New Jersey RV Insurance

New Jersey isn’t necessarily known as an RVers paradise. But the state boasts thousands of acres of pristine outdoors in its Wharton State Forest, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and many other parks and preserves throughout the state.

Plus it’s a close drive to many other outdoor paradises. But before you hit the road or cross over the state lines, you’ll need to get yourself an adequate RV insurance policy. We’ll break down everything you need to know in this article.

While only bodily injury liability, property damage liability, personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage are legally required in New Jersey, there are a few more coverages that can help you protect your RV, the possessions you keep inside of it and your wallet if something drastic occurs on the road.

Also, if your RV is parked on a property you own and maintain homeowners insurance on, your homeowners insurance can cover some instances of damage to your RV.

This covers medical bills to injured parties if you caused an accident and any lawsuits that may arise if you’re sued due to the injuries. It’s only required for drivable RVs since your standard auto insurance transfers this coverage to towable travel trailers.

Another coverage that’s legally required for drivable RVs in New Jersey, property damage liability covers damage you cause to someone else’s vehicle or property if you’re deemed to be at fault for an accident. New Jersey requires you to maintain $5,000 in coverage per accident.

However, property damage liability is another facet that’s not required for any towable travel trailer because the auto policy of the vehicle towing it transfers over. So damage caused to other vehicles or property by drivers who back into them with their towable travel trailer will have coverage under the vehicle’s auto insurance.

Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is used if you get into an accident that isn’t your fault with a driver who either doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have sufficient enough insurance to pay for damages to your RV or medical bills for injured parties in your rig. It will either cover the difference of what their insurance can cover and the exact cost of damages or, if they’re uninsured, the entire cost.

Whether an accident was your fault or not, collision coverage is designed to pay up to your policy’s maximums for the cost of damage to your RV. It could help supplement your policy’s uninsured motorist property damage coverage to help pay for all damages to your RV. This coverage is available, and highly recommended, for both drivable and towable RVs.

Comprehensive coverage is designed to protect your RV from damage caused by incidents that are deemed to be mostly out of your control. This can be damage caused by vandals or natural disasters like hurricanes and floods, as well as theft of your rig.

Medical payments coverage is designed to help pay for medical expenses due to injuries sustained to you or anyone in your RV after an accident — whether you’re at fault or not.

Since people shouldn’t be riding in towable RVs while they’re going down the road, it may only be available for drivable RVs. Towable RVs may even receive coverage from the auto policy of the vehicle towing them. You’ll want to check with your specific insurer, though.

Personal effects replacement coverage was designed to bridge the gap between too little and just enough coverage for your personal belongings. If belongings kept inside your RV are damaged, destroyed or stolen, including bikes attached to the back of your rig, this can help cover up to $5,000 worth of damage.

Coverage only applies to possessions not built into your RV. So belongings like electronics and mattresses likely would be covered, while bed frames and couches likely wouldn’t be covered. RVers, especially necessary for those classified as full-timers, may be able to add an endorsement to their policy to receive up to $100,000 in coverage per claim.

Total loss replacement coverage can help cover newer RVs if they’re deemed by your insurer to be totaled. designed solely for newer-model RVs. It typically pays out as follows: totaled within the first four years, reimbursement for the original purchase price or replaced with a similar model; totaled in years five to seven, reimburses you either the price you paid or the actual cash value; and after seven years, it typically drops to only reimbursing you its actual cash value.

This coverage can help pay for 24-hour assistance needed on the road. This can be utilized for things like jumpstarting your rig, delivering gas if you miscalculated your mileage to the nearest gas station or simply fixing a flat tire.

Also likely only needed for drivable RVs since towable RVs can already be towed by your vehicle, the towing & labor add-on can save you a significant amount of money if your drivable RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere and it must be towed to the nearest shop — which could be hundreds of miles away.

Vacation liability coverage can be added to both drivable and towable RV insurance policies. It can financially protect you if you accidentally cause damage to property or an injury to someone else while your RV is parked at a designated campsite, but it usually excludes undeveloped campsites located on public lands.

RV insurance is required for all drivable RVs in New Jersey, but it isn’t required for towable travel trailers because they can use the auto insurance of the vehicle towing them.

New Jersey’s minimum state requirements are $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident of bodily injury liability, $5,000 per accident of property damage liability, $15,000 per person of personal injury protection and $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident of uninsured motorist coverage.

However, those minimum legal limits are simply a requirement of the state. RVs are expensive to repair and can cause a significant amount of damage, so opting for minimum coverage will likely leave your rig underinsured.

And just because New Jersey has low limits and doesn’t require RV insurance on towable RVs, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to settle for those in every instance. If you financed your RV (drivable or towable), your lender will require you to maintain adequate RV insurance until you’ve paid off the loan in full.

So even though you may be able to settle for $5,000 in property damage liability coverage, your lender could deem your RV will likely cause more damage than that and require you to up your coverage.

They’ll also make you purchase a full coverage policy instead of a liability only policy. They do this to recoup their money if you’re involved in an accident, your RV sustains significant damage and you still owe money on your loan.

The average cost of RV insurance in New Jersey is anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per year. It really depends heavily on a multitude of factors, including the value of your rig, how much coverage you enroll in, your driving and claims history and how often you use it.

As an insurance agency operating in New Jersey, Clovered partners with the state’s top insurers to provide our customers with the best policy at the best price. Simply enter some information about your rig and driving history into our easy-to-use RV insurance quoting form and one of our agents will find the perfect policy for you.