Picture this...
You've spent weeks planning a van life adventure with your spouse. You've finally hit the road and are on your way to the destination. All of a sudden a careless driver crashes into your vehicle.
But wait, this isn't just a vehicle!
This is your home on wheels. It contains all your belongings and is currently your full-time home.
What happens next?
- Will your insurance company cover the damages to the van itself?
- You spent thousands of dollars converting your van, will that be covered?
- What about all your belongings that were damaged inside the van?
- Will you be provided accommodation while your van is being repaired?
We'll be answering all these questions and much more in this course so continue reading...
What is #Vanlife Insurance?
One of the biggest concerns people share when it comes to starting on their van life journey is insurance. Insuring anything can be a complicated topic, full of what ifs and maybes, and with so many providers offering such similar packages, it can be hard to understand what exactly is and isn’t covered by each policy on the market.
Sometimes it seems you need a dictionary just to translate the insurance lingo!
Although complicated, it is essential to get the insurance element right to ensure you are not liable should your van be involved in a serious accident or injury to a third party.
So, what is van life insurance, and why is it so important?
In this course we’re going to make the process of choosing the right van life insurance company as easy as possible for you and reveal how to get the best coverage on, not only your van, but also the home within.
Why is insurance so important for van life?
Simply put, a van life insurance policy exists to protect the policy holder in the event of incident, accident or total loss of their belongings and/or vehicle.
While these cases may seem rare, they do occur. Here are just a few examples:
Jarrod Tocci's van gets stolen
Alex & Emma's van goes up in flames
Daphne Sasson's van gets totaled in a T-bone accident
Liz Creason's van gets destroyed by a tornado
Bodily injury and property damage are two forms of insurance a policy should cover to ensure a van lifer can travel safely, knowing they are protected no matter what problem may arise.
What differentiates van life insurance from ordinary vehicle insurance policies is the insurer is aware the policy holder resides in the vehicle on a full time basis, and the particular policy is crafted to suit that situation.
Insurance policies should be relatively straightforward, with a:
schedule of coverage to indicate what possessions are included,
and an approximate value of the insured vehicle, based on the blue book quote for a vehicle of similar make, “model”, and year should you need to replace yours following an accident or collision.
Insurance policies can be tailored to meet your needs but they don’t automatically cover any additional modifications you might make (the van build), or equipment you may be carrying, unless it's specifically added to the coverage.
As vanlifers we spend thousands of dollars on our van builds, so we NEED to make sure their properly covered under the right van life insurance policy.
Essentially, our goal is to get both the van and the van build insured.
By insuring your van with Roamly,
it's similar to insuring an RV where the internal components of the vehicle are covered in the case of an accident and subsequent loss. They can even insure campervans at both Agreed Value and Actual Cash Value based on the documentation the owner provides to Roamly about their build and it's internal components.
In other words, your insuring you're entire home on wheels and not just the vehicle itself. Which is exactly what vanlifers need! 
Agreed value & Actual Cash Value
these are terms that refer to how an insurance company will calculate what they will give you at the time of a loss.
let's explain with an example: you own a campervan that's worth $30,000 (vehicle + the build). That campervan gets stolen five years later...
If your policy was an Actual Cash Value policy, the insurance company looks at the value of your campervan (ie. year, make, model, build, etc) at the exact time of loss then factors in depreciation. The insurance company then settles your claim with this amount. Let's say $20,000
If your policy is an Agreed Value policy, the insurance company is agreeing to honour the value of the van at the time the policy is written. Let's say they agreed to value the campervan at $30,000. Five years later the van is stolen. Even though it may no longer be worth $30k (factor in depreciation, and market price), the insurance company would still be required to give you $30k
Van Insurance can be expensive!
In general, some insurance companies will provide the very basic package to a van owner and rely on your input to add the other elements required to ensure your journey is a safe one.
Roadside assistance packages, equipment such as kayaks, bikes and specialized sports gear, and external features like roof decks are not covered by a basic package. Some insurers quote astronomical fees for van lifers as they see many potential problems with residing and travelling in a van. Insurers also disproportionately charge inexperienced or younger drivers, and male drivers in particular, which is unfortunate as the main demographic of van users tend to be young men and younger couples in search of adventure.
These companies may penalize drivers for crossing state lines regularly, for not having a base address, and for other reasons their underwriters come up with, all of which add up to make a van life premium extra expensive and sometimes even unaffordable.
Not a great start to van life!
this is just an exaggerated fake receipt to show how expensive some insurance companies can be
Luckily Roamly doesn't do this...
What is Roamly insurance, and why you need it
Getting insurance for full time van life can feel next to impossible. If you don’t believe us, try calling around and seeking quotes. Insurance companies don’t understand the delicate nature of how we use our campervans. They can’t underwrite what they don’t understand.
So, when we tried to cover our van for rent, we were offered ordinary auto policies with extra add-ons to include ourselves, our gear, and our mileage. But that became expensive quickly and expensive just wasn’t good enough for us. We wanted an insurance policy to meet our particular needs… And so, we went with Roamly.
They're basically a insurance company built specifically for vanlifers and RVers. Whether you're living part-time or full-time van life, Roamly insurance has you covered. They offer pretty much everything you would need in an insurance policy without all the hassle, and added extra charges.
Customizable Policies
They give customizable policies that cover only what you need so you don't have to pay for anything extra. This makes van life insurance more affordable.
Get a quote fast!
They offer quick and easy quotes in just 60 seconds via their online quoting tool.
Quality Insurance
Vanlifers get the perfect all-inclusive insurance policy that works for them. Roamly can even cover your van whether you’re driving or not.
Support
The Roamly team is on stand by 24/7 to assist you in any way possible.
Affordable Insurance
you can save up to 25% by choosing Roamly as your van life insurance provider
60 second quotes, quality van life insurance policies from a trusted source and 24hour customer support… yes please!
In the following lessons, we will be discussing
- Why the right van life insurance is crucial!
- What to look for in a van life insurance provider
- A step-by-step process to setting up van life insurance
- Van Life Insurance FAQs
- what Roamly is, what sets Roamly apart from average insurance policies, and why having the peace of mind of an appropriate van life insurance policy is worth paying for.
DID YOU KNOW?
Van life insurance policies are not available in every country. Some jurisdictions have strict rules against full-time van life, and will only cover part time, or recreational journeys, and the policyholder must retain a physical address in order to satisfy the policy terms and conditions. U.S.-based van lifers are lucky to have options!