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Overland in America and Canada | Insure your vehicle

Anyone who follows us knows that we have aimed our arrows at overlanding in 2022 North America (of USA en Canada† We are going to ship our 4×4 camper to Baltimore, but of course the vehicle also needs to be insured. Your European insurance is not valid overseas. As you probably expect, it is not easy to insure your own vehicle on the other side of the world. In this article I will take you along in the search for a suitable vehicle insurance for our 4×4 motorhome, our house on wheels with which we will travel for a year in the US and Canada.

Also read: Shipping an Overlander vehicle, motorhome or motorhome bus | How much does that cost?
Also read: Overland in America & Canada | Everything about VISA, ESTA & eTA


The ultimate tour of North America

This article is part of a large one-year tour the United States en Canada, with a Dutch 4×4 camper that we shipped ourselves… It is a bucket list worthy and an once in a lifetime experience that will never be forgotten.

The ultimate roadtrip route through America and Canada | Wereldreizigers.nl
The ultimate roadtrip route through America and Canada | Wereldreizigers.nl

We wrote almost 100 articles about this ultimate tour. Visit our North America page for more information.


North America makes it hard for us

We're only two months away from our trip to the US and Canada, but planning and preparation for sure makes it our hardest trip yet. Normally we prefer to do as much as possible on the spec, but for the US and Canada…? get that out of your head, it won't work.

Applying for visas and closed embassies are all part of the hassle, but by far the most challenging mission is to insure your vehicle in the Americas. Thinking back on the past few weeks, I realize that I have literally been arranging insurance for weeks. Bizarre.

I took the experienced overlander's websitetuck truck' as a basis and searched and visited hundreds of websites and sent countless emails. I sent many reminders and on request I often sent additional information and documentation about the vehicle. Sometimes we also had to take pictures of the inside and outside of our motorhome to get a quote. And there were also insurers who asked for copies of my passport and driver's license…

In the end, usually nothing came out. They don't respond at all, or after a few emails they stop responding. A lot of energy was wasted, but fortunately there were reactions from some insurers. However, I almost fell off my chair when I received the first quotes in my mailbox… That's promising.

The insurance problem

It is problematically difficult to arrange insurance in the United States and/or Canada. Astonishing, I know. After all, they are Western countries, one even calls itself 'the greatest in the world'. But from an administrative point of view it is a bureaucratic mess – which you as a traveler have to maneuver yourself through.

And it hasn't gotten any easier in recent years. On the contrary. For some reason, it has become extremely difficult in recent years for private vehicle travelers from anywhere in the world to purchase auto insurance for North America. Once upon a time there were travelers Europa, Australië, Timbuktu or wherever who shipped their RVs to North America, took out insurance, and just went on a road trip. You would think nothing to worry about.

overlander vehicle insure america and canada
De Wereldreizigers.nl 4×4 camper in Switzerland

Insuring a vehicle has become difficult

That's no more. Since 2016, it has been difficult (and very expensive) to find coverage for the US and Canada. More recently, since 2018, additional restrictions have been added specifically for Canada. Now the few companies that offer coverage, usually Canada, are also phasing out coverage.

Speculate all you want about the reasons… Some argue that it is due to European privacy laws. But if that were the case, travelers from Australië of South Africa don't have the same problem as those laws don't apply there.

Foreign vehicles are nightmares

But the fact is, it's turned into a bit of a nightmare. For insurers, and therefore also for us, the customers. We understand that it is a foreign vehicle. That the drivers have a foreign driver's license. That travelers do not have a residential address in the US or Canada. This entails increased risks, which is logical. Yet it is not entirely clear WHY more and more insurers stop insuring overlanders or foreigners.

That said, I'll leave the how and why up for now. You can speculate about that in the comments. For now, let's move on by listing the different options and options available to insure your vehicle in the US and Canada.

Vehicle insurers in the US and Canada

Insurers that do not offer cover

I have approached countless insurers myself in the hope of taking out insurance. I also consulted other overlanders and asked for help. Together we came up with a list of insurers that responded to e-mails, but could not offer cover to overlanders from another continent.

These are the insurers that don't offer coverage – they all responded to our questions but declined coverage.

Insurers who don't even respond

All of these insurers did not respond. Despite multiple, polite reminder emails. I'm not saying this is always the case, just try it yourself. Every situation and vehicle is unique, but at least I was blunt here…

The insurers we can turn to

I was able to make real progress at only three (!) companies. These are Thum, Seguro Gringo and Progressive† These insurers responded quickly to emails or questions via socials and I have now received quotes from all three. However, a clear distinction can be made between these three.

It doesn't matter where you live or where you come from. They are very quick to respond to questions via email.

With Progressive it is a lot more difficult. In principle, they are open to foreigners to insure here, also with a vehicle from Europe or another continent. However, you cannot continue on the website if you do not have an American postal address. When I asked via facebook chat if we could insure with them without a US postal address, I got a 'no' in response. They did indicate that in principle this is the only obstacle, so if you can arrange a postal address in the US then you can probably also contact Progressive.

Progressive is extremely interesting for us because it is (according to hearsay) a lot cheaper than Thum insurance. The only problem is that we don't have a US mailing address.

Help us: if you read this and know someone in the US, or do you live in the US yourself and would you like to help us out with a postal address? We are eternally grateful to you and will bring you a box of stroopwafels and licorice ?. Do not hesitate to contact us!

Now that you know what the possible options are, I will go into more detail about the three different insurers.

Thumb Insurance

Would you like to request quotes from Thum Insurance yourself? Then consult here their website.

Thum has been one of the preferred insurers for European overlanders in North America for quite some time (several decades). Their responses to emails are always prompt, efficient and polite. They can certainly afford to retain a high-quality workforce if you know what insurance costs with them – just count on $3.500 to $10.000 a year depending on your vehicle and its value.

What is important to know is that Thum Insurance no longer insures just any vehicle. There are restrictions on off-road vehicles, vehicles over the age of 30 and homebuilt RVs, especially for Canada.

Offers third-party vehicle insurance

Because I always try to be as transparent as possible on this website, I will also original quotes share with you. And to really give you a complete picture of the possible costs that you can expect, I have also enlisted help from other overlanders.

I have therefore included four recent quotes from Thum insurance for three completely different vehicles below. Two of our 4×4 pickup camper with demountable unit, one of a large truck / truck camper (the one of @familyeverywhere) and one of a self-build bus camper (from Fons and Marja).

's 4x4 pickup Wereldreizigers.nl (left) and @familyeverywhere's expedition truck (right)
's 4×4 pickup Wereldreizigers.nl (left) and @familyeverywhere's expedition truck (right)

1. WA quote: Mitsubishi 4×4 pickup

This is the quote of our own 4×4 camper. When applying for the vehicle insurance, I immediately asked for a quote for both third-party liability and All-Risk.

Note: the value of our vehicle has been slightly reduced for the third-party liability insurance because this did not matter in terms of coverage, but it would ensure a cheaper premium. You therefore see a difference in current value with the third-party liability and all-risk insurance. Kyle from Thum Insurance also came up with this herself.

quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada

2. WA quote: Mercedes Sprinter campervan

Mercedes sprinter camper bus
The Mercedes sprinter camper bus from Fons and Marja

Fons and Marja have a 2019 Mercedes Sprinter campervan and were kind enough to share their quote for this article. On behalf of me and our readers: thank you Fons and Marja!

quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada

Quotations All-risk vehicle insurance

Below are two examples of all-risk quotes from Thum. What is particularly important to know here is that Thum insurance offers two different all-risk options. At an additional cost of course.

Option 1 of the all-risk vehicle insurance covers fire, lightning, explosions, vandalism, accidents and also the overturning of your vehicle.

Option 2 of the all-risk vehicle insurance covers everything from option 1 + wind damage, theft, hail, water damage from flood and earthquakes.

Obviously, both options also cover the WA portion, so damage you inflict on others.

1. All-risk offer: Mitsubishi 4×4 pickup

The 4x4 pickup camper van Wereldreizigers.nl what we need vehicle insurance for
The 4×4 pickup camper van Wereldreizigers.nl what we need vehicle insurance for
quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada

2. All-risk quote: Mercedes 1017 truck

quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada

With option 1, @familyeverywhere's Mercedes 1017 expedition truck comes out $6822 per year with a deductible of $5000. It should be noted, however, that theft is not included in option 1.

For option 2 with additional coverage such as wind damage, theft, hail, flood and earthquakes, the quote comes out at a sloppy $8911 per year with a $5000 deductible.

ouch. Those are really painful amounts. Especially when you consider that this insurance is not valid in Canada and Alaska. You will have to arrange separate insurance for this.

No more coverage in Canada unless…

Have you noticed that it often states that there is no coverage for Canada and Mexico? To clarify, I asked Thum Insurance why they couldn't offer us vehicle insurance for Canada. You can read the answer below. Click to enlarge.

So they no longer insure 4×4, expedition or off-road vehicles in Canada. It seems that vehicle insurance through Thum in Canada is only really viable for standard, road-going, professionally built RVs that are of low enough value to keep the premium at a viable level. To clarify, I also asked whether a self-built bus camper could be insured by them in Canada, the answer was 'no'. It's really just for standard factory motorhomes.

Also not mentioned, but in the fine print, is that Thum Insurance does not provide standard coverage in Alaska. You can get coverage from Thum Insurance in this state, but you will have to request a separate quote for that too. So this is going well…

Seguro Gringo Insurance

Would you like to request quotes from Seguro Gringo Insurance yourself? Then consult here their website.

Seguro Watte? That's right, Gringo… In other words, the word that is used in Latin America to invoke Westerners and/or whites. A questionable name if you ask me but they both have options.

Seguro Gringo is a Mexican company that provides coverage for many types of vehicles from every corner of the world. Best of all, they offer vehicle insurance for both the United States and Canada and Mexico, on one policy if desired. This makes things a lot easier if, for example, you want to combine the United States and/or Canada and Mexico in one trip, like us.

Requesting a quote yourself is easy

On their website you can choose 'CamperVan with plates other countries' and 'MotorHome with plates other countries† That is, for vehicles other than US, Canadian or Mexican.

Because we don't have a regular camper, but we also don't have a campervan, I asked which one I should choose (with a photo of our car that was sent). Our 4×4 camper falls into the campervan category for Seguro Gringo, if you have a similar car.

The online form is easy to use and within minutes you will have a quote in front of you. Within a few hours I also had a quote via email.

Advantages and disadvantages Seguro Gringo

Seguro Gringo is actually known for accepting and insuring anything on 4 wheels. But it also definitely has its limitations. For example, they do not offer all-risk insurance and the third-party liability coverage is quite limited in terms of amounts, especially when you consider how quickly amounts can add up in the US if someone ends up in hospital, for example.

Advantages of Seguro Gringo:

  • No North American address needed
  • Foreign driving licenses are accepted
  • Insure almost everything
  • Cheap
  • To be closed per 30-90-180-360 days

Cons:

  • Only third-party vehicle insurance possible
  • Based in Mexico, so falls under the Mexican legal system
  • Limited Coverage Levels

WA Quotation Mitsubishi 4×4 pickup

quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada

Although the premium for third-party vehicle insurance here costs 'only' $2.000 a year compared to Thum's $2.700, the coverage is about 5x less when you look at the insured amounts.

Questionable Coverage

That's a huge difference for an almost comparable premium. I have no experience with the US insurance market and can only assume that Seguro Gringo's coverage is designed to simply keep you legally on the road. The amounts mentioned do not seem to me to offer realistic coverage for possible costs and liabilities in these countries.

For instance: It's more than doubtful that $2.000 in medical expenses to occupant would cover US or Canadian hospital bills in the event of a serious accident.

In fact, I think the balance of liability (as little as $100.000) could become a matter for the US court if you hit someone else's expensive car or RV, for example. With $500.000 at Thum, that feels a little less worrying – although you can absolutely compare it to the amounts that you usually get insured in the Netherlands – there it quickly goes into the millions.

Progressive insurance

Save the best for last, I'll just say. Progressive Insurance is a well-known insurer in the US. You can insure everything for cars, boats, campers, trucks and trailers. Provided you live in America, because for a foreigner it is in principle possible to use their service, but you will have to overcome some obstacles to get something done on this website. That's the main reason it's at the bottom of the blog - by no means everyone will be able to overcome all these obstacles.

US zip code needed

For example, I couldn't manage to request a quote via the website at Progressive because you have to enter a zip code immediately. You can of course get around this by Googling a fake address with zip code and filling it in… No sooner said than done – then you go one screen further. If you want to test yourself, use the zip code 21224.

@familyeverywhere's Mercedes 1017 expedition truck

A physical mailing address in the United States

But just enter a random zip code, that is of course not the intention. They just want to check if you live in the US. Upon inquiry, it turned out that a postal address is also enough, so you can choose to buy a physical 'post office address' in the US online.

These are simply physical PO boxes somewhere in the US that your mail can be sent to. Useful. These mailboxes are often subscription-based and range from approximately $7 to $25 per month, depending on location and service chosen.

For example, some mailboxes offer to open all mail and photograph it or scan it and forward it via email. Super convenient, but at an additional cost of course. Some providers of physical mailing addresses in the United States of America:

Of course you can also use the address of family or friends in the US. If I had it, I would absolutely use it.

An American IP address

All right, you have an address in the US, you've crossed the first threshold with Progressive. But then you run into the following problem one or two screens later: the website no longer works as soon as the quotation engine starts running – resulting in a white screen. If your connection does not come from an American IP address, you will not get any results on your screen.

You can also circumvent that with the help of a VPN. Anyway, if you have also overcome this threshold, you can request a quote via the website and even take out insurance. Whoops!

Be honest about the information you provide

But beware… The above is indeed a hassle for many – but there is more than that. In principle, you are already lying about the application for your insurance, you are not in the US at all while you are pretending to be.

So I waited a while before actually taking out the insurance because I don't want to complain about the information given at the time of applying or taking out.

You know how insurers can be… If there's the slightest reason to refuse a claim, they will. And should something actually happen along the way, I want to make sure I did the right thing.

Just another day at the office

Contact Progressive Insurance

That's why I first tried to contact them via email. Just to cover myself. After a search online and on their website, it seems that there is no email address for questions.

I ended up on them official contact page† They do have an online e-mail form, but that also doesn't work without VPN.

Contact via Facebook chat

That's why I decided to contact them via Facebook. I explained my situation via chat. That I was going to travel in the US, I don't live in the US and the website doesn't work when I request a quote, because I'm currently in the Netherlands. And that I couldn't find an email address.

Within two hours I received a very nice response. Greg the customer service representative indicated that the website is indeed blocked outside the US. But at the same time, he himself gave the tip to use a different VPN, in order to be able to request quotes. I indicated that even with a VPN it had not worked.

I followed Greg's tip and tried a different VPN (Avast), with which I managed to get quotes.

When asked why we necessarily need an address, I got the following answer: it would be used for all necessary postal correspondence, but this is more of a formality because nowadays you also get the policy etc via email.

Quotes Progressive Insurance

Now that I had the green light everywhere, I could actually get to work requesting quotes from progressive. And where I first fell off the chair with Thum because of the price, I fell off the chair again with Progressive because I was so surprised, but this time about the low price. Wow!

And please note: the quotes below are for a kind of all-risk insurance. I've included the original quotes below for completeness.

1. Quotation Mitsubishi 4×4 pickup

To give you a good idea of ​​the coverage of Progressive, I have added the detailed policy pages in two parts below.

Note: I've selected maximum coverage wherever possible. For example, I also put the personal items from 1000 to 12000 dollars. This really only saved a few tens a year, so why not?

quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada
quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada

And yes, you read that right. With all coverages I come up with a maximum, out of $1201 a year† This is a whopping $2446 each cheaper than Thum Insurance. It took quite a bit of time and effort, but I'm saving almost $2500 in one fell swoop. You can do a lot of fun things with that!

2. Quotation Mercedes 1017 truck

Because I could now enter the system, I immediately decided to request quotes for @familyeverywhere's truck. Filling in a few pages of information later, the following quote came out. Also this time I put as much coverage as possible on maximum!

quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada
quote overlander or forwarding vehicle insurance in the United States and Canada

I have a civilized website but HOLY !@#$% SHIT. What a bizarre difference! For the most complete coverage Progressive can offer, just pay for a $100.000 expedition truck $3599 a year.

I don't know if you had in mind what Thum Insurance was asking for the same truck? who asked $8911 a year for more or less the same coverage – and then without coverage in Canada and Alaska. It makes a messy $5312 a year!

I don't know about your wallet, but this is a difference that no one can ignore.

Conclusion

After a few months of searching and checking every possible vehicle insurance line in the United States and Canada, I can confidently say that you have three options. These are Thumb Insurance (US), Seguro Gringo (Mexico) and Progressive (USA). In Canada itself, to my knowledge, there are no longer any insurers where you can go.

Thumb Insurance is recommended by many shipping companies as the go-to vehicle insurers for the US and Canada. They are fast and clear in communication, insure many types of vehicles, but the price is also absolutely right. Just count on $3.500 to $10.000 a year. And unless you have a standard factory motorhome, in most cases Thum Insurance doesn't cover you in Canada and Alaska, so you may need to take out additional insurance for that, which will only increase the price.

Seguro Gringo is in any case the easiest of the three insurers. They insure everything and hardly ask any questions. Price-wise, they fall between Thum Insurance and Progressive Insurance at about $2.000 a year. The convenience is of course worth something, but I am seriously concerned about coverage. The insured amounts are so low that it looks more like 'legally keeping your vehicle on the road', and that's it. The insured amounts are simply not realistic, should something really happen. They also operate from Mexico, so in the event of a possible conflict you will have to deal with Mexican law.

Progressive insurance is the absolute winner in my opinion. That is, if you manage to overcome all the barriers of Progressive. You must have a postal address in the United States and you cannot use the website without a VPN. For extra certainty, I also recommend that you ask customer service again for confirmation via Facebook Chat. Ask if what you are doing is OK. You are not a resident of the US and with a borrowed or rented postal address + VPN connection you circumvent the restrictions that the insurer uses on their website. Take screenshots of the confirmation you get.

Those willing to overcome the barriers of Progressive Insurance can easily save $2500 to $5500 a year. And that only on insuring your vehicle! It has taken me a lot of time over the past few weeks to figure this all out, but if I just look at our own quote and that of @familyeverywhere, we have already saved a sloppy 7500 euros together.

Get vehicle insurance in the US and Canada
Thank you and goodbye!

Those are results that personally make me really happy, and I hope you do too. Good luck, and see you in the next blog!

Also read: Shipping an Overlander vehicle, motorhome or motorhome bus | How much does that cost?
Also read: Overland in America & Canada | Everything about VISA, ESTA & eTA

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Chris

Owner of Wereldreizigers.nl † Discover the world!
- Full-time blogging world traveler.
- Writes about travel, photography, sustainability and gadgets.
- Likes to discover extreme and unknown places.

0 comments

  • Chris, thanks for your detailed explanation about insurance in North America. Greetings from the Netherlands

  • Hi Chris,

    I must also thank you for that great content you offer us.

    To the knowledge of every interested person here, Progressive just told me (I just had them on the phone before writing this comment) that I could not get an insurance plan as I was not a permanent resident in the US and I then I could not ensure a European car with them.
    So that you know, we will travel with our Isuzu Dmax and roof tent with a small offroad trailer behind us, in Canada and the US next year
    Yet only Segurogringo is ok but I am not feeling confident… so did you!

  • Hi Chris, in connection with the insurance I was looking for what people who ship their vehicle outside Europe do with RDW. Whether or not to suspend your vehicle?
    Can he still be insured if he is suspended?
    How did you do that? Did you have your MOT inspected in America or just before departure?

    I read mixed opinions about this on the internet.

    Regards Richard and Bé

  • Hi Chris,

    Thank you for your excellent summary!

    I'm currently trying to get coverage for Progressive, but so far, they have not been very helpful:

    “John” from Progressive writes to me:

    “Thanks for the follow up info! Yes, in that situation, our standard RV policy would not adequately cover you and your vehicle. We assure RVs with the understanding that the vehicle will be kept at a permanent US address more than half the year. The type of traveling you're doing would not meet our specific underwriting standards and would be considered an “unacceptable risk.” Also, we can only complete a policy when the RV is not the sole mode of transportation for the primary policy holder.

    In this situation, you'll want to seek options outside Progressive. ~John”

    I pointed out your case, but until now, to no avail.

    I was thinking that maybe you would be willing to provide the registration number of your contract, so that the guys at Progressive could look it up for reference?

    Any help will be deeply appreciated!

    THX, Hannes

  • Inglese:
    Hi Chris, thanks for the great blog. We came across your blog after asking Progressive for a quote. We can only confirm your procedure: VPN+address of US acquaintance+questions/chat+copy of chat. Progressive has confirmed: no problem that we do not live in the USA, that the address is from a US friend and that the insurance also applies to Canada. What makes us suspicious: the insurance will apply from the time you leave the port BUT the car must be registered in the US. From our understanding, the Temporary Import IS the registration for us. However, we arrive in Halifax…. What do you think about that? Did that happen to you too?

    german:
    Hi Chris, Danke für den tollen Blog. Wir sind auf euren Blog kommen nachdem wir bei Progressiv nach einem Angebot gefragt haben. Wir können deine Prozedur nur bestätigen: VPN+Adresse von US-Bekannten+Fragen/Chat+Kopie des Chats. Progressive hat bestätigt: kein Problem dass wir nicht in USA wohnen, dass die Adresse von einem US-Bekannt ist und dass die Versicherung auch für Canada gilt. Was uns stutzig macht: die Versicherung wird ab Verlassen des Hafen gelten ABER das Auto muss in US registriert sein. Nach unserem Verständnis der Temporary Import IST die Registrierung für uns. Allerdings wir kommen in Halifax an…. Who siehst du das? Ist bei euch auch so gelaufen?

    • Hi Eliana,

      Thank you for your kind words. What you described here is exactly how we did it. The registration in the US is indeed the import form, at least that was all they needed in our case… I made a picture of it and send it to them via chat. They confirmed it was okay.

  • Hi,
    I just asked progressive about FB about getting insured by them and this is the answer I got:

    “Hi Richard! Thank you for reaching out and considering Progressive! We're unable to insure a vehicle that is being brought from another country unless it is registered and licensed here in the US. In addition, if you'll be traveling regularly and won't have a permanent US address where the vehicle will be kept more than half the time, we would not be able to offer the coverage you need.

    In this case, I suggest an Internet search for international auto insurance and reaching out to some of the companies listed. An international car insurance policy can protect you financially when you drive overseas, just as your domestic auto insurance policy protects you in your home country. You'll also be secure in the knowledge that, wherever you go, your insurance complies with local regulations. Safe travels! ~Nida”

    I'm not sure if they changed their policy, or if they have a different policy for RVs. Did your get a confirmation from progressive that your RV is insured, even though it is not registered in the US?

    • Hi Richard,

      As you can see in the other comment that was just added by Eliana, sometimes people do get a thumbs up at Progressive. It's weird that some people do and some people don't. I think it's more about who you chat with, they seem to give different answers each time. I would just try again and if you get the right answers, make screenshots of the conformation. And yes, we received confirmation that it was okay that our vehicle was not registered in the US. The temporarily import form was enough proof.

  • Thank you very much for the valuable and insightful blog. We want to ship our camper to America in Feb or March 2023, so we are orientating. We may want to combine with Mexico (depending on how safe it is to cross the border) or with Canada. If you know someone who has experience with the border crossing to and from Mexico, we are recommended.

    As a thank you for the blog we have made a small contribution for a nice cup of coffee. Hopefully you can drink these in a beautiful place.

    Regards, Rudy and Linde

    • Hi Linde,

      Thank you for the kind words and the cup of coffee! We really appreciate that. You can easily cross the border into Mexico, just try to avoid the big crossings, and stay well away from Tijuana. Furthermore, it is a fairly carefree country to travel in, enough overlanders who do it, as we speak.

      Our bloggers Roy and Ellen van Red's Road Life just crossed the border into Mexico. There is no blog about it yet, but you can search for them on our website and then approach them through their own channels. The links to their socials are below the blogs. I can also absolutely recommend that you ask this question in the facebook group "Pan American Travelers Association“. There are many overlanders with experience there.

      Good luck with arranging everything and if you have any questions in the meantime, I'll see them appear here.

      Chris

  • Hi Chris,
    Thanks again for the above blog. This has been very valuable to us! We have also requested a quote from Progressive Insurance. For us, the amount also came out full +/- 1200 euros for our bus camper (VW T6). Unfortunately it seems they have modified their forms online, we were unable to complete the application as we do not have a US driver's license. But there is now a phone number on the website so we just called.

    The customer service is very friendly and helpful and completed the request over the phone. Unfortunately, that meant that the quote goes from 1200 to 1900 dollars (for no apparent reason) but we'll take that for granted.

    What I was wondering is what you have done with the tax and insurance you pay in NL. I don't think you are allowed to suspend the vehicle while driving around North America. But did you manage to terminate the Dutch insurance so that you do not pay it twice for a year?

    Thank you for your comment and have fun with your tour!
    Regards Jim

    • Hi Jim,

      Nice to hear that you got something out of it! And thanks for the update here, it helps other future travelers too. Good to know there is now a phone number. The reason that it suddenly goes up is the foreign driver's license, I am convinced of that. Because this also happened in the form before.

      With regard to suspending and canceling the insurance in NL: just do it. All overlanders do it, because the Dutch government offers no options to temporarily leave the EU in a legal way, so suspension is your only way out so as not to have double costs. You then have to see what your obligations are in terms of maintenance, MOT and insurance per country.

      Not an answer I like to give, but unfortunately the Dutch government just doesn't think along with it. I see this question over and over again in various overlander/world travel circles… and people come to the same conclusion every time: you don't have a choice unless you want to keep paying everything twice.

      Best regards,

      Chris

  • Hi Chris,
    We planned to travel across Canada to Alaska in 2020 via Halifax. We did not manage to insure our Mercedes 508, bus camper, from 1981. But your story about insuring has now made us think whether we can afford Alaska
    must visit and stay in Canada.
    But the biggest problem is that the camper is 40 years old. According to the valuation report in concours condition. Our question is, is it possible to insure the motorhome in Canada.
    Due to corona we were able to cancel the crossing just in time, but now we want to try again. Do you know how we can tackle this? We are not good with computers

    • Hi Jaap, that sounds like a fantastic adventure!

      I have no experience with insuring cars older than 40 years, but I do know someone who might be able to tell you more about it. His name is Ton Peters and he also has an old Mercedes himself, is currently in Canada with that car and also reads this website from time to time. I'll send him a message and ask if he can contact you. I'll give him your email address right away.

      Yours faithfully,

      Chris

  • hello chris, you do what we want to do too. Our top unit is being built and will be ready in a few months. What we are already encountering in the Netherlands is the insurance of the pick-up, which we have had for a while and the separate unit. How did you solve this?

    Thanks in advance for your response.

    greetings and happy travels,
    Yvonne

  • What a search and how much it helps us! Coincidentally, we are also planning our trip (of one year) in North America with our own bus camper.

    Over the past few weeks, while I was getting lost between visa, insurance, corona restrictions, etc. I came across your blogs about applying for a visa in America, shipping a motorhome, insuring a motorhome and we really got a lot out of this! We would like to thank you for this top research and beautiful blogs about it. Our tickets are now booked for the end of August 2022 and we will read the upcoming blogs about your trip in America with great admiration.

    Have fun traveling and we will definitely make another donation for Wereldreizigers.nl, thanks!!

    Greetings Yuri and Jim

    • Hi Yuri and Jim,

      Nice to hear! And yes, I can really imagine it, at one point we were really like pffff, so many things that are running at the same time… I'm glad it has been of some use to you and it's great that you are embarking on a similar adventure! Have fun in advance and if you have any questions about anything, you know where to find us.

      Greetings Chris and Malou

  • Dear Chris, we have been inspired by your website to start our second tour in the US and Canada with our own car. Earlier we understood that Progressive is one of the few companies that can and wants to insure the car of tourists.

    Over the past few days I had a short exchange of messages with Progressive via Twitter, among other things about the use of a postal address. This is what I got back: “Using a friend's postal address would allow us to send any documents out to you, but new Progressive policies may need proof of residence showing that address is where the policy holder lives to be submitted upon start of coverage. That could be anything from a paycheck stub, to tax documents or utility bills in the policy holder's name, so that option wouldn't work as a way to get coverage started, I'm sorry to say.”

    It basically says that what you (and we) want is not possible? Do you have other experiences with this and/or a solution for this?
    Hans and Marleen

    • Hi Hans and Marlene,

      Unfortunately, there is still a lot of uncertainty about this. Some get the green light with ease without any problems, others get more extensive responses like you and others just get a 'no' right away. I think it has to do with:

      1) Many different scenarios. For example, I will stay in Florida for two months in the beginning, I have indicated this to Progressive. I didn't get the response you received above but I did have to indicate a place where I would be 'most' because they had to register the insurance in a certain state. So that's where my insurance is also registered. In Florida, at the mailing address.
      2) Progressive is a big company with a lot of employees – I've actually had 30 different reactions that are very contradictory. It seems like they don't really know how or what internally either.

      Last week, another Dutch couple also managed to get the insurance. They ended up doing this over the Phone and were also open and honest about their plans. They have already received the policy.

      I've also had the policy around for some time.

  • What an enjoyable trip and what a good search. We are also planning to travel with our motorhome, a 1113 Mercedes 1983, through North America and then probably in stages through Central and South America. Due to Corona, it is still on the back burner. I followed your instructions and got a quote for less than 1000 usd for a whole year. I had already received a quote from Thum through Seabridge, but that was much more expensive, only for WA and 6 months. I'm still curious if you finally succeeded with the insurance of a foreign license plate! At the time, for example, I also had to send all photos because it is not a factory camper.

  • You can get an address in Florida without any problem through the Myrvmail.com service. There you will receive an address that can be used for bank accounts (also handy) and insurance. We are full time travelers and there is our official residential address.
    If you really have some time, it is even possible as a foreigner to get a US driver's license (which is then valid until the date you have to leave the country, but just go to the DMV and you can renew that way). That often saves on premium . (for me that was $500 a year in the past).

    • Hi Erald.
      We want to go to Canada in May with our Scania, converted into a camper. I've been trying to get this insured for weeks. As I read in your comment, can I get an address at Myrvmail.com and then arrange the insurance at national general.com? It almost sounds too good to be true…. But what an incredible solution that would be. I hope you can let me know if I have understood correctly.

  • Hallo,

    Great research, but is it really worth shipping your own vehicle and then having to add these costs?
    I know: it's your own home away from home that you have with you, decorated to your taste.
    But with a diesel you already have problems with the electronics in Mexico because of the other polluting diesel they use there, if you don't know you can wait weeks for replacement parts.
    Isn't it sometimes better to buy an RV in Canada (British Columbia) to insure it cheaply (you get a 40% discount if you have proof that you have been driving accident free for 8 years in Belgium and/or the Netherlands, 5% per year) and you can go to the US and Mexico without any problems (take limited insurance there, not necessary for the Baja C) In Western Canada there is only one insurance company and order is immediate, within 15 minutes)

    In any case, top research and freedom to all, "be independent"

    • hey peter,

      Thanks for your feedback! It is indeed not cheap to ship, insure your own vehicle and everything that comes with it. But in fact you have already given the answer yourself: it is nice to have something that you know and that is decorated to your own taste.

      I've thought about buying something, but also on that side of the ocean the prices of motorhomes and certainly the 4×4 motorhomes have risen enormously due to Covid-19. I also find it difficult to buy something because you always run into things that you did not foresee, are broken or broken or need to be replaced.

      No vehicle is perfect and I want to enjoy the year as much as possible, so not be busy with upgrading, repairing, etc. Although things can also break in our motorhome, at least I know how the vehicle looks at the moment technical assistance.

      In short: no trip or person is the same. I always say do where your heart is. If you'd rather buy, buy!

  • Dear Chris,

    I have been reading your overland blogs with admiration for a while now and I can only appreciate it. Thanks for looking, what a job.

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