By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO, Licensed Insurance Advisor
Key takeaways
- A motorhome is a motor vehicle, so it needs its own auto-style liability policy in every state where it’s registered.
- A travel trailer or fifth wheel usually borrows liability from the truck pulling it, but damage to the trailer itself needs its own coverage.
- How a policy settles a total loss (actual cash value, agreed value or total loss replacement) matters more on an RV than on most cars.
- Living in the RV most of the year, renting it out or parking it all season on a campground site can each change the policy you need.
- State rules differ, so we have separate guides for New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut.
An RV is part vehicle and part second home, and a good policy has to handle both. On the road it needs liability and physical damage coverage like a car. Parked at a campground in the White Mountains, on Lake Champlain or at a Cape Cod site for the summer, it needs to protect the things inside it and the people around it. This page explains how RV insurance works across New England and what to ask before you buy.
Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent, family-owned agency that has been writing personal insurance since 2005. Our team has 200+ years of combined experience and is licensed in 10 states. When you ask about an RV, we line up options from 40+ carriers at no fee to you. Our clients have posted 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials, and because we’re independent, we work for the RV owner rather than for any one insurer.
Which RVs need which kind of policy
The first question is whether the unit has its own engine. That decides where the liability comes from.
| Type of RV | Where liability usually comes from | What needs its own coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Class A motorhome (bus-style) | Its own RV policy, written like auto insurance | The coach, its contents and attached equipment |
| Class B camper van | Its own RV policy | The van, its build-out and contents |
| Class C motorhome (cab-over) | Its own RV policy | The unit, contents and equipment |
| Travel trailer or fifth wheel | The tow vehicle’s auto policy while hitched | The trailer itself, contents and campsite liability when unhitched |
| Pop-up or teardrop camper | The tow vehicle’s auto policy while hitched | The camper, often on a smaller policy |
| Truck camper | The pickup’s auto policy | The camper unit, which some auto policies leave out |
| Toy hauler | Tow vehicle (towable) or its own policy (motorized) | The unit plus the ATVs, dirt bikes or sleds it carries |
Each carrier draws these lines a little differently, so we read the actual policy forms when we compare. If you tow, it’s worth confirming that your truck’s liability limits are high enough for a 30-foot trailer behind it.
What an RV policy can include
Liability
Bodily injury and property damage liability pay for harm you cause to other people while driving. Every New England state sets its own minimum limits for motor vehicles, and those minimums are low for a vehicle as heavy as a motorhome. Our state auto guides list the requirements: New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and medical payments round out the driving side.
Campsite liability
Once you park and set up, the RV works more like a cabin. Many RV policies offer campsite or vacation liability for injuries around your site, such as a guest tripping over a leveling jack or an awning arm coming down. Without it, you may be relying on a homeowners policy that wasn’t written with a campground in mind.
Physical damage
Collision pays for damage from hitting another vehicle or object, which with a tall rig includes low bridges, gas station canopies and tree limbs on narrow camp roads. Comprehensive pays for theft, fire, falling trees, hail, animal strikes and flood. Comprehensive matters for New England RVs that sit outside through a winter of heavy snow and ice.
Personal effects
Bikes, kayaks, cookware, electronics and clothing that live in the RV aren’t part of the vehicle. Personal effects coverage pays for them, up to a limit you choose. Check that limit against what you actually carry.
Emergency expenses and roadside help
A breakdown far from home can mean a hotel, meals and a ride. Emergency expense coverage helps with those costs after a covered loss. Roadside assistance for an RV should include towing for a vehicle of its size, since a standard car tow truck can’t move a 30,000-pound coach.
Attached equipment
Awnings, solar panels, satellite dishes, generators and custom build-outs on a camper van can add up. Ask whether they’re included automatically or need to be listed, especially on a van conversion.
How a total loss gets paid
RVs lose value quickly, so the settlement method can decide whether a policy actually replaces what you lost.
- Actual cash value pays what the RV was worth just before the loss, after depreciation.
- Stated value pays the lesser of the amount listed on the policy or the actual cash value. It caps the payment; it doesn’t raise it.
- Agreed value pays the amount you and the insurer settled on when the policy started, which suits vintage Airstreams and restored units.
- Total loss replacement pays for a new RV of similar kind and quality. Carriers that offer it usually limit it to newer units, often within the first few model years. Some carriers offer an option tied to what you originally paid, under their own names, and we’ll explain what each one promises in writing.
If you financed the RV, ask about loan or lease gap coverage, since a new RV’s loan balance can exceed its cash value for years.
Situations that change the policy
Full-time RV living
If the RV is your main home most of the year, many carriers require full-timer coverage. It adds liability and personal property protection closer to a homeowners policy. Tell us honestly how many months you spend in it; a claim on a part-time policy for a full-time home can go badly.
Seasonal campground sites
Plenty of New Englanders leave a trailer on a seasonal site at a lake or beach campground from spring to fall, with a deck and shed beside it. Decks, sheds and screen rooms often aren’t covered by an RV policy unless added. A park model that stays put year after year may fit a dwelling-type policy better than an RV policy.
Renting it out
Listing your RV on a peer-to-peer rental site usually falls outside a personal RV policy. The rental platform’s own coverage typically applies during the rental. Read what it covers, and tell us before the first booking so we can check how your policy treats the rest of the year.
Winter storage
Most New England RVs sit from late fall to spring. Some carriers let you reduce coverage while a motorized RV is stored, keeping comprehensive for theft, fire, falling trees and roof collapse from snow load. Whether you can drop liability depends on your state’s registration rules, so ask before you change anything.
Trips into Canada
Quebec and the Maritimes are a short drive from much of New England. Confirm that your policy covers Canada and carry proof of insurance when you cross the border.
A car towed behind
A car pulled behind a motorhome needs its own auto policy. We’ll check how both policies respond if the towed car is damaged or causes damage while hitched.
RV insurance by state
Registration, titling, liability minimums and road rules vary across New England, so we keep separate state guides:
- RV insurance in New Hampshire: motorhomes, campers and the state’s auto rules.
- RV insurance in Vermont: mountain roads, state parks, mud season and winter lay-up.
- RV insurance in Connecticut: motorhomes, travel trailers and campers.
- Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island: we write RVs there too. Call us and we’ll walk through that state’s requirements.
Bringing other toys along? See ATV and UTV insurance in New Hampshire, snowmobile insurance in New Hampshire, ATV and snowmobile insurance in Maine and boat insurance. For bigger liability limits across your RV, home and cars, look at umbrella insurance.
Companies we compare for RVs
For RVs we often quote Progressive, National General, Foremost and Liberty Mutual. Which ones fit depends on the unit, its age and value, how you use it and the state it’s registered in. Because we’re independent, you get several quotes side by side instead of one company’s answer.
What to have ready for a quote
- The year, make, model and VIN, plus the length and type of the unit.
- What you paid, and any upgrades such as solar, a new roof or a van build-out.
- How many months a year you use it, and whether you live in it, rent it out or keep it on a seasonal site.
- Where it’s stored in the off-season.
- Your current auto policy declarations page, especially if you tow.
Tell us about the motorhome, trailer or camper and how you use it through the year. We’ll match it with carriers that write RVs where it’s registered. Phone (603) 431-4020, email insure@portsmouthatlanticins.com or fill in the form below. We don’t charge any fees. Request a quote. There’s no obligation to buy. About 90% of our quotes go out within 24 hours.
Prefer to talk it through? Call us and mention your RV.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need separate insurance for a travel trailer?
Your truck’s auto policy usually extends liability to a trailer while it’s hitched. It usually doesn’t pay for damage to the trailer itself, its contents or injuries at your campsite once it’s unhitched. A separate trailer policy fills those gaps.
Is RV insurance the same as auto insurance?
For a motorhome, the driving coverages are similar: liability, uninsured motorist, collision and comprehensive. An RV policy adds parts a car policy doesn’t have, such as personal effects, campsite liability, emergency expenses and total-loss options suited to a vehicle you also sleep in.
What happens if I live in my RV full time?
Many carriers ask for full-timer coverage when the RV is your main residence. It adds protection closer to a homeowners policy. Tell us how much of the year you spend in it so the policy matches how you actually use it.
Can I reduce my RV coverage over the winter?
Some carriers allow a storage option that keeps comprehensive while the RV is laid up. Whether you can drop liability depends on your state’s registration rules, so check with us before making changes.
Does my RV policy cover a deck or shed at a seasonal campsite?
Often not unless you add it. Decks, sheds and screen rooms at a seasonal site may need an endorsement or a separate policy. Tell us what’s on the site when you ask for a quote.
Which states do you write RV insurance in?
We’re licensed in ME, NH, VT, MA, RI and CT, plus NY, FL, OH and IL. Our state guides for New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut cover local rules, and we can walk you through the others by phone at (603) 431-4020.
Want more background? Read our RV insurance guide. Current clients can use the Service Center or request a policy change.
General information for RV owners in New England only. This page isn’t a quote, a policy or legal advice. Coverage and claim payments follow each insurer’s policy forms, endorsements and underwriting, and state registration and liability rules can change, so confirm them for your own RV.