Beautiful young mother and her baby son in a camper van on a summer day
Motorhome insurance in Alberta is not a whole lot different than regular motor vehicle insurance. There are two major components, and three different choices motorhome owners will have to make when choosing their insurance coverage.
The First Choice
The first choice you will be offered is the amount of liability insurance to purchase. In Alberta, it is mandatory that each vehicle owner be covered for at least $200,000 in Third Party Liability and Accident Benefits (the vast majority carry $1,000,000 or more), medical payments ($50,000 per person), disability income (80 percent of lost wages), funeral expense benefits ($5,000), and death benefits (minimum $10,000).
Lliability is concerned with who is financially responsible for damages arising from an accident, incident, or other situation. It’s a major reason why insurance is so important. Without liability coverage, you would be on the hook to pay out of pocket if your actions or lack of appropriate actions caused property damage, injury, illness, death, or other losses. Generally speaking, the higher the value of your motorhome, the more liability coverage you should consider. Most policies we recommend will provide up to $1 million to pay for the legal assistance involved when an accident occurs.
The Second Choice
Your second choice for your motorhome insurance will be whether you would like standard or comprehensive coverage. Before you start, though, there are two terms you should know: actual cash value and replacement cost.
- Actual Cash Value is the least expensive and least inclusive type of motorhome insurance. It provides reimbursement for the current market value of the vehicle, including depreciation.
- Replacement Cost is an acronym for “replacement cost.” Specific to motorhomes and RVs, your insurance company will ask you to specify a fixed upper limit for the replacement of your vehicle. That limit represents the maximum value of the replacement or reimbursement you will be eligible to receive.
ACV and RC are common terms for all property insurance policies. Knowing the difference is important. Standard motorhome insurance will usually only provide actual cash value coverage, while comprehensive motorhome insurance will provide replacement cost coverage. Given how quickly vehicles depreciate, it is always recommended to choose comprehensive motorhome insurance.
You can expect a comprehensive motorhome or RV policy to provide:
- Protection of the vehicle, its contents (up to a specified value limit) and equipment including solar panels, appliances and generators, among others.
- Emergency expenses for unexpected costs resulting from motorhome damage or loss, such as hotel accommodations, food, and vehicle rentals.
- Protection for people who have sold their homes and live in their motorhome or RV full time; this coverage works much the same as regular homeowners’ insurance.
Insurance Pools and How They Work
When you buy insurance in Alberta, you’re essentially pooling your money in with that of other policyholders. This pool of money is used to pay out legitimate claims filed to the company. All vehicle owners are placed into a specific pool based on their risk of being involved in an accident or causing an injury or property damage. This is based on a history of claims made. If you have been involved in a number of accidents or managed to incur a number of demerit points (and especially if you have had your driver’s licence suspended), you can expect to be placed in a higher-risk pool.
If you fail to pay your premiums or keep your insurance company informed about any changes to your vehicle, you can also expect to be placed in a higher-risk pool.
What are the Benefits of an Insurance Broker?
Insurance brokers like us at Lane’s (we’re based in Calgary, but have offices in Banff and Edmonton, too) are able to shop through the numerous policies provided by the best insurance companies in the business for you. We work for you, not the insurance companies. We know all of the products we work with, and can effectively compare different companies’ policies to be sure to find the best policy at the best rate for you.
Motorhome Insurance Alberta: Get the Coverage You Need at a Price You Can Afford
Lane’s Insurance is a leading Alberta-based brokerage that provides a comprehensive family of progressive insurance products at highly competitive prices. We are happy to offer plenty of advice and resources to make the right choice for your motorhome insurance coverage. We like to talk in person, please don’t hesitate to contact us to see if we can help.
