Insurance (again)

Has anyone insured with National General?  Good Sam quoted us a policy through them which sounds real good.  They will provide full cost replacement for a new unit for the first 5 years, and then cut us a check for our purchase price after that.  No depreciating.  All for less than $900/year.

What am I missing?

Anyone else worth considering, we do want the full cost replacement option.

Thanks, Will

Echoing an earlier post where I commented on Travel Assistance Plans and observed how many respondents to the Forum reported on their bad experiences.  In fact, some accusations would lead readers to suspect the integrity of their plan.  Good Sam coverage seemed to generate the most dissatisfaction among RV Owners.

My horrible experience with Good Sam pertains to their National General underwritten vehicle insurance.  Being brand new to the RV Market, I accepted the dealer’s offer and purchased liability/comprehensive insurance coverage thru Campers World / Good Sam.  I did some shopping around to compare prices before accepting and found the policy premium was especially competitive.

When I called their number to acquire the policy, I was assured by the saleswoman at National General that her company was fully capable, specialized in RV coverage, she was licensed in Alaska, and full coverage could be provided.  In fact, she volunteered the information as the first words out of her mouth.  A year later, it was revealed none of that was true. 

When it came time to renew, the conversation quickly revealed National General wasn't on solid footing and my policy wasn’t renewable.   No explanation!   With the esoterics of state licensing, I can only imagine.  The issue might have revolved around my Alaska residency and the storage location being in the lower 48.

The stark point being, as revealed in the terse conversation, the policy I had was unenforceable. At least, that is what I imagined.  The coverage was never questioned during the year of driving the PC ten thousand miles around the Western States.  Because, although I had the properly addressed policy document, there was never a claim necessary.  I had relied upon it for protection during the year   However, I doubt my avenue to collect damages or be protected from liability would have been enforceable.  And then only under duress. 

After expressing considerable anguish at the risk the bogus policy unknowingly exposed me to, there was a period of lapsed time as National General considered their culpability.  Selling worthless insurance is a big deal!  The undeniability of the gross misrepresentation was apparent.   That combined with what I am certain was their realization of the threat my potential to sue for exposure.  Because of the potential for unintended catastrophic loss.  Along with the realization I could introduce the case to the State Insurance Licensing Agency 

The eventual resolution was for them to yield me a full refund of the premium.  I consider that an admission they had engaged in unscrupulous business practices.  Something that seems to seamlessly mesh with Good Sam's approach to peddling Roadside Assistance Plans.

Alaska insurance coverage is bizarrely unique.  Insurance premiums paid by Alaska residents are astronomical in comparison to what the same coverage costs in the Lower 48 .  Policies written to Alaska residents are stuffed with waivers, exclusions, and arbitrary exceptions.  The rationale for the variances is answered with "take it or leave it" attitudes.  I add that observation to explain why the Good Sam sponsored insurance seemed to offer a discounted premium when knowing the coverage was being written for and mailed to an Alaska residence

We had National General for 11 years on all our vehicles, including our RV's.  Then in 2015 we finally had an insurance claim on our car as a result of an accident with a deer.  We then learned that National General did not have any insurance adjusters in Michigan and we would have to wait for them to contract with a third-party adjuster to check out our insurance claim.  It was over 2 weeks, and several calls by us to National General, before a third-party adjuster was hired.  As a result, a repair that should have taken 2, maybe three weeks, took 5 weeks to get done.  The repair shop said that they had never seen a company take so long to review and approve an accident claim as National General had taken.

Needless to say, we switched insurance carriers as soon as they had paid for our repair job.

Gary

Thanks for the input.  Thanks for taking the time to type the long write up Taildragger.

Wow, anything for a buck huh.  It seems to me the more I read about business in America, the worse it gets with providing actual customer service.  They want your money and promise that they have great service(s), but when it comes to them performing that business task of providing service, they seem to go blank.  LOL.  What is the world coming to?

Customer service? I had to go look that term up on the Internet.

Whatever you choose, get a copy of the policy up front. My Aunt and Uncle worked through their insurance agent, talked about snow birding in Florida, bought the policy, requested and requested a copy of the policy but never got it. Paid for years. When their rig was totally destroyed in Florida, they were denied. The policy stated it did not cover Florida, Texas, and a few other common snowbird states.

Yes, always, thanks.