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When you live in one place, you normally have homeowner’s insurance that covers your physical dwelling, its contents, and your personal liability when someone is on your property. But when you live on the road, the issue of protecting your assets becomes a wee bit more complicated.

A Comprehensive Solution

Will your auto insurance cover the trailer too? Can you add a rider to insure all of your stuff, or do you need a separate umbrella policy? What if some fool walks through your campsite drunk, trips, and bashes his head in — could you be held liable? The way to take care of all these issues is through “full-timer’s insurance.”

Not surprisingly, considering the size of the population served, very few companies offer full-timer’s insurance — but you can easily get quotes for the few that do through camping clubs like Good Sam and Escapees. Basically, full-timer’s insurance acts like mobile homeowner’s insurance.

What It Covers

Full-timer’s insurance acts just like portable homeowner’s insurance. It covers your actual dwelling against theft, vandalism, natural disaster, and other major damage — including any “outside” structures that are attached to the trailer (like awnings and LP tanks). It also reimburses you for the cost of a hotel and other daily living expenses, should you need to vacate the trailer for an extended period of time for repairs. But it also protects your Airstream as a vehicle, covering your trailer against driving accidents and breakdowns that require expensive repairs (including incidents that are your fault, problems caused by other drivers, and those “freak of nature” accidents that come up out of nowhere).

Unlike a straight auto policy, full-timer’s protects your Airstream’s contents — insuring not only any belongings that stored inside your trailer, but other property you bring with you and store at your campsite. And it not only covers your property while at home, but also if you are away from your rig. Finally, it also protects your your interests when other people are on your “property” (defined as where you park and the interior of your trailer).

Cost Savings

Full-timer coverage is actually a pretty good arrangement — everything you need rolled up into one policy. And your combined auto and full-timer’s insurance costs may end up costing no more than your homeowner’s insurance did — hard to complain about the price tag attached to peace of mind. Don’t leave home without it!