Insurance Before Buying an RV Park or Glamping Resort

Buying an RV park or glamping resort is also an insurance transition. The direct answer is to make coverage part of diligence and closing—not an afterthought once the deed or operating agreement is signed. Review the seller’s insurance history, then prepare a buyer-specific submission that reflects the property and the way you will operate it. Do not assume that the seller’s policy, certificate, declarations page, or premium automatically transfers to you.

The SBA recommends a thorough, objective investigation when buying an existing business and lists contracts, leases, financial statements, tax returns, sales agreements, and purchase-price adjustments among documents an attorney and accountant may evaluate. Insurance diligence should connect those records to property, people, guests, activities, and interruption risk. This guide does not decide legal transfer, licensing, tax, or financing questions.

Start with the deal structure

Ask whether the transaction is an asset purchase, entity purchase, lease, management arrangement, or another structure. Confirm which entity will own land, buildings, units, equipment, vehicles, reservations, intellectual property, and contracts after closing. Identify any lender, landlord, municipality, association, franchisor, or management company that will require evidence or specific wording.

Give your insurance adviser the expected closing date, possession date, entity name, locations, lender requirements, and planned operating changes. Ask what must be bound before closing, what evidence the lender needs, and whether any separate policies or endorsements must be effective at the handoff. Your attorney should address the legal transaction and any assumed liabilities; your adviser should address the insurance submission and policy documents.

Treat a seller’s policy as historical evidence to investigate, not as the buyer’s coverage plan. A certificate is not a substitute for the contract: the New York Department of Financial Services explains that a certificate summarizes policy terms and cannot confer new rights. That is a New York regulator opinion, so local legal advice remains important, but the document-control lesson applies to a closing packet.

Request the insurance diligence packet

Ask the seller for:

• Current declarations, schedules, forms, endorsements, exclusions, conditions, and invoices.
• At least the available loss runs and open-claim information, with explanations for large, repeated, or unresolved losses.
• Locations, construction, roof, utilities, values, appraisals, inventories, and recent capital improvements.
• Site plans showing RV sites, roads, buildings, cabins, glamping units, bathhouses, pools, docks, signs, fences, and emergency access.
• Revenue and payroll by month and by activity, including lodging, sites, food, retail, rentals, events, and seasonal agreements.
• Vehicle lists, employee and contractor duties, vendor agreements, concession contracts, leases, permits, and certificates.
• Incident, inspection, maintenance, fire, weather, pool, equipment, and guest-complaint records.

Request the actual documents rather than relying on a seller’s description such as “fully insured.” Confirm which entity was named, which locations were scheduled, what changed, and whether a claim or condition remains unresolved.

Compare the past with the planned operation

Build a two-column change log:

The seller may have operated a basic RV park while you plan a destination resort. You may add hot tubs, fireplaces, events, food, alcohol, guided activities, glamping units, or a third-party concession. Conversely, you may close or remove an amenity. Each change should be disclosed before terms are finalized.

The NAIC small-business material distinguishes property, liability, commercial auto, workers’ compensation, and other commercial questions. Use that structure to identify gaps, not to assume a particular policy responds.

Rebuild the property schedule

Walk the property and reconcile every asset with the seller’s schedule. Record ownership, location, construction, year, dimensions, condition, value source, and intended use for buildings, cabins, tents, yurts, domes, platforms, decks, bathhouses, clubhouses, offices, roads, bridges, utility systems, pools, equipment, signs, fences, docks, vehicles, contents, and outdoor improvements.

Flag assets that are:

• Newly built, under construction, renovated, or not yet open.
• Leased, financed, managed, or owned by a third party.
• Seasonal, removable, stored off-site, or moved between locations.
• Shared by lodging, events, food, or another operator.
• Dependent on a well, septic system, generator, buried line, private road, or other service.

Ask how valuation, ordinance or law, flood, wind, equipment breakdown, utility service, outdoor property, and business-income terms apply. Do not let a blanket building value hide units, decks, roads, utilities, or contents that require separate treatment.

Test the income and liability assumptions

Use historical financials, reservations, occupancy, daily rates, deposits, refunds, payroll, continuing expenses, and planned growth. Explain whether income comes from site fees, lodging, food, retail, rentals, events, activities, or seasonal contracts. A business-income limit based only on the seller’s past may not reflect your expansion or a changed mix.

List guest activities and third-party relationships. Ask about pools, carts, watercraft, animals, trails, playgrounds, events, alcohol, food, vendors, instructors, contractors, and guest property. Collect contracts and insurance requirements. A vendor certificate does not erase the buyer’s premises or contractual questions.

A practical acquisition timeline

Before signing a letter of intent

Ask what insurance records are available and identify whether the opportunity includes buildings, operations, leases, equipment, reservations, or only land. Have your attorney and accountant identify diligence documents; have an adviser identify the information needed for an indication.

During diligence

Obtain forms, schedules, loss history, values, financials, contracts, maps, inspections, and planned changes. Walk the property. Resolve missing locations, unexplained claims, inconsistent values, and unreported activities before relying on a term.

Before closing

Confirm the buyer entity, effective date, named insureds, locations, lender wording, limits, deductibles, endorsements, and outstanding subjectivities. Ask when proof must be delivered and who is responsible for each closing document. Bind only after the terms are understood and accepted by the proper parties.

At handoff

Photograph and inventory the property, preserve records, collect keys and emergency contacts, confirm vendor responsibilities, and report any immediate changes. Do not make a new unit, event, contractor, or amenity available to guests until its insurance and operational questions are addressed.

Insurance-before-purchase FAQs

Can I simply take over the seller’s policy?

Do not assume that. Transaction structure, named insured, insurer consent, policy terms, and jurisdiction can matter. Ask the seller, insurer, adviser, lender, and attorney who is insured and for what period; arrange the buyer’s own terms for the intended handoff.

What are loss runs and why request them?

They are records used to understand reported claims and loss history. Ask for available reports, open-claim status, large-loss explanations, repairs, and changes made after losses. They are evidence for diligence, not a prediction of future claims or a guarantee of market acceptance.

Does a lender’s insurance requirement tell me what to buy?

It tells you a financing condition to satisfy, not necessarily the full operating program. Compare lender wording with guest liability, property, income, auto, workers’ compensation, flood, wind, equipment, and other exposures.

What if I will add glamping units after closing?

Include the plan in the initial submission and disclose construction, installation, values, expected revenue, occupancy, utilities, and activities. Then use the adding-units guide for the change-control questions before guest use.