What Insurance Should an RV Park Carry?

August 22, 2026 · RV park investing, explained

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Most RV parks need seven core coverages: general liability, commercial property, business income, equipment/inland marine, umbrella liability, workers comp if there are employees, and flood coverage if the park sits in or near a flood zone. Many sellers carry only enough to satisfy their lender, which usually means general liability and property, and not much else. That gap between the bare minimum and a properly insured park is where new owners get surprised, often during due diligence when the insurance quote comes back higher than expected.

The short version

Where Basic Coverage wins

Basic coverage is cheaper, and for a very small owner-operated park with few structures and no employees, it can be defensible. If you own five acres with 15 gravel pads, no pool, no clubhouse, and you run it yourself, a stripped-down policy might genuinely match your risk. The premium savings can matter when the park is thin on cash flow already.

Basic coverage also makes sense as a temporary bridge. Some new owners bind a minimum policy at closing because the seller's policy lapses and there's no time to get a full underwriting review done before day one. That's a reasonable stopgap for a few weeks, not a long-term plan.

The honest limit here is that basic coverage is built to satisfy a lender's checklist, not to protect the actual business. It rarely accounts for the specific risks a campground carries: propane tanks, fire pits, water features, playgrounds, and a constant flow of strangers driving large vehicles around each other.

Where Comprehensive Coverage wins

Comprehensive coverage earns its cost the first time something goes wrong that isn't a simple fender bender. A slip and fall near a pool, a fire that starts in a propane hookup, a tree that comes down on a guest's rig during a storm, a sewer backup that floods three sites. These are the claims that actually happen at RV parks, and a basic policy either excludes them or caps the payout well below the real cost.

Business income coverage is the piece most new owners underweight until they need it. If a fire takes out your bathhouse and the health department shuts you down for six weeks, a basic policy pays to rebuild the bathhouse and nothing else. A comprehensive policy also replaces the lost site revenue during that shutdown. For a park generating meaningful monthly income, that difference is the gap between staying solvent and missing a debt service payment.

Umbrella liability is the other piece worth the extra premium. General liability limits sound large until you're facing a lawsuit involving a serious injury. A $1M umbrella policy on top of your general liability is usually inexpensive relative to the protection it adds, often a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars a year depending on park size and claims history.

What this looks like in practice

When reviewing a seller's policy during due diligence, pull the actual declarations page, not just a summary. Check three things first: the coverage basis for the buildings (actual cash value vs replacement cost), whether business income coverage is present at all, and whether the property sits in a FEMA flood zone. A surprising number of parks near rivers or lakes have no flood coverage because the seller assumed general property insurance covered it. It doesn't.

Also check what's specifically listed as covered structures. Pools, playgrounds, pump houses, and park-owned rental units (cabins, park models, glamping units) sometimes get left off a policy because they were added to the park after the original policy was written and nobody updated it. If the seller added ten park model rentals in the last two years and the policy still lists the original site count, that's worth flagging before closing.

For workers comp, the rule is simple: if you have any W-2 employees, most states require it regardless of how few hours they work. Parks that use only 1099 contractors for maintenance can sometimes skip it, but check state rules carefully, because misclassifying an employee as a contractor to avoid workers comp is a common way small operators get into legal trouble.

Premiums vary a lot by state, claims history, and park size, so treat any number you hear as a rough range rather than a quote. A small park might pay a few thousand dollars a year for a comprehensive package. A larger park with a pool, event space, and dozens of employees during peak season can run considerably higher. Get an actual quote from an insurer that specializes in campgrounds or RV parks rather than a generalist commercial agent, because the specialists understand the risk profile and price it more accurately.

If you're evaluating a deal and the insurance line item in the seller's financials looks unusually low compared to similar parks, that's a flag to dig into what's actually covered before you assume it's a cost-saving opportunity. Underinsurance doesn't show up on a P&L until the year something breaks.

FAQ

Does an RV park need flood insurance?

If the park is in or near a FEMA-designated flood zone, yes, and standard commercial property policies usually exclude flood damage entirely. You need a separate flood policy, often through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood carrier. Check the flood zone status early in due diligence, since it affects both insurance cost and future resale.

Do I need workers comp if I don't have any employees?

In most states, no, but the rules vary and some states have minimum thresholds or require it for even part-time help. If you use only independent contractors for mowing, maintenance, or cleaning, confirm they're properly classified. Misclassification is a real liability, not just a paperwork issue.

How do I know if a seller's insurance is adequate before I buy?

Ask for the full policy, not a summary, and check the coverage basis, the business income section, the flood status, and the list of covered structures against what's actually on the property today. If you're new to this kind of review, a resource like Invest With Zac walks through what to look for, or you can have a commercial insurance broker review the seller's policy directly before you close.