FYI 45 MPH rear end collision.

[dkolakowski10]

2024 Renegade Verona 40VRB.
07-12-2026 headed North on I-75 in Ocala.
A rainy day that turned ugly after passing under the FDOT LED sign with a message that said "prepare to stop 3 miles ahead".
After driving under an overpass I clearly saw all three lanes ahead were red brake lights and flashing blue FHP light bars.
I came off the fuel pedal and let the engine break do it's thing.
I was about to push the 4 way button and looked into the driver side mirror.
I couldn't believe my eyes and screamed hang on!
A commercial semi truck tanker was closing in fast and the road mist was unbelievable.
I heard an explosion and my head snapped backward and after that silence. I was strapped in and my chest and jaw hurt.
After all the confusion and over a month of insurance uncertainty, Freightliner and Renegade deemed my Verona a total loss.
The house was pushed forward by 6" and the cab separated from the house. The wheel wells were cut open to allow the Verona to be towed down the road.
We just settled with a commercial insurance company who paid what they considered the Verona value at the time of impact.
Let me tell everyone who has an RV and enjoys the freedom and comfort of driving down the road.
When an accident happens and it maybe your fault or the other drivers, it's the insurance company and policy that decide if you keep that dream alive.
With our situation we are grateful that the company had insurance because even after a settlement we are unable to become whole again.
The money exchange is way short of providing a replacement Super-C, and we are coming out of pocket in hopes of being placed into another Renegade.
Insurance companies do not provide a replacement for what was lost and they are up front about that!
Take what we offered and move on is the "buyer be ware" when you are driving down the road in a $365,000.00 RV today.
An accident even when it's the others person fault can change your dreams in an instant and you are left with minimal funds when the dust clears.

Moral of this story:
Renegade builds a very solid Super-C and I wouldn't own anything else!

Be safe out there!

 

[JBright11]

I'm glad there were no serious injuries!!
If the other insurance carrier's valuation was too low, did you contest it?

 

[TheLooks]

With a 2024, how could they low ball you?

 

[T’sOVR&Explore]

Imagine what could have been if you had not chosen to go big and strong. Monetary shortfall aside, your ride gave you it's all, worth every penny that goes missing in the interim. Wishing you the best in the parh forward - after all, money is just numbers on paper if the remainder suffices to keep on keeping on..

 

[AbdRahim]

Sorry to hear of this experience. Not sure if law suit is apprpriate here. Would not hurt to call one of the big guys from the TV commercials.

 

[DennisT]

Glad everyone was safe overall. Safety of the M2 is one of the reasons we had a Super C.

That is why we had a negotiated value policy on ours. Basically would have got back what we paid had it been totaled.

 

[dkolakowski10]

I'm glad there were no serious injuries!!
If the other insurance carrier's valuation was too low, did you contest it?

The biggest problem is that there simply aren’t enough truly comparable vehicles on the market to establish an accurate value. The commercial insurance company relied on JD Power electronic data and two currently listed 2024 Renegade Verona 40VRBs. They also used a 2024 Renegade Verona 40VBH as a comparable, even though it does not have the same floor plan and typically carries an MSRP that is $5,000–$8,000 lower because it has only one bathroom.
I sent several emails requesting the detailed breakdowns and worksheets showing exactly how they arrived at their $316,000 valuation for my Verona. Unfortunately, those requests fell on deaf ears. They refused to provide the supporting calculations and would not even open a meaningful discussion regarding my counteroffer of $335,000—the amount I believe is necessary to replace the vehicle and put me as close as possible to where I was before the loss.

"NOT ASKING FOR MUCH CONSIDERING A COMMERCIAL DRIVER CLEARLY WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION BEFORE IMPACT"!

What makes this even more frustrating is that I went a step further and provided examples of current 2026 Renegade Verona 40VRBs, which are substantially higher in price. I even went on a bit of a rant toward the end of my email correspondence and challenged them to produce a 2024 Renegade Verona 40VRB with fewer than 9,400 miles, a documented service history, and low generator hours for $316,000.

They couldn't—because that vehicle simply doesn't exist.
And that, in my opinion, makes the point even clearer. You cannot claim that $316,000 is a fair replacement value when you cannot actually find a comparable vehicle with similar age, mileage, condition, equipment, floor plan, service history, and generator hours for that amount.

Bottom Line:​

This experience has reinforced my belief that big insurance companies are primarily focused on collecting premiums and minimizing payouts. When it comes time to make a customer whole after a loss, the emphasis seems to shift from fair replacement value to finding the lowest number they can justify on paper. For me, this isn't about trying to make money on the loss. It's about being able to replace what I had with something genuinely comparable without having to absorb a significant financial loss simply because the insurance company's valuation doesn't reflect the actual market.

If $316,000 is truly the fair market replacement value, then finding a comparable 2024 Verona 40VRB under those criteria should be easy.

It isn't.

And that says a lot.

A final note: My wife and I have never been in a motor vehicle accident in both our 45 year average as insured drivers. If the other person would have followed the safety warning from FDOT and looked at the road and not a phone (allegedly) I wouldn't be a new member to this forum and probably would be in the Florida keys right now!

 

[dkolakowski10]

Glad everyone was safe overall. Safety of the M2 is one of the reasons we had a Super C.

That is why we had a negotiated value policy on ours. Basically would have got back what we paid had it been totaled.

A Note About the Insurance Rider​

We actually had a policy rider that addressed this situation as well. If I had caused the accident, I would have recovered the value we specifically stated on the policy. That amount still would not have completely made me whole, but it would have covered the overall loan payoff and then some.
Because the other driver was 100% at fault, however, the situation is different. The at-fault driver's insurance company is the one determining how the claim is valued and how the payout is handled.
And to be fair, I'm not saying their offer was necessarily unreasonable or ungenerous in the context of how they calculated it. My point is something different: insurance companies aren't necessarily interested in replacing your totaled RV at today's actual replacement cost. They determine what they believe the vehicle you lost was worth and offer that amount. The problem is that the number they determine may not be enough to actually put you back on the road in a comparable RV.
That's the part that is so frustrating.
The accident wasn't something I caused, yet I'm the one left facing the difference between what the insurance company says my RV was worth and what it actually costs to replace it with something comparable in today's market.
In other words, the at-fault driver took away a vehicle that I owned and had invested heavily in. The insurance settlement may compensate me for what they believe that vehicle was worth, but it doesn't necessarily provide enough money to replace what was actually taken away.

And if replacing that vehicle requires me to come out of pocket with tens of thousands of additional dollars, then am I really being made whole?

​