Virginia RV Insurance

But even though your RV can take you places you’ve been dreaming of without the need for a hotel, you must properly protect it with the right RV insurance policy. Let’s break down everything you need to know before you hit the open road in your rig.

There are two types of RV insurance coverage you can invest in: liability only and full coverage. Similar to the auto insurance policy on your daily driver, each coverage has either limited or added protection for both you and your rig. While liability only covers other people, vehicles and property, full coverage protects nearly every aspect.

Legally required for drivable RVs in Virginia, bodily injury liability covers medical bills to injured people if you caused an accident or ran into someone. It can also cover lawsuits that may arise if you’re sued due to the injuries. While the state’s minimum coverages are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, that may not be enough for everyone.

It’s also important to note that bodily injury isn’t required for towable RVs (in Virginia or any other state), such as 5th wheels or pop-up campers, because they receive coverage from the auto policy of the vehicle towing them.

Another coverage that’s legally required for drivable RVs in Virginia, 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. Virginia requires you to maintain $20,000 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.

Another legally required facet of RV insurance for all drivable rigs in Virginia is uninsured motorist bodily and property damage coverage. Virginia vehicles must maintain a minimum of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident of uninsured motorist bodily injury and $20,000 per accident of uninsured motorist property damage coverage.

This facet of your policy is extremely important because it’s designed to be utilized if you’re involved in an accident with another driver, the accident is deemed to be their fault and they either don’t have insurance or don’t have enough to cover the injuries to your passengers or damage to your RV. This can cover the difference of what their insurance pays for, or, if they’re uninsured, the entire cost of the damages.

Since RVs are quite expensive to repair, and many auto policies are vastly underinsured if they total an expensive RV, it’s wise to increase your coverage beyond the limits of Virginia’s required state minimum coverage amounts.

Collision coverage can kick in to repair damage to your RV if you’re involved in an accident — whether that accident was your fault or not. If you caused the accident, it will likely kick in to pay for the damage to your rig up to your policy’s limits.

If you didn’t cause it and the other driver has insufficient or no coverage at all, it could help supplement your policy’s uninsured motorist property damage coverage to help pay for all damages to your RV. It’s available for both drivable and towable RVs.

Comprehensive coverage is also available for both drivable and towable RVs, protecting them against things that are deemed to be out of your control. It especially comes in handy when you sustain damage to your RV’s roof or awning caused by incidents like a windstorm or flood. It may also cover things like water leaks due to hitting an overpass and vandalism or theft of your RV.

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. 

RVers travel with more personal belongings than a daily commuter, so personal effects replacement coverage was designed to keep those possessions safe. It can help pay to repair or replace damaged or destroyed belongings that aren’t directly built into your rig, such as clothing, bicycles and electronics.

Many policy’s cap coverage at $5,000 per claim, but you may be able to enroll in up to $100,000 in coverage by adding an endorsement to your policy. This endorsement can become extremely valuable for those full-time RVers (qualifying as spending more than 150 nights per year in your RV) who have more possessions onboard.

Total loss replacement coverage is designed solely for newer-model RVs. Depending on how old it is at the time of an accident that’s declared to total your rig, it can either replace your rig with a new one or reimburse you for the cost.

It typically goes 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.

Similar to the coverage in your daily driver’s auto policy, roadside assistance is an add-on that can help pay for 24-hour assistance needed on the road. It’s mostly needed for drivable RVs since towable RVs typically don’t run into the same major issues. It can cover things like jumpstarting your engine, delivering a new battery or gas, or fixing a flat.

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.

This is an add-on to both drivable and towable RV insurance policies that’s designed to 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. This coverage can exclude undeveloped campsites located on public lands, such as within the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest.

All RV insurance policies in Virginia are legally required to include bodily injury liability coverage ($25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident), property damage liability coverage ($20,000 per accident), uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage ($25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident) and uninsured motorist property damage coverage ($20,000 per accident).

Although drivable RVs are legally required to maintain the aforementioned state minimum coverages within the policy, towable RVs are not legally required to have coverage because the state minimums transfer from the auto policy of the vehicle towing it.

However, your lender can legally require you to maintain full coverage (collision and comprehensive) if you still owe money to them on a loan used to purchase your RV — whether it’s drivable or towable. If you still owe them money, they still hold the title and technically still own the rights to the vehicle. They may require insurance to ensure they don’t lose out on the money owed if your RV is totaled in an at-fault accident.

The average cost of RV insurance in Virginia differs greatly based on a variety of factors. It can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per year, depending on the value of your rig, how much coverage you enroll in, your driving and claims history and how often you use it.

One thing is for certain: Virginia RV insurance for towable RVs will likely cost less than an equivalently sized drivable RV because it has fewer mechanical mechanisms to repair if you’re involved in an accident.

With Clovered’s easy-to-use online RV insurance quoting form, getting a Virginia RV insurance policy is simpler and quicker than ever. All you need to do is fill in a few details about your rig and one of our licensed agents will pair you with a policy that suits your specific needs.