Re: [VAC] Insurance

[Rob Super <rms@xxxxxxxxxx>]

My reading of the various posts on the insurance issue is that the common 
concern is not under-insuring in order to save a few bucks. Rather, it 
the difficulty of getting insurance *at any cost* that would cover the 
cost of replacing our restored vintage trailers. If we buy an old AS for, 
say, $5K and subsequently put $8K into 
restoring/updating/improving/rehabbing/customizing it, then we'd like the 
option of paying appropriately higher premiums in order to get those $ 
back in case of disaster.

In truth, I can see why insurance companies are reluctant to write such 
policies. Scenario: you buy a $500 junker; declare its value at $10K and 
pay an appropriately high premium--say $500--for the first year; then you 
push it over a cliff: your $1k investment ($500 purchase + $500 premium) 
has netted you $9K ($10k payout less the $1k investment). This is why 
insurance companies want a solid, professional appraisal of *market* 
value--not what it's worth to us personally, not what we'd *like* it to 
be worth in the market, not even how much we actually spent on it.

As I see it, there are only two answers to this problem:

1) "self insure", à la Polly

2) find an appraiser who will give a good, high appraisal *and* an 
insurance agent who is willing to accept such an appraisal. Good luck.

The big problem with the latter is the low market value of our units. Old 
Airstreams have achieved a certain cachet in the past few years, but that 
seems to not yet be reflected in their prices. Maybe in a few more years 
they will have an established market value that will simplify this 
particular insurance problem--but also, of course, make them harder for 
us to acquire!

Rob