as $400 / year through 4k. with my 2 vehicles... all of them where called "fulltimer" .. not all of them really are. Lawyer play games with interpretations.
We settled with National interstate... full replacement first 5 years.. I added a high liability.. and full coverage on my 13 RAM and 15 Elantra... about 2400 / year total.. sounds expensive, but I'm covered full value, anywhere , anytime.. and protected better from lawsuits..
Miller was higher for national interstate, than I got direct from them.. so shop around, if it matters.
Glenn West said
03:43 PM Mar 6, 2015
We don not have a house and Progressive knows it. We do have full timers coverage. Our address is 132 Rainbow Dr #???, Livingston TX. There is no problem.
-- Edited by Glenn West on Friday 6th of March 2015 03:52:20 PM
WestWardHo said
06:02 PM Mar 6, 2015
X 3 on Miller in Oregon. We added to our policy to cover expensive add ons that we did and contents.
Sherry
The Junkman said
07:58 AM Mar 9, 2015
Glenn West wrote:
We don not have a house and Progressive knows it. We do have full timers coverage. Our address is 132 Rainbow Dr #???, Livingston TX. There is no problem.
-- Edited by Glenn West on Friday 6th of March 2015 03:52:20 PM
I think because you have a address, and you are stationary... that could work.. Rv's are the same as mobile homes in that sense.. In fact I am getting a permit to put mine on a property next mo.... temporary.
I don't think it's the same if you travel more than you are in one spot.. sure you can lie... and say whatever, and get cheap rates.. but if they have to pay out 200k , there will be a investigation .. and you could be on the short end, in the end.
suse1023 said
08:04 AM Mar 9, 2015
I do think the responsibility falls upon the Thum agent, and me for not following up with a written letter I suppose.
Fwiw, once again---I was VERY CLEAR we are living FULLTIME in our rv. It is our ONLY home, which is why I asked so many questions about the COMPREHENSIVE FULL TIMER policy.
Last week I asked the agent handling the claim--which they refused---if my bikes or bbq or satellite dish were covered if they were not inside the camper. That was on Thursday and I have had no response from progressive.
Glenn West said
08:41 AM Mar 9, 2015
The Junkman wrote:
Glenn West wrote:
We don not have a house and Progressive knows it. We do have full timers coverage. Our address is 132 Rainbow Dr #???, Livingston TX. There is no problem.
-- Edited by Glenn West on Friday 6th of March 2015 03:52:20 PM
I think because you have a address, and you are stationary... that could work.. Rv's are the same as mobile homes in that sense.. In fact I am getting a permit to put mine on a property next mo.... temporary.
I don't think it's the same if you travel more than you are in one spot.. sure you can lie... and say whatever, and get cheap rates.. but if they have to pay out 200k , there will be a investigation .. and you could be on the short end, in the end.
We are not stationary. That is the Escapees address.
Camper Chronicles said
07:16 AM Mar 11, 2015
I talked to Stevia at Miller's just recently and made the switch was extremely happy with the service she provided. We have a program specific to Full Timers that is underwritten by Nationwide insurance and I feel much more confident that if something happens our claim will be honored. We also upped our personal stuff coverage significantly and they had no issue with covering that. Suse I give my highest recommendation and you know I am pretty picky :)
BiggarView said
07:57 AM Mar 11, 2015
Since we deal with StateFarm directly whenever we have a claim (rare)... Just so we understand how insurance brokers work, if we were to go through Miller (being an insurance broker using Nationwaide Interstate), or any other broker for that matter, for our RV coverage (when our time comes) and we had a claim... who handles it (or is otherwise our point of contact)... Miller or Nationwide? The point of the question is which route will get better attention in an "event". Miller, anecdotally, appears to have great customer service support... can the same be said of Nationwide Interstate? If Miller is acting as my agent during an "event" then that service support seems to be a worthwhile thing.
I have space in my brain for this important tidbit. It's good to be smart about stuff (evil)... err, things (unimportant) err, details. Yeah, that's the word I was looking for.
Brian
Bill and Linda said
12:21 PM Mar 12, 2015
We have had two claims with Progressive due to defective parts (bad bearings) which caused some damage to the rig’s components.(Previous trailer.)In both cases Progressive handled the claim and in both cases the settlement was prompt and without problems.(They paid the bill 100%.)In most cases they will send an adjuster if there is damage to the rig but in both our cases they just wanted to see what happened and examine the parts.There was no delay.Actually, just the opposite.Extremely prompt service from the adjuster.
The “agent” or “broker,” in our case Miller, really has no role in claims unless there is some mitigating circumstance.
If I might comment further – some issues can again come from the agent not being able, or knowing, what policy you really need in spite of you asking for “the best.”Again, not all agents can sell the full product lines from the same underwriter. That is why when asked we always recommend an agent who is specifically an "RV" agency.
When we made our first claim the adjuster on the phone looked up our policy and said, “What do you want, your policy covers most anything.How can I help?”But we had the “right” policy.
bigboomer said
01:08 PM Mar 12, 2015
As we have been transitioning our residency to Texas over the last couple of weeks we had to insure our truck, trailer and motorcycles in Texas before registration. We always use brokers to handle getting the policies in place. We searched out Thum and Bancorp South here at Escapees and after getting all the quotes back we went with Bancorp South. We got a policy with National Interstate for the truck and trailer and Progressive for our M/C's. Also because we are full-time and do not own a sticks and bricks anymore we opted to also get a large umbrella liability policy. This allowed us to reduce the liabilities on the other coverages a little and cover us overall well above what the vehicle policies covered us for.
All claims are handled thru the policy companies.
One thing to note that is in Texas due to large amounts of uninsured motorists the costs for the same are very high which adds to the costs.
In the end we are paying comparable to what we paid in SD noting that we max out on all coverages as high they will let us go since we live in such a sad litigious society. All rates are based on credit scores, driving record, levels of insurance, type of TV and trailer, age of vehicles and age of insureds, etc.
In 2013 we purchased full timer coverage with the Thum Agency as recommended here iirc. Folks there were super helpful and friendly on the phone and I asked a ton of questions in an attempt to get the very best coverage available.
Last month my truck was stolen while grocery shopping and as it turns out my comprehensive full timer's policy will not cover anything stolen out of the truck.
AAA has the truck insured, and they covered the body damage, hitch, hub caps, bike rack and toolbox, but not the contents of the vehicle, which typically are covered under homeowners' policies.
I made another call to Progressive and they say if I wanted homeowner type coverage I should have bought a mobile home policy!!
WHY am I just learning this now when I was ASSURED I had the best policy I could buy?
Thum says too bad so sad, only items inside the camper are covered, not my bike or bbq or Dish unless they are inside the rig.
So it seems i'm out thousands of dollars (unless someone here knows how i can fight and win this battle!) and need a new policy.
What do people who do not also have a permanent home do in cases like this?
When I call progressive for fulltimers insurance, they asked me where I will have it parked and is is secure... That to me was a clear indication of something wrong... either they are playing games with the term "fulltimer"... or they are lost.. either way i walked..
Got mine through national interstate...
Susan,
I can't help you with regards to getting compensation from your current insurance. However, if you do decide to go with a different company, check out Miller Insurance out of Oregon. National Interstate is the actual insurance company with Miller Insurance being a broker. We've dealt with them now for a couple of years and Marlene has been great to work with. We were "static" full-timers living in Oklahoma for three years. Marlene told us it was too bad we weren't already traveling, as our insurance would have been cheaper. When we moved to Colorado, again in a "static" mode, we called Marlene to change our state of residence, thus the need for a new policy. When we made the change, residency in Colorado saved us about $1200 or so over the Oklahoma residency.
Terry
I most definitely have what is called fulltime and comprehensive insurance, neither of which term is really accurate as it turns out.
I am shopping around for a better agency, as Thum's seems to not give a darn what they tell or sell to consumers.
X2 on Terry’s comment about Miller and “RV” insurance. Not all agents, regardless of what they say, have access to all companies, like Progressive’s, total product lines. Most “local” agents can’t write the best policies for many of the rig’s we own and the specialized tow vehicles, etc. regardless of what they tell you. This is a major issue and not one to be taken lightly. Miller, for one, is a specialist in RV / full-time – insurance and is one agent who can help with what most require in the RV world.
Miller and Progressive have been great and Progressive has been excellent as to service and payments to us over the last 9 years.
Very sorry for your trouble but this could be an agent problem not having access to to the correct insurance product(s) you require.
I think many will have issues if they total the rv.. as progressive will most likely point out the fact that you never told them you don't have a home.. and are in your RV all year..
Just a fyi..
I seen rates as low as $400 / year through 4k. with my 2 vehicles... all of them where called "fulltimer" .. not all of them really are. Lawyer play games with interpretations.
We settled with National interstate... full replacement first 5 years.. I added a high liability.. and full coverage on my 13 RAM and 15 Elantra... about 2400 / year total.. sounds expensive, but I'm covered full value, anywhere , anytime.. and protected better from lawsuits..
Miller was higher for national interstate, than I got direct from them.. so shop around, if it matters.
We don not have a house and Progressive knows it. We do have full timers coverage. Our address is 132 Rainbow Dr #???, Livingston TX. There is no problem.
-- Edited by Glenn West on Friday 6th of March 2015 03:52:20 PM
Sherry
I think because you have a address, and you are stationary... that could work.. Rv's are the same as mobile homes in that sense.. In fact I am getting a permit to put mine on a property next mo.... temporary.
I don't think it's the same if you travel more than you are in one spot.. sure you can lie... and say whatever, and get cheap rates.. but if they have to pay out 200k , there will be a investigation .. and you could be on the short end, in the end.
Fwiw, once again---I was VERY CLEAR we are living FULLTIME in our rv. It is our ONLY home, which is why I asked so many questions about the COMPREHENSIVE FULL TIMER policy.
Last week I asked the agent handling the claim--which they refused---if my bikes or bbq or satellite dish were covered if they were not inside the camper. That was on Thursday and I have had no response from progressive.
We are not stationary. That is the Escapees address.
Since we deal with StateFarm directly whenever we have a claim (rare)... Just so we understand how insurance brokers work, if we were to go through Miller (being an insurance broker using Nationwaide Interstate), or any other broker for that matter, for our RV coverage (when our time comes) and we had a claim... who handles it (or is otherwise our point of contact)... Miller or Nationwide? The point of the question is which route will get better attention in an "event". Miller, anecdotally, appears to have great customer service support... can the same be said of Nationwide Interstate? If Miller is acting as my agent during an "event" then that service support seems to be a worthwhile thing.
I have space in my brain for this important tidbit.
It's good to be smart about stuff (evil)... err, things (unimportant) err, details. Yeah, that's the word I was looking for. 
Brian
We have had two claims with Progressive due to defective parts (bad bearings) which caused some damage to the rig’s components. (Previous trailer.) In both cases Progressive handled the claim and in both cases the settlement was prompt and without problems. (They paid the bill 100%.) In most cases they will send an adjuster if there is damage to the rig but in both our cases they just wanted to see what happened and examine the parts. There was no delay. Actually, just the opposite. Extremely prompt service from the adjuster.
The “agent” or “broker,” in our case Miller, really has no role in claims unless there is some mitigating circumstance.
If I might comment further – some issues can again come from the agent not being able, or knowing, what policy you really need in spite of you asking for “the best.” Again, not all agents can sell the full product lines from the same underwriter. That is why when asked we always recommend an agent who is specifically an "RV" agency.
When we made our first claim the adjuster on the phone looked up our policy and said, “What do you want, your policy covers most anything. How can I help?” But we had the “right” policy.