Hello fellow travelers! I’m looking for some advice on the following insurance scenario. I am American, traveling with my European partner in a DIY camper we built in Czech Republic. We have car insurance, but as many van-lifers are aware, most car insurance only covers the vehicle value, not the possessions inside. We own loads of gadgets (laptops, projector, drone, camera equipment, etc.) and I cannot imagine our recovery if we were to lose these things all at once.
We have done loads of safety precautions already: we don’t look like a campervan, we have a hidden safe that’s insanely difficult to locate, we have a steering wheel lock, and we always have our curtains up. As we venture to some countries with mild travel advisories, it’s a nice peace of mind to have insurance in that worse case.
A lot of travel insurance agencies only protect personal items from airport related thieves. Other automobile insurance agencies only protect up to $1,000 USD for personal items if a personal items clause is added to in an existing account. We aren’t renters or homeowners, so we don’t qualify for home insurance. I’m very interested to how others have found a way to insure their belongings while living on the road full-time.
Definitely interested in the same question! I’ve used personal article insurance through State Farm and the likes in the past while simply traveling but have yet to get set up on that nowadays. I remembered it being only around $100 or so a month depending on the value of the objects you’re insuring. The nice thing about personal article insurance is that the cameras, drones, laptops, etc. that leave your van with you are still insured wherever you go with them.
My answer to this problem is to have a large enough emergency fund to replace everything, including your vehicle. Counting on insurance companies can be a slow, painful, and expensive process.
Cheers!
"Be a credit to the human race, and make the world a better place." ~ Off Grid
This is difficult for sure, especially in a higher end vehicle/camper as the build itself can sometime far outweigh the van cost.
Most insurance companies cover the vehicle only and won’t touch anything inside, much less any of the conversion, so make sure you have things in writing before you wish you did.
Best thing you can do is call around and be honest about your situation.
We at least found a company willing to cover the cost of the additional build components (we simply had to provide proof of what went into our builds). They won’t cover labor/time, but at some point you take what you can get!
Hey theDangerz, glad to hear you were actually able to get the insurance though. Through what company? Is it “RV” insurance and does it cover all the things here like Agreed Value (instead of Total Loss Replacement), Personal Effects, Vanishing Deductibles, and Full-timer Coverage?
