INSURANCE

In the world of business, any issues that span two pigeonholes almost always fall through the crack between them. Business doesn't like unusual circumstances. It's too difficult to estimate the risks of investment and any potential profits. Business is really spooky when it comes to risks and unknowns.

Motorhomes fall into this category. They're both motor vehicles and residential homes, especially for full-timers. They can be administered (at least in theory) by either of two sets of regulations, subject to two unrelated sets of perils, and covered by two disparate types of insurance plans. Because they can be insured as either or both, they span two pigeonholes. Thus, the insurance industry as a whole doesn't know quite what to make of them and tends to avoid having anything to do with them. Motorhomes fall through the crack.

You can insure your motorhome as a motor vehicle, but in the case of a serious accident the $10,000 worth of contents isn't covered because it's household goods and has no official, bureaucratic relationship to the vehicle. Or, you can insure your motorhome as a home, but then you're not insured when you take it out on the highway. Most states and provinces levy severe penalties for this practice. Besides, it's just plain stupid to drive without insurance.

So now you begin to understand our problem. We needed "public liability and property damage (PLPD)," comprehensive (e.g., vandalism, theft, fire, glass breakage) and collision insurance on the vehicle, but we also needed substantial insurance on the contents similar to renter's insurance or a homeowner's policy. Furthermore, we needed it on a motorhome that we didn't own yet!

Insurance companies advertise in recreational vehicle publications all the time. Pick up an issue of Motorhome, Travel Trailer, Escapees or Highways and every second page seems to be advertising either a loan company or an insurance agency. So, Stan started calling or E-mailing some of them. The unilateral response was "Sorry. We don't insure vehicles in Canada." American magazines, American insurance companies. Period!

With frustration hanging heavy in the air, Stan began asking them who in Canada insures motorhomes. We got several vague "Well, look in the Yellow Pages" type of answers or a simple and direct "I don't know." One company went so far as to ask us to report back to them when we get an answer so they'd know what to tell other Canadians!

Well, this is a real bummer!

There were several bright lights in the dismal fog, however. In visiting several of the specifically-RV-oriented hits we learned a lot about RV insurance and why we shouldn't simply get automotive insurance on our motorhome. We'll let you do the searching and reading (see the sidebar) so we can get on with this story. But, out of self-defense, you really should read them if you own an RV or are planning on acquiring one in the near future.

Stan did go to the Yellow Pages and began calling local Calgary insurance companies. Man! What an ear-full! Many wouldn't insure recreational vehicles at all. Several even told us they were seriously considering going out of business in Alberta altogether. Still others declared that they had placed a moratorium on new insurance policies of any kind at least until January 1^st. The company that we insure our Malibu and camper van through refused to touch the motorhome, putting a $125,000 ceiling on the value of any vehicle!

What the Dickens is going on here?

It seems that Alberta is heading on a crash course for a complete automotive insurance meltdown. The insurance companies declare that insurance costs are skyrocketing so high so fast that they can't keep up. If you can't make some sort of profit, you'd better get out of the business, and that's what many were considering doing.

Insurance customers, on the other hand, were at the point of open rebellion. Insurance costs had been spiralling out of control and many people had reached the limit of their financial endurance.