Campground insurance is essential to safeguard your business, yet most campgrounds are not fully tuned into their risk management needs. In fact, 80 to 85% aren’t thinking about their campground insurance as much as they should or could be, says Damian Petty with Leavitt Recreation & Hospitality Insurance, which specializes in RV parks and campgrounds. 

We spoke with Petty to better understand the unique risk management needs of campgrounds, why insurance is important to protect your business, and what to expect when starting a policy. Let’s get into it. 

Campground Insurance: The Landscape and Unique Risks

Insurance Companies’ Perspective of the Campground Industry

To understand the unique types of risks at campgrounds, it helps to first understand why insurance companies typically do not find the campground industry lucrative. This ultimately boils down to losses. 

Consider an insurance company that collects a $1 premium from campgrounds, but is paying out $1.30 in claims. If that company has a $30 million book of business, but had to pay out $40 million in a given year, it wouldn’t make much sense for that company to stay or compete in that business. Such is the case with the campground industry. 

The Unique Risks at Campgrounds

One of the biggest reasons losses accrue for insurance companies with campgrounds is that campgrounds are seasonal. 

Because campgrounds hire seasonal employees, it can often be a) difficult to find people away from big cities who are formally licensed, or b) expensive to properly train them. For example, remote campgrounds located a couple hours from the city could fail to find or train properly licensed lifeguards whom they’d need for only 3 to 6 months. In the face of these challenges, it’s not uncommon for campgrounds to skate around proper risk management.

Other risks for campgrounds include, but are not limited to:

  • Trees. Trees are probably the most frequent claim for Leavitt Recreation. If a tree falls on a rig or person, most campgrounds likely won’t have a year-round, knowledgeable employee who’s been on top of all the waivers, inspection logs, and procedures to form a proper defense. 
  • Remote location. Because many campgrounds are typically on the outskirts of town, it can be difficult to access immediate resources to treat fires, medical emergencies, and more.
  • Drowning in pools or lakes.
  • Propane. A seasonal employee likely won’t be as knowledgeable or accurate when handling propane as someone who is experienced and trained. 

“I think a lot of people just don’t think these things will happen to them, or they don’t understand the gravity of these losses,” says Petty. “We’ve had some crazy doozies of different types of claims. There are all kinds of different things that happen in a campground that we pay out that most people would never even dream of.”

One example he gives was a claim down on the beach of a resort. When several children contracted ​​E. coli from the geese excrement on the beach, folks sued the campground. 

Other claims have involved drunken scuffles between campers resulting in injury—even death—that the campground was then sued for. Or a bear attack—where even though the campground warned campers about bears, a guest still sued the campground for not providing a bear-proof food container. 

As Petty speaks from experience, campgrounds can suddenly be made to be liable for all types of situations, as far-reaching as they might seem. 

Educating Insurance Carriers and Campground Owners 

This is where organizations like Leavitt Recreation aim to serve the industry: by educating both partner carriers and campgrounds about top risks for loss. 

They help insurance companies understand the campground industry and price policies correctly, as well as eliminate things that are potentially harmful to campgrounds. For campground owners, they can help point out what you need to consider.

“That’s where our expertise comes in, where we go: If you’re going to put in a jumping pillow, here are the things you need to have from a good risk management standpoint. If you’re going to offer a pool, this is what you need to do. If you’re going to do ATV rentals, side-by-side rentals, or snowmobile rentals, we’ll be the ones to say, ‘Hey, we don’t want to put that in our normal package policy. We want to break that out into a separate policy to insulate the campground carriers from those types of risks.”

Understand the Responsibility of Your Commercial Business

Campground owners must understand that insurance for commercial businesses works differently from homeowners’ insurance. 

For homeowners, there’s some insulation as you choose your property coverages because insurance companies understand many people aren’t as knowledgeable about how much it costs to build their house. There are also so many houses in dense areas that it’s easy for insurance companies to come up with a dollar figure for coverage. 

It’s completely different for campgrounds. “The responsibility of a commercial business is on the actual commercial business,” says Petty. Given there are many ways businesses can evaluate the value of a building (like hiring an architect, engineer, or contractor)—especially given there are many building types on campgrounds, from A-frames to barn-style to shops—insurance companies hold businesses responsible for accurately and sufficiently insuring their buildings. If you don’t, you’ll be penalized.

For instance, let’s say you have a $100,000 building, and you have a clause in your policy that requires you to insure 80% of its replacement cost value. That means you should be carrying $80,000 on the paperwork as a bare minimum.

“If you insured it for $70,000, you’re underinsured,” explains Petty. “So now when the loss occurs—let’s say a roof loss of $10,000 because a hail storm came through—the insurance company will penalize you for not meeting the 80% co-insurance requirement. They’ll say, ‘We’re not going to pay for the full loss of your roof. We’re going to penalize you.’ So instead of getting $10,000, now you’re only getting $7,000.

“That’s the one thing that kicks the pants off of people when they have a loss,” continues Petty. “They were underinsured, they got penalized, and they didn’t realize that that’s how the insurance policy worked.”

That’s just one example of how a lack of proper insurance education can fail to protect your business. At the end of day, conferring with your insurance agent and figuring out the coverages you need for your specific campground will safeguard you in the long run. 

What to Expect When Kicking Off (and Renewing) Your Campground Insurance 

When working with an organization like Leavitt to put together the best insurance policy for your campground, the first step will be information-gathering. 

Aside from any prior knowledge they might have about your campground (from previous quotes or policies, for instance), they’ll ask about your campground layout, number of RV sites, building types, and more. They might look up more photos from TripAdvisor or Google Earth. It’s all about figuring out what they’re working with.

Once you start a campground insurance policy, Petty recommends you thoroughly renew it every year. About 60 days before your renewal date, Leavitt checks in with clients to understand their plans for the year, revenue trajectories, amenity additions, and more. Then, they’ll shop for and present the best insurance options.

Even before the year mark, however, Leavitt welcomes calls and questions from clients. “I do have some clients I talk to on a quarterly basis,” says Petty. “It’s sometimes just to shoot the breeze, and then the next thing you know, they’re asking an insurance question, or how to handle a certain situation. By all means, call me anytime and I’d love to visit with you.” 

Don’t Overlook Your Campground Insurance

Campground insurance is a necessary part of safeguarding your business, and protecting yourself from unforeseen challenges. Talk with your insurance agent to understand how to best protect your campground and its specific needs. 

Elizabeth Pun writes for ecommerce and SaaS businesses. A former content marketing manager, she has over 11 years of experience helping brands grow through compelling content. She loves scouring for vintage finds, exploring the outdoors, and getting her glamp on.