Do You Need Teardrop Camper Insurance?
Teardrop trailers are compact, lightweight trailers that can be towed behind most vehicles. They’re relatively affordable and are great for extra storage space and an extra sleeping area when you’re on the road. With the rising popularity of teardrop trailers, you might be debating whether or not you should get teardrop camper insurance.
There are no laws that mandate teardrop trailers need to have insurance coverage. However, insurance will help protect your investment and there are a variety of coverage types and policies available. Generally speaking, you should get teardrop camper insurance, even if it isn’t a legal requirement.
Insurance is a complicated issue, but the benefits often outweigh the drawbacks. Read below for a comparison between RV insurance and teardrop campers, the different types of coverage available, and some pros and cons of insuring your teardrop trailer.
RV Insurance vs. Teardrop Camper Insurance
When you’re looking at different types of campers and their insurance plans, you might have run into something called RV insurance. The term “RV” just means recreational vehicle and can technically cover anything from motorhomes to fifth wheels to teardrop trailers.
However, in the insurance world, RV insurance typically applies to motorhomes (where the tow vehicle is permanently attached to the living space) or large trailers and fifth wheels. There is a difference between general RV insurance and teardrop camper insurance, so you need to make sure you understand this.
Teardrop trailers are usually quite small and lightweight, so they don’t always fall under RV insurance rules. They require a separate type of policy, although there are some similarities between the two.
RV insurance
Some kind of RV insurance is required in most U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Sometimes auto insurance policies can cover travel trailers. Unfortunately, this is usually only when they’re hooked up to the tow vehicle. If the trailer is damaged, stolen, or otherwise compromised when it’s not being driven, most providers can’t do anything to help pay for the cost.
RV insurance also includes liability. Liability coverage is useful in case your trailer becomes unhitched and somehow harms a person or other vehicle. With a motorhome or large trailer, RV insurance is basically a necessity.
Teardrop camper insurance
Unlike RV insurance, teardrop camper insurance is not required by most state laws. These trailers are small and light enough that they aren’t as dangerous as larger models. In many ways, it’s similar to towing a small flatbed trailer behind your car. There’s still a potential for danger and damage, but it’s much less than large RVs.
Teardrop insurance can fall under the category of RV insurance, but it’s generally cheaper and has less coverage options. Obviously there are a variety of providers and policies, but generally speaking, the larger and more expensive an RV is, the more money and coverage you’ll need.
For a more thorough comparison of these two types of insurance, check out the following articles on our website:
Types of coverage for teardrops
As mentioned above, there are several different policies you can expect to see in teardrop insurance plans. The specifics of these will vary depending on your provider and the specific plan, but the basics of each type are covered below.
Comprehensive Coverage
This type of coverage is fairly common among both RV and auto insurance policies. Essentially, it covers any damages that are unrelated to collisions. Fallen trees, flooding, fires, and even lightning strikes fall under this coverage. In some cases, comprehensive insurance might also cover losses from theft or vandalism, but there are other types that deal with that as well.
See also: Does Travel Trailer Insurance Cover Water Damage?
Collision Coverage
As the name might suggest, collision coverage protects your trailer from auto accidents. If you get into a car crash while towing a trailer, collision coverage can help pay for the damage, regardless of who was at fault.
This type of protection can even be used if your trailer was parked and someone backed into it. It basically protects the exterior and core structure of your trailer. Anything car-crash related will fall under the collision category.
Contents Coverage
Contents coverage, also known as personal belongings coverage, protects everything inside your trailer. Many people like to live in their RVs throughout the year, so they may store valuable items in them. Contents coverage can help mitigate the cost of any items that were lost, stolen, or damaged.
It’s worth noting that this type of coverage can help pay for stolen things, but it might not be a 1-1 match for every item. If you had particularly valuable things like electronics or jewelry, the basic coverage policy might not match their true value exactly. But it’s still better to get something instead of nothing!
Campsite and Vacation Liability
The last major facet of teardrop camper insurance is campsite and vacation liability. This coverage protects passengers against injuries that occur inside the camper. It comes into effect if someone is hurt n or around the camper. This is a handy policy because it works if the camper was in motion or even if it was parked!
So if someone falls out of the door or hits their head on a cabinet and winds up with a concussion, this type of coverage is the one for you.
For more information about teardrop trailer coverage types, check out this article from usedteardrops.com.
Is teardrop camper insurance worth it?
So now that we know more about teardrop camper insurance, is it really worth it? Personally, I would say yes! My motto when it comes to insurance is: It’s better to have it and not need it, than wish you had it in a crisis.
You may not be legally required to get camper insurance, but I think at some point, you’ll be happy you did. No one expects to get in a car crash or have their trailer robbed, but things happen! Any type of trailer costs some serious money, and it’s worth a bit of extra cost to make sure your investment is protected.
