How to Get Insurance for a Van 

Step 1 is to get your vehicle registered as an RV. This will help. Expecting to get your vehicle insured to include all your DIY time is not reasonable or realistic. That is why they are asking about the outfitter. Insurance companies need to be able to send it somewhere to get the work done, and many insurance companies do not have much or any experience with the new phenomena of DIY camper van conversions. To be safe, they'll charge you through the nose, so to speak. I am still waiting for my transit, but I am going to come at the insurance as more of a vehicle insurance plus contents insurance. Thanks for sharing this video. People don't mention much about the nightmares of registration and insurance... We all "need more input"!!! 😀

Get good insurance, but more importantly…know your vehicle height!

Thank you for making video like this. Insurance companies are notoriously difficult to navigate through, but sometimes a must have. Best case scenario, hopefully never get into a wreck

I bought a new 2021 Ford Transit 250 high top ext and added it to my Geico ins. I got a call a month later from Geico telling me they won’t insure it under my personal policy bcz they consider my vehicle to be commercial only. They said I’d have to get a commercial policy. I went through 5 different reps to get a quote and ended up being transferred to Progressive. What a pain in the butt. I also called Roamly and was told that they could cover my van as soon as the build out was complete. They provided a rough estimate for comp/collision of $1200 to $1600 for an annual policy. I will be calling them back as soon as my build is done. Appreciate this video very much. I knew nothing about Roamly. Thanks !

GEESUSS... What a nightmare!! I'm kinda surprised it wasn't declared totaled. Just looking at the exterior damages.! Straight talk, from the insurance provider's perspective? Yea...Good luck with that!

fantastic video.... some DIY converters dont necessarily think about this stuff...

I really wanted to see the interaction with Roamly because it's an option I'm considering. Did you get a quote back and was it good? Did they have any requirements?

Here in California of you can get it registered as an RV through the DMV and then find insurance it will be much easier. Catch is, you must be "self contained" to get the DMV to do this so it must include bathroom (black tank), kitchen with fresh and gray water storage perm tanks and a bed. Something to think about when making conversion choices

Thanks for this video. I’m about 1/2 way through my mostly DIY build. I did have an upfitter do some bigger jobs, so I’m hoping to not have too many issues when I try to switch my insurance to RV insurance. I’m in NY and will report back here after I go through the process. I currently have Geico covering a couple vehicles, including my Sprinter.

Always enjoy your videos. This one's interesting in that I called my independent insurance agent on Friday to get a quote as my Ford Transit HR extended vehicle will be coming within 30 days. Was ordered over a year ago as a 2021 then moved to a 2022 with Ford's chip delays. Called my insurance agent who suggested Progressive and within 10 minutes I received a quote for roughly $1,200 on $160,000 van and conversion value. I'm located in Ventura, California. I will do some more investigation on Progressive based upon your phone calls to confirm I will be covered. All seemed pretty easy though with a great independent agent. He's now investigating additional insurance options and companies.

Can you please also do a video on the finance options for the van and probably the refinance for the build out? DIY or through an upfitter

Progressive doesn’t have consistency from their insurance agents. I spoke to one that said they could definitely insure my sprinter, and they gave me a price. I called back the next day to move forward with the quote and the agent said they weren’t sure it was possible. They transferred me to another agent that said because it’s a straight cargo van they “couldn’t guarantee coverage in the event of a claim” which is a massive pile of BS. I’d rather just be told no 😂 in the end I’m using safeco and it’s 230$ a month and the vehicle isn’t ensured for 150k like Jeremy said in this video.. I need to find something better for sure

They are covering a lot more so I would not expect that State Farm would cover you at cost Geico provided. State Farm will upgrade and cover your upfitted equipment but it would not be RV coverage without the 3 requirements. Here is exactly what State Farm told me via email in September 2021 and I’m binding coverage in March 2022. Alyssa, Sure I’m more than happy to assist! I can circle back up with Trevor as well to give him more information. Basically there are two ways can cover the converted van & the separator is “permanent living”. So, if the conversion includes a kitchen (with heating source), running water, toilet, shower & bedding then we would get it approved as an RV. Those are “case by case” from underwriting. Most of the time as long as the original frame/chasis isn’t cut & extended or permanently changed, we can still cover it. If the van is just built out with any combination of those but not all of them, we can cover it as a recreational use “modified” van. Let me know if you have any other questions and ill be happy to assist. I’m also happy to jump on a call and answer questions more conversationally if that would be easier for you.

Thanks for information.

Purchased a 2023 Pleasure-Way Ontour 2.2 insured it with progressive $1100 for a year. Got a quote from Allstate well over double.

Tried multiple times in the past 14 years of ownership of 2 Sprinters and a cherry VW Westy. Three Lessons: Don't do any significant product installs yourself if you expect to insure for it. One approach is to have the pros do the 'sink/toilet/bed' and ask them to pad the invoice to cover the full build. No DIY conversions should expect any sweat equity reimbursement by an insurance provider. Full Replacement Value is very difficult to get so self insuring (Liability coverage + a fat emergency fund) should be considered.

Our regular insurance company Amica lists RVs and Camper Vans as a choice on their website, but we're not done yet so I haven't called for a quote. They are easy to work with (on sales and claim side too), so expect that's where I will go

Can you update the outcome of your Roamly inquiry 🧐

Very timely video for me. Just working out the final details with my local State Farm agent. From my agent, "State Farm doesn’t go based off of stated value for motorhome policies. They do replacement cost coverage on the vehicle, based on the vehicle’s value at the time of loss. Per auto underwriting they go based off the Manufacturer’s suggested retail price and conversion cost (customization & work put into the van). Per our last conversation we took the MSRP of 58,120 and 27 DRG/GRG based off the VIN and Van Customization is 30,000, which is how we came up with an MSRP of 88,120. If you want to increase the amount of the conversion of 30k, feel free to provide me with any documentation(i.e. the list of parts and value) and our auto underwriting production team can review. Premium may be subject to change, if the value is increased."

Hi, any update on Romely and GEICO insurance?

Anyone else concerned about bears breaking into van? Afterall they tend to be loaded with food which every national park with bears activity advises against. Anyone else get that covered on their plan or have any experience? Also any advice on how to prevent bear break ins or keep bears away?

currently looking for insurance for my converted van so this is pretty timely. i think i'm going with Good Sam. has anyone else used them?

I asked insuring my State Farm agent about insuring my van that I was going to convert into a campervan DIY and they said they would drop my coverage if I did that. This was about a year and a half ago in Missouri. Not sure if it's changed since then but I think it depends on the agent you talk with and what state you live in. I've heard Roamly is trying to get DIY campervan coverage in every state.

Progressive wonteven insurance these promasters unless its comrcial.......

I don’t understand, wouldn’t a new van cost less than pouring money all over this one? Would it have the same structural integrity as the original?

Appreciate the info! Please get rid of the music!

So, you did a video with one quote received After trying for four and the big elephant in the room being the quote from Roamly. Multiple people have asked you what that quote was, as well as you saying you would respond back. It's been a year. Are you going to answer the question?

progressive seems to be terrible