RV INSURANCE CLAIMS, “DID YOU KNOW”
EVERY INSURANCE COMPANY HANDLES ITS CLAIMS A BIT DIFFERENTLY, BUT MANY OF THE STEPS ARE SIMILAR. HERE’S AN IDEA OF WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE INSURANCE CLAIMS PROCESS.
An insurance claim is when you ask your insurance company to compensate you for the damages that you’re RV, Motorhome or Travel Trailer sustained in and accident.
After your RV is damaged in a wreck, vandalism, or a weather incident, you will need to document the damage, exchange info with all involved, and call your insurance company.
START A CLAIM
WE CAN HANDLE YOUR INSURANCE CLAIM REPAIRS
Contact your insurance company, weather it was your fault or someone else’s. They will guide you through the claim process. From our experience, some insurance companies will send out an adjuster to you, to get the process going, while others will ask you to take your RV to a repair facility and the adjuster will examine the damages at the repair shop.
CHOOSING A REPAIR FACILITY
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT AS A CONSUMER TO CHOOSE WHERE YOUR RV IS REPAIRED
Most insurance companies will have a preferred shop that they will suggest you take your vehicle to. This is not always in your best interest. As a consumer, you have a number of rights which could ensure that your Motor Home, Camper or Trailer will be repaired in a proper, complete and safe manner.
Choosing a repair facility where your RV will be repaired is an important decision. In most cases, you have the right to make that decision. Not all shops are alike, when it comes to having properly trained technicians and the equipment and facilities needed to fix your vehicle right. We have been repairing RV’s for over 30 years, there is not much that we have not seen. Remember insurance companies are a business for profit, they make money by not paying out on claims. Often they suggest a repair facility is because the repairs are cheaper for them. Cheaper repairs are not always better repairs.
When the insurance company chooses the repair facility, they are the shop’s number one concern because they are competing for their business, while if you choose your own shop, you and your RV are more likely to be priority number one.
You can still get good service from an insurer-designated shop, but it’s a good idea to involve yourself in the repair process and make sure you ask a lot of questions about what work is being done, what the prices are, and what replacement parts the shop will be using. We do not give insurance companies any preference or discounts, all jobs are equally important to us.
Remember, the repair shop is fixing your RV for you, it’s important you’re comfortable with the shop you choose. Most states prohibit the insurance companies from requiring you use a particular shop. Ultimately this means, no matter what your told, the repair facility decision is YOUR CHOICE.
We work with all insurance companies. Here is a short list of the insurance companies we work with:
- Allstate
- Progressive
- AAA
- Farmers
- Mercury
- Geico
- Foremost
- Nationwide
- USAA
- Goodsam
- Foremost
- Encompass
- Allied
- MetLife
- Safeco
- The Hartford
- State Farm
- National General
- Liberty Mutual
PARTS USED FOR YOUR REPAIR
At McColloch’s RV, our first choice in replacement parts are OEM. (Original Equipment Manufacture) These are the same parts that your RV manufacturer distributes to ensure proper fit, function, and most importantly, safety.
In the RV industry, there are not standard, each manufacture has their own ideas and systems for parts and building their units. There is NO online database for parts and availability, expect delays. Its an “old school” way of doing business, personal communication. We contact the manufacture through our representative and they contact the representative to find out availability. Sometimes this process can take weeks to get an answer. Some manufactures are better than others.
Also, replacement parts are not inventoried for very long. Through our 30+ years of repairing RV’s Trailers, and Motorhomes we have found numerous sources to get obsolete, replacements, or aftermarket parts to repair RV’s to as new conditions. Many times, parts that are NLA (No Longer Available), we can have custom pieces made. We take pride in our repairs, so that they do not look like a “repair”.
Everyone deserves to drive, ride and camp in a safely properly repaired RV, one that will perform properly after an incident. We hope you choose McColloch’s RV when the unfortunate has happened. If you have any questions feel free to call or email us.
