How to insure a self-built campervan, and why we went with Roamly in 2024

When we built a DIY campervan in 2020 we thought the hardest part would be teaching ourselves electrical wiring, and learning how to use different power tools. Little did we know that figuring out how to insure a self-built campervan would actually turn out to be one of the hardest parts of the process!

Are you looking to insure a self-built campervan and don’t know where to start? We did our homework so you don’t have to! We called 11 different insurance companies to find out their policies for insuring self-built campers and RVs. Read below to find out what we learned, and why we ultimately decided to insure our van using Roamly Insurance!

This post is in partnership with Roamly Insurance. However, all views reflect our genuine opinion and experiences— we actually reached out to partner with them several months AFTER we signed up for their car insurance. We reached out to partner because of how much we love their services! This blog post does NOT contain affiliate links.

WHY DIY CAMPER VAN BUILDs REQUIRE SPECIAL AUTO INSURANCE

Let’s start by covering why DIY camper vans and RVs require special auto insurance in the first place. 

Standard auto insurance covers your vehicle, but doesn’t generally cover significant modifications to your vehicle. For us that meant that our auto insurance (through USAA at the time) covered the value of our camper as an empty cargo van, but our standard auto insurance didn’t cover the $20,000 in build materials we added to the van in the form of cabinets, lithium batteries, and a full wet bath.

In other words, our vehicle was covered, but our camper van buildout was not. If we got into a car wreck that could mean a huge and devastating loss! Because of this, we knew that USAA was no longer a good option for us.

Why DIY camper vans are hard to insure

When we started shopping around for more comprehensive insurance for our DIY campervan we quickly learned that many insurance companies won’t insure self-built campers and RVs. This is due in-part to both insurance company’s perceived risk, and the general lack of awareness around DIY campervans. We were honestly surprised that some of the insurance agents we talked to (all from major US car insurance companies!) had never been asked about insuring a self-built camper van, and therefore had no policies to cover them.

Although most car insurance companies will insure professionally built and commercial campervans and RVs from businesses such as Winnebago, Airstream, and Jayco, that certainly didn’t help us insure our self-built van.

Companies that DON’T insure self-built camper vans

If most companies won’t insure a self-built campervan, what are you supposed to do to protect the time and resources that went into your build?

We want to save YOU time! After spending hours on the phone calling insurance companies, below is a list of the auto insurance providers who told us they don’t insure self-built vans:

Some of these companies do cover RVs and professionally-built campers, but do not cover self-built camper vans. Note that these may vary by state, and some of this information may have changed since we last called each company back in 2022. 

Companies that will insure DIY camper vans

Of the 11 companies we called, only three said they offer insurance for self-built campervans. Those companies are Allstate, Roamly, and State Farm. Each of these companies requires different information to insure a self-built van. For example, Roamly requires a bill of sale, while Allstate requires a copy of the registration.

Why we went with Roamly to insure our self-built camper van

Back in 2021, when we lived in California, we insured our campervan through Allstate. However, when we moved to Washington in 2023 the price of our Allstate plan tripled for the exact same coverage. We decided to shop around again and we ended up switching to Roamly for insuring our self-built camper van. 

Roamly was created by RV experts who specialize in RVs and understand all things RVs, and they offer DIY camper van coverage across the entire United States (except for Hawaii and Washington DC)! We definitely made the right move with the switch!

See below for six reasons why we went with Roamly instead of the competition.

Comprehensive coverage

Roamly specializes in insuring RVs and campervans, which means you’ll get white-glove service tailored to your needs. Because the company is specialized their insurance policies are uniquely tailored to exactly that you’d need covered in an RV or campervan. Not only does our camper van insurance cover standard automobile items such as liability, uninsured/underinsured motorists, and collision coverage; our policy also covers RV-specific items such as pest damage (take it from me: rodents are a common issue in campervans!), vacation liability, and roof coverage. 

Overall Cost

Roamly’s insurance policy costs are relatively inexpensive. Compared to Allstate and State Farm, Roamly offered the most affordable policies while also offering the most comprehensive coverage. Our policy is about one third of the price of Allstate and State Farm. This cost-savings is a no-brainer! 

Full-time coverage

If you live in your campervan or RV for over six months a year Roamly’s insurance plan acts like a homeowners policy with coverage for personal liability and medical payments. From what we have found, this is unique to Roamly!

Emergency expense coverage

In the event of an emergency, your Roamly insurance can cover lodging, transportation, and meal expenses if you’re more than 50 miles from home and your campervan is inoperable due to a covered loss. This is a huge benefit if you break down far from home during a long road trip!

Personal effect coverage

Depending how your plan is structured, Roamly can cover the full replacement cost of personal belongings in your campervan or RV. For us that means that our personal belongings– such as laptops and hiking gear– are covered up to $3,000. This gives us a lot of peace of mind on the road!

Customer Service

Roamly has excellent customer service. At Roamly you are assigned an insurance agent who will walk you through the entire process of insuring your camper. We were able to talk directly with our agent over phone and email as we set up our insurance. He was always prompt and informative with his responses when we inevitably had questions.

Final thoughts – Our honest review of Roamly

I’ll be honest, we love Roamly, and in our experience the six points highlighted above are what sets Roamly apart from other car insurance companies that offer coverage for self-build campervans.

We appreciate their prompt customer service – it’s easy to get a hold of our insurance agent if we have questions. Additionally, we also love that their campervan policies are super comprehensive while also being the most affordable! We would absolutely recommend Roamly to anyone interested in insuring their RV or self-built campervan! 

Have questions about Roamly? Leave a comment below, send us an email at gwynandami (at) gmail.com, or head over to our Instagram to send us a DM. You can learn more about our campervan insurance journey here.