Insurance during bus build

[Jcparmley]

Hello

I am having the worst time trying to find liability insurance while I am building the bus.  I would like to be able to drive it to the mechanics place once and a while but everyone I call won't cover liability until it's completed.  I argued with Progressive today because their website says the provide insurance here is a quote from the website

"Non-professional Bus Conversion?Class A
A class A non-professional bus conversion has the following characteristics:
Motor home facilities built into a Class A type bus shell, but does not include changes made to school buses or public transit buses, as these vehicles are unacceptable.
Conversion is performed by the owner of the vehicle.

So a 1989 MCI 102c3 Grayhound Bus is neither a School Bus or a Public Transit Bus.  It's an over the highway commercial bus that has been gutted and is currently a shell.  THe agent said it would not qualify because it previously carried passengers.  So I asked him "can you tell what kind of bus would qualify?  I don't know too many busses that haven't carried passengers.  Anyhow, that was a futile excercise.  No one seems to understand the concept of a bus conversation that is not a skoolie.  Do you all have any suggestions? 

[richard5933]

Stop dealing with the company directly and work through a GOOD independent insurance agent. Don't know where you are located or I'd try and suggest someone. The independent agents will shop your coverage for you and can be a great help when you have a difficult situation like this.

We actually have Progressive on our conversion. It was a professional conversion so it's a bit different than your situation. However, I went through an agent who did all the leg work. She worked through her contact in underwriting, submitted photos and specs on our coach, and we never had a problem. Of course, Progressive has different rules in every state.

Sorry to break the news to you, but until the bus is actually converted you may need to insure it with a commercial line of coverage as a bus. At least that way you can get liability coverage and be able to drive it. Once you get the thing licensed and registered as a motor home, never utter the word bus to your insurance company again. Once it's tagged as a MH then that's what it is.

[J_E]

I was able to get a comprehensive plan through a local State Farm agent.  I had to go with a "commercial" policy and it has a minimum policy time of one year.  They insured me for the appraised value and have offered to update my coverage if I provide photos of improvements that I make during the conversion.  Once I finish the conversion and have re-titled it as a MH they have offered to convert my policy to a RV policy.  My policy is rather inexpensive and it is the only policy that I have with that agent.

I'm more than a year into the policy, and I got no grief renewing it.  Now all I need to do, is start and finish my conversion to see if they live up to the rest of their promises.

[buswarrior]

Get the ownership changed ASAP, half-@$# whatever you need to, to get the registration changed. Porta potty, a sheet wall, an electric frying pan and a mattress on the floor...

For liability only, stop having a freakin confessional with the insurance company...

You have a motorhome built by MCI and want liability only.

Full stop.

Anything else that comes out of your mouth scares the poop out of 'em, and just about everyone else, unless they are a busnut...

Talking makes trouble.

Stop it.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[Jcparmley]

I live in Wisconsin.  I have it titled in Wisconsin as a Motorhome.   

Stop dealing with the company directly and work through a GOOD independent insurance agent. Don't know where you are located or I'd try and suggest someone. The independent agents will shop your coverage for you and can be a great help when you have a difficult situation like this.

We actually have Progressive on our conversion. It was a professional conversion so it's a bit different than your situation. However, I went through an agent who did all the leg work. She worked through her contact in underwriting, submitted photos and specs on our coach, and we never had a problem. Of course, Progressive has different rules in every state.

Sorry to break the news to you, but until the bus is actually converted you may need to insure it with a commercial line of coverage as a bus. At least that way you can get liability coverage and be able to drive it. Once you get the thing licensed and registered as a motor home, never utter the word bus to your insurance company again. Once it's tagged as a MH then that's what it is.

[Jcparmley]

Great point.  I will try to keep my mouth shut.  Wisconsin allowed me to change the title to a Motorhome before I gutted it.  So it is already technically a Motorhome. 

Get the ownership changed ASAP, half-@$# whatever you need to, to get the registration changed. Porta potty, a sheet wall, an electric frying pan and a mattress on the floor...

For liability only, stop having a freakin confessional with the insurance company...

You have a motorhome built by MCI and want liability only.

Full stop.

Anything else that comes out of your mouth scares the poop out of 'em, and just about everyone else, unless they are a busnut...

Talking makes trouble.

Stop it.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[richard5933]

Great point.  I will try to keep my mouth shut.  Wisconsin allowed me to change the title to a Motorhome before I gutted it.  So it is already technically a Motorhome.

Yeah - Wisconsin is nice like that. They will take your word for it when you change from bus to motor home. It was explained to me that all is good until you get pulled over and the officer notices that you're still a bus, and then the $h!+ hits the fan. Be careful because the fines would be steep.

I'll send you a PM with my agent's contact information. If the conversion is not complete, then you will want to have insurance for what it is right now - a bus. If you get it insured as a motor home when it's still not converted there would be a chance the coverage would be denied in the event of an 'event'. Not a chance I'd want to take. To get the proper MH insurance they'll want pictures, and once they see the unfinished shell that will be the end of the story.

Talk to the agent. Explain the situation. See what she can find for you. My suspicion is she'll find a low-cost commercial line policy to cover your @$$ till the conversion is complete. Once you have a completed conversion she'll work with you to switch to a MH policy.

If you are only looking to get coverage for a one-time trip to the mechanic I'd ask about that as well. Possible that there exist some type of transit policy.

We'll have to get together and compare notes. Glad to hear that there's another bus nut in Wisconsin.

[boxcarOkie]

My old Hoopie (83 rust free Iggle) is titled "Motorhome."  It has insurance and it is available.  Do the leg-work, you will find it is out there, anything and everything to suit your needs.

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[luvrbus]

I don't know how it works in Wi ,here in AZ like I been doing upgrade on the bus I take it out of service.When I need to drive it I call my agent with State Farm and she handles it all she asks is how long it needed for cost me very little something like 20 bucks for last year.
I had Progressive they charged for the entire year only and the low cost premiums doubled in 3 years also.
Progressive would be my last choice,AZ is not a state that glass coverage is mandatory in a policy so you pay extra I had 100.00 deductible on glass. I broke both windshields in Texas at the same time on our Trek ( large windshields $500 bucks ea)they made me pay the  deductible on both windshields I did then found me another Insurance Co       

[neoneddy]

My AmFam agent just asked for the VIN, make and model, mine was a shell. I'm in MN.

Like buswarrior said, it's just an MCI motorhome, no big deal.

[buswarrior]

GEEZUS... quit makin' $#!% up.

It is what it says it is on the ownership. The rest doesn't matter.

It is a motorhome, and to reinforce the issue, the seats are gone...

No more talking, MCI motorhome, liability please, it ain't worth anything, quote please.

Shut the freak up about whatever else. It is none of their business until they are exposed to replacing it.

Time needs to be spent on the conversion, not this...

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[luvrbus]

The problem in the USA is no 2 states have the same insurance rules and laws and the insurance co's make the laws ,here the VIN will always come back as bus only the registration will be a RV and I am ok with paying 55 bucks for 5 years. I work around the insurance it's dumb to pay insurance for a full year on a vehicle you are not driving IMO,let your agent work for you and forget about the internet and 800 numbers   

[richard5933]

GEEZUS... quit makin' $#!% up.

It is what it says it is on the ownership. The rest doesn't matter.

Not sure who you are talking to about making things up.

Here in Wisconsin they will give motor home plates to anyone that says their vehicle is a motor home. Sorry, but saying it's a motor home doesn't make it one. I was warned at the DMV that what I tell them will determine what plates I get, but if an officer or trooper is ever involved and disagrees with my claims, they can & will write a citation. Not a chance I'd be comfortable taking.

Last thing anyone wants is to have an insurance company attempt to deny a claim by stating that the vehicle was wrongly registered and wrongly insured. The agent that I work with deals directly with the underwriting department when writing a policy to help get the best policy to cover what needs to be covered. They often require photos to be sure you have what you claim. No point in buying more insurance than needed, but also no point in creating a problem down the road by trying to skimp and get a policy that won't cover things when they matter.

[luvrbus]

I don't skimp on insurance I am just not paying for the time the bus is parked for months when I call my agent and tell her I am driving the bus to Phoenix or where ever I have the same million dollar policy as the rest of our vehicles it's simple and the bus is covered under my home owners if I burn the shop down 

[sledhead]

windshield deductible from my insurance co $ 500.00

from my glass guy $ 375 installed

dave