Towing insurance, are you sure what you have is what you want?

[mr. cob]

Howdy All,

OK, its that time again.  As Blue Sky has dropped RV's, in my opinion the BEST insurance company I have ever had to deal with probably why they no-longer insure RV's I now have the truck and trailer insured through National General.  However the towing that is offered by National General that was supposed to be the same as what was offered through Blue Sky, is NOT the same.

I did some calling around today, Good Sam will NOT tow an HDT no matter what its registered as, called AAA described what I was driving and they said they would NOT insure a triple axle trailer or any trailer over 40 feet long, the guy I was talking to sounded like he was starting to have a heart attack when I told him what I towed the trailer with.

So who do you folks have for a towing insurance company and do you know for a FACT that they will tow your HDT truck and trailer?

 

In a couple of days I am headed to the national HDT rally and from there I'll be on the road for two months before getting back home, from what I have been told by the tow insurance I have now they will pay a maximum of $350.00 anything over that is on me.  That's a whole different story then when Blue Sky had this same company "NSD" as their tow company, Blue Sky told me that they would send whatever was needed to tow the truck AND trailer to the nearest place capable of doing the repair at no out of the pocket expense to me.  So, I was either told a bunch of BS when I was insured with Blue Sky, or National General has really slammed the lid on the towing insurance they sell through NSD.

Dave

[Av8r3400]

Coach net seems to play ball towing an HDT.  Phil can attest to this.  When I signed up with them, they answered all of the questions posed to them to my satisfaction.

I went through my Auto Owners policy with my insurance guy (a personal friend) and they are good to go with my HDT and 39' trailer.

[Chad Heiser]

I had Blue Sky and switched to National General when Blue Sky stopped renewing policies.  I also have Good Sam (Platinum I think) road side assistance.  I know for a fact Good Sam will tow my HDT because they have done it.  They also towed it to the shop of my choice, not the closest shop.  This was done at no cost to me (other than my annual fee for the service).  I never saw a bill and never heard anything from Good Sam about the bill.  They just handled it.  I will say that it took a little work on my part to get the operator on the other end of the phone for Good Sam to call the correct tow company to tow my rig.  They had no problem with getting the correct sized tow truck, but they wanted to send it from a tow company that was a loooooooonnnnnnggggg way away.  I quickly pointed out three other companies much closer to my location and they ended up getting one of them headed out to me after confirming they were a participating tow company.  This was simply an issue with the operator being in another state and not being familiar with the geography of where I was.  Once I educated him a little about my location and the location of the other tow companies, he was happy to help.

[mr. cob]

1 minute ago, Chad Heiser said:

I had Blue Sky and switched to National General when Blue Sky stopped renewing policies.  I also have Good Sam (Platinum I think) road side assistance.  I know for a fact Good Sam will tow my HDT because they have done it.  They also towed it to the shop of my choice, not the closest shop.  This was done at no cost to me (other than my annual fee for the service).  I never saw a bill and never heard anything from Good Sam about the bill.  They just handled it.  I will say that it took a little work on my part to get the operator on the other end of the phone for Good Sam to call the correct tow company to tow my rig.  They had no problem with getting the correct sized tow truck, but they wanted to send it from a tow company that was a loooooooonnnnnnggggg way away.  I quickly pointed out three other companies much closer to my location and they ended up getting one of them headed out to me after confirming they were a participating tow company.

Howdy Chad

The coverage you describe is what I was told I had when I was insured with Blue Sky, I just got off the phone with both Good Sam and AAA a few minutes before I made my post and both told me in no uncertain terms that would NOT tow a HDT.  So can you give me a contact number and a name to the person you have your towing policy through?  Thanks.

Dave

[Chad Heiser]

Just now, mr. cob said:

Howdy Chad

The coverage you describe is what I was told I had when I was insured with Blue Sky, I just got off the phone with both Good Sam and AAA a few minutes before I made my post and both told me in no uncertain terms that would NOT tow a HDT.  So can you give me a contact number and a name to the person you have your towing policy through?  Thanks.

Dave

Dave,

I just went through the 800 number for Good Sam's roadside assistance.  I do not have any specific number or person I spoke with.  Sorry I can't be of more help.

[mr. cob]

2 minutes ago, Chad Heiser said:

Dave,

I just went through the 800 number for Good Sam's roadside assistance.  I do not have any specific number or person I spoke with.  Sorry I can't be of more help.

Howdy Chad,

Thanks, I'll spend some more time calling around tomorrow I am NOT comfortable with what I have now.

Dave

[Nuke-E]

Dave,

I'm putting together a seminar on insurance, and this would probably be a good thing to include, even though it's maybe not technically insurance.  If you wouldn't mind, the I'd be happy to include the towing policy language.

The main focus of that seminar is making sure you know what you're buying, and a brief overview of the typical auto/RV claims process and how a valuation occurs in a total loss settlement.

[Dollytrolley]

7 hours ago, mr. cob said:

 

 

In a couple of days I am headed to the national HDT rally and from there I'll be on the road for two months before getting back home, from what I have been told by the tow insurance I have now they will pay a maximum of $350.00 anything over that is on me.  That's a whole different story then when Blue Sky had this same company "NSD" as their tow company, Blue Sky told me that they would send whatever was needed to tow the truck AND trailer to the nearest place capable of doing the repair at no out of the pocket expense to me.  So, I was either told a bunch of BS when I was insured with Blue Sky, or National General has really slammed the lid on the towing insurance they sell through NSD.

 

Dave ,

In May we departed our winter camp at Last Chance Peak (E. Death Valley) and were headed North to our summer digs in Bend OR when for the second year in a row our old 97 GMC had a problem (new part failure.....whole another story) anyhow the EXACT middle of Nevada is a great place to test your towing recovery benefits.........

Here is the funny part, we had Hartford Auto Insurance on the pickup but the tow recovery benefits were a sad joke......However Blue Sky towing benefits covered ALL of our vehicles  even though we only insured the Freightshaker and small toyhauler with Blue Sky.

Here is where our Blue Sky "NSD" towing story gets pretty odd........Dollymomma was driving the pickup with the one of our horse trailers in tow with Dolly-the-paint-horse in the horse trailer and I was driving the Freightshaker with the toyhauler in tow. 38 miles North of Tonapah NV up in the remote Great Smokey Valley the GMC died…..no big deal we just unloaded Dolly-the-painthorse from the pickup trailer and opened the ramp on the toyhauler and Dolly trotted right up into the removable horse module in the toyhauler and in five minute from pickup died we were back on the road to the rodeo grounds where we parked the toyhauler in front of a nice metal barn stall and in no time we had a cozy camp set up………

 

Now things start to get ……...Interesting……..I call the Blue Sky / “NSD” 800 number and things get “call-center-bad juju”…….the NSD lady ask if I am “safe” (heck no I am not safe I am a Geezer) I lie and say yes honey I am “safe” and then she ask if the “pickup” is safe ……..I say “Yes it and the horse trailer is safe”……...Pause she ask “is the horse safe?” I say “no horse is in the trailer”…….pause…….she ask “are you sure there is NO HORSE in the horse trailer?” …….pause and I say “yes mam NO HORSE is in the trailer”.

 

Next things start getting REAL INTERESTING because I tell the lady that I am in Tonapah not at the location of the pickup and she says that I have to call back from the pickup location and then I have to be at the pickup BEFORE they will allow a “recovery” to take place…….I tell the lady that the pickup location has NO cell service and then a ……..pause…...and she says “ what is the cross-street?” ……...pause…..I say “……..mam….the nearest cross-street is 38 miles away in Tonapah ”……..she responds…….”sir…….call us from the pickup location” and said that I have no choice but to call from the pickup since everywhere has cell service…...and then she hung up.

 

So the adventured began and it only took FOUR days to get the pickup and horse trailer towed the 180 miles from Tonapah to Fallon Nevada where the pickup was repaired.

Now here is the REALLY INTERESTING thing that happened on day two……...somehow the computers at “NSD” decided that my cell number was the phone number of the tow-contract-manager at Blue Sky so I started getting calls from “contract managers” at “NSD” and under the Blue Sky contract with “NSD” I had broken the tow when the towing company unloaded the pickup in Tonapah on the evening that the pickup died so……...the “client” would need to pay full charges from Tonapah to Fallon at 180 Miles X $4.50 /mi X 2= $1,620………..gulp”

Being “Blue Sky” …...I said “well the “client” may think that he is entitled to have the rig towed to Fallon”……...NSD chap responded “well the “client” should have never “allowed” the “tow contractor” to “break-the-recovery” so now he is the payee for the rest of the recovery…...the only option the “client” would have is wait-out the 72 hour wait -period for new recovery claims under the current Blue Sky contract and then file a new claim but……...who in their right mind would spend THREE days in Tonapah Nevada to file a new claim to only save $1,620 ?”

ANSWER: ……….US…….we knocked around Tonapah for three days and painted the town red and spent $$$$ to improve the local economy and on the fourth day we filed the new claim and got a “recovery” of the pickup and horse trailer from Tonapah to Fallon ……….BUT…….what I did not know was that the ONLY towing service contracted by “NSD” was screwed down hard in the cost where they only would pay the towing company to use a small F450 wrecker and then double tow the pickup with the horse trailer hitched to the pickup……….

You don't need my weight and balance spreadsheet to know how past the load limits that cudgeled-up tow was past the F450 tow limits and of course the pickup AND the horse trailer had NO BRAKES operational for the entire tow as the kid said man that tow was “Loosely-Goosey” as it snaked 180 miles and pushed the wrecker 75 MPH down the hills……...Gulp…….

Where is Big5er when you need him??…….Imagine Phil leaning next to the door post sticker on that LGT F450 wrecker and smilling and saying…...”son your gonna need a BIG truck to haul 40 tons of Dr Pepper to stay outa the electrachair in this ticket…..”

 

Had I ANY idea that the tow would be so “impoverished” by the “contract” I would have simply said Bull-S#*T and simply made TWO 360 mile recovery trips on my own with the Dollytrolley and skipped the dangerous Drama……..

 

The real “education” here is that due to the phone number mix up I became “privy” to some of the “inside” information that is hidden behind the tow “benefits” of insurance policies.

 

At the end of the day RV insurance is a odd animal and “recovery-firms” like “NSD” has a tough game to play with COST-CONTROL central to everything they do so the contract with the primary insurer and the tow-provider must be “aggressively-managed” and the “client” (Victim) needs to be “managed” as well…….

As one of the older wrecker drivers told me…….”Every tow ……..is like I started at day one…….it's a real hassle …..the tow is the easy part.”

Drive on……..(sometimes you just don't want to know…..)

 

[SuiteSuccess]

Dave,

I have Good Sam Platinum and I called them to be sure they would tow me as a tandem HDT. I spoke to the rep and specifically explained what I had and that there was some misunderstandings. He assured me I was covered and he had answered this question several times and didn't know where the confusion was coming from.  Haven't had to use them yet so guess I'll see at the time. May see if I can get a written response. 

[wtgeodog]

I have had Good Sam Platinum for several years and they have never failed to tow my tandem axle Volvo.

The last tow was from Rico, CO to Farmington, N.M.

I have never seen an invoice or request for payment.

 

 

ShortyO

[Dollytrolley]

I made a rather L O N G post on this subject during the Graveyard shift of caring for memory loss mom but......

P O O F .... Where is my post? ? ? 

At the Lazy-B airliner factory in Seattle we called software like this ...I B U

I (I m p r o v e d)

B (B e y o n d)

U (U s e)

Drive on....(I B U.....Poof)

[Dollytrolley]

I made a rather L O N G post on this subject during the Graveyard shift of caring for memory loss mom but......

P O O F .... Where is my post? ? ? 

At the Lazy-B airliner factory in Seattle we called software like this ...I B U

I (I m p r o v e d)

B (B e y o n d)

U (U s e)

Drive on....(I B U.....Poof)

[mr. cob]

11 hours ago, Nuke-E said:

Dave,

I'm putting together a seminar on insurance, and this would probably be a good thing to include, even though it's maybe not technically insurance.  If you wouldn't mind, the I'd be happy to include the towing policy language.

The main focus of that seminar is making sure you know what you're buying, and a brief overview of the typical auto/RV claims process and how a valuation occurs in a total loss settlement.

Howdy David,

I think that would be great, from what I have gathered its a pretty much a hit-miss situation and until you need it you might not know what you have.

Dave

[Dollytrolley]

P O 0f.......sorta.....my long post seems to be on the thread now..... Maybe...

Anyhow maybe Good Sam Potmetal is the plan to have ....B U T the "recovery-game" is not without pitfalls and wat too many cooks in the kitchen.......

At the end of four days we did Not pay the tow operator a dime and our complicated tow did not kill or mame any bystanders so..... We got lucky....

Like the old wrecker driver said.....every tow is like my first day on the job and the tow is the easy part.....

RV insurance tends to be a adventure and that "adventure" can change with every phone call......

Drive on.....(recovery can be a....adventure)

 

.

[MoSKP9]

Hey Nuke-E,

Unfortunately, I can't be at your HDT insurance/towing seminar, however, I would be most grateful if you could put some of your notes and insurance info into the HDT Resource Guide so that we could all access this important issue. I am going through "HDT Insurance Trauma " right now myself!

[Brad & Jacolyn]

Dave,

    I have my full timer insurance through Nationwide and my towing is with Coachnet. I have been towed 3 times and once with the trailer attached. never have had any problems with them. Don't know if it makes a difference but I am singled.

I would give a call to:

Twyla Stenzel, RV Specialist

Farm & City Insurance Services

800-331-1520

tstenzel@rvadvantage.com

She should be able to answer questions for you. I have gone to her with questions for 8 years.

Brad

[mr. cob]

Howdy All,

OK, I'll up date this thread.  This morning I called the Good Sam 800 number six different times, each time I spoke to a different person, five gave the same answer to my question which was "Will the platinum RV towing plan tow my truck and trailer?"  After I explained what I drove and what I towed their answer was a resounding, NO.

The sixth person I spoke to said she didn't know and would check into it, I explained to her that folks has posted to this thread stating that they had the Good Sam plan and they did in fact have their HDT towed under that plan.  She put me on a short hold and after conferring with someone said that YES the Good Sam Platinum RV Road Side Assistance Plan, would in fact tow my truck and trailer if needed. 

THIS ONLY APPLIES IF THE TRUCK IS NOT COMMERCIAL AND HAS NO COMMERCIAL MARKINGS ON IT.

I then asked if that was something they were willing to put in writing, she again talked to someone and told me that they could not specifically put in writing that they would tow my truck and trailer BUT referred me to this particular part of the plan which she said covered HDT's.  This is the entire quote, the part that is applicable to us who drive HDT's I have highlighted and enlarged in red.

PROTECTION FOR ALL VEHICLES

All owned, leased, rented or borrowed private-use, non- commercial vehicles are

included:

• Any RVs you own, lease, rent or borrow

• Any Non-Recreational vehicles you own, lease, rent or borrow

• Any personally owned vehicles Members loan to an Extended Family Member

Subject to the conditions and limitations set forth in this brochure, only the

following owned, leased, rented, borrowed or loaned vehicles are included and

shall be eligible for the emergency roadside assistance benefit so long as they

are properly licensed and they are used exclusively for personal or recreational

purposes (i.e., non-business purposes):

RECREATIONAL VEHICLES (RVs):

• Self-contained Motorhomes

• Fifth Wheels, Travel Trailers and Toy Haulers

• Pop-up Camping Trailers

• Van Campers

• Pick-up Campers

PLUS NON-RECREATIONAL VEHICLES:

• Automobiles

• Vans

• Pick-ups, SUVs

• Sport Trailers

3

, Utility Trailers, Cargo Trailers and Car Trailers

• 2 Wheel Tow Dollies (designed to carry only Automobiles, Vans, Pick-ups,

or SUVs)

• Motorcycles

• Vehicles specifically designed to tow Fifth Wheel Trailers

A Member, Associate Member, or Extended Family Member must be in posses-

sion of the vehicle when the disablement occurs in order to receive any benefits

for the disablement event. Membership vehicles include all eligible RVs and any

other eligible non-RV vehicles owned, leased, rented, borrowed by, or loaned to

any person who is an Extended Family Member as provided for in this brochure.

So after being assured or rather as assured as one can be when it comes to this sort of thing, I said sign me up.  Right now they are having one hell of a deal on this plan, $79.00 bucks a year and you can get this rate for up to 5 years if you pay for it in one lump sum, so I went for it, bought the five year plan at 79 smackers per year.  With that in mind, I either got screwed for the next five years of hopefully got a good deal on a plan that will provide the service I need should I be unlucky enough to use it.

Dave

 

 

[rickeieio]

We went through this while on the Alaska Highway, 210 miles north of Whitehorse, YK.  Bride drove ahead to arrange a tow, and mistakenly described our rig as a fifth wheel pulled by a semi truck.  Instant shut-down on the other end ( Good Sam Platinum).  Have the proper nomenclature on the tip of your tongue.  We drive class 7-8 motor homes, or tow vehicles, not semi trucks.

[theeyres]

13 hours ago, Dollytrolley said:

I made a rather L O N G post on this subject during the Graveyard shift of caring for memory loss mom but......

P O O F .... Where is my post? ? ? 

At the Lazy-B airliner factory in Seattle we called software like this ...I B U

I (I m p r o v e d)

B (B e y o n d)

U (U s e)

Drive on....(I B U.....Poof)

Guess you figured out that your long post plus both of these wondering where your long post went all got posted.

[noteven]

The "can't do" attitude that has gained prominence in our respective countries gets kind of tiring some days... 

How towing a MD or HD truck / 5th wheel trailer combo by wheel lift is more difficult than decking a dead 42ft Prevost and hauling it someplace is puzzling...