Who pays when a rented RV is damaged in the Keys

Reviewed by Ben Kiser, RV rental operator and fleet consultant.

Every RV here whose host can reach the Keys is approved for Outdoorsy's protection, so cover comes with the booking. It is not the first money in, though. Your own auto policy pays first, and your deposit goes to the deductible.

  • Outdoorsy's RV cover is excess. You must hold a personal auto policy.
  • The security deposit is applied to the deductible before anything else.
  • Under 25: no Class A or fifth wheel, and $25 a night extra.
Outdoorsy listings
Outdoorsy protection plans
Roadside on eligible Outdoorsy bookings

Whose insurance pays first on an Outdoorsy RV rental?

Yours. Outdoorsy's terms call its RV damage and liability cover excess, which means your personal auto insurance is primary and Outdoorsy's applies above it. The same terms make holding a personal auto policy a condition of renting, and say Outdoorsy does not verify it. If there is a claim, your insurer hears about it first.

So the call to make before you book is to your own insurer. Ask, in writing, whether your policy reaches a rented motorhome, or a rented trailer behind your own vehicle, and name the class. That answer is about your policy, and nobody else can give it.

Above your policy, Outdoorsy's help pages list comprehensive and collision cover up to $300,000, based on the value of the RV, and liability at the state's statutory limits, or $500,000 with the Peace of Mind package. Roadside help runs 24 hours through Outdoorsy's arrangement with Coach-Net, with towing on a moveable booking and a shorter list on a stationary one. The host does not provide it, and neither does this site.

What is the deposit for, and what is the deductible?

Outdoorsy offers four packages: Essential, Preferred, Peace of Mind and Stationary. The deductible depends on the package you pick and the class of RV, and it applies per incident, so two separate incidents are two deductibles. The amounts appear only in a chart image on Outdoorsy's help page, so they are not restated here. Read the figure for your package while you book.

The deposit is where the deductible starts. Outdoorsy applies your security deposit to it, after the host has taken any deductions of their own, and collects the rest from you. Across the 81 listings that can reach the Keys, the median deposit is $1,000 and the range runs $500 to $3,000. Treat it as the first slice of any damage bill, not as money that is simply held.

On an accepted claim, the terms cap what you owe at the deductible. Break the rules, such as letting an unverified driver take the wheel, and the cap goes: you owe the full loss. Claims have to be filed within 48 hours of the booking ending. The full cost of a Keys week shows where the deposit sits beside the rental, the site and the tax.

Can you rent an RV for the Keys under 25?

Yes, within limits Outdoorsy sets and the hosts narrow further. A renter of 21 to 24 may take a moveable RV worth under $75,000, never a Class A or fifth wheel, on the Essential or Stationary package only, and pays $25 a night on top. That is $175 on a week. For a stationary RV, delivered and left on the site, the minimum age is 21.

Now set that against the listings. Of the 81 that can reach the Keys, 50 require a renter of 25 and 31 accept 21. Of those 31, 27 are travel trailers, and none is a Class A or fifth wheel. Listings do not publish the RV's value, so the $75,000 line is a question for the host.

For a renter under 25, the realistic Keys trip is a travel trailer delivered to the site. Key Largo Kampground adds its own rule: the guest checking in must be at least 25. The travel trailer rental guide covers what those trailers are, and the delivery guide covers who will bring one to your key.

What does the cover do in hurricane season?

Damage to the RV from windstorm, hail, water or flood is comprehensive cover, subject to the deductible. A lost stay is not covered. Outdoorsy excludes loss of use, alternative accommodation and transport costs. Trip protection is sold separately, and Outdoorsy says it can reimburse a trip that a natural disaster interrupts. Its terms are on the listing at booking.

A stationary booking has a catch in an evacuation. On the Stationary package the renter agrees not to move the RV, and moving it voids the cover for the whole booking. Monroe County's plan for a Category 3 to 5 storm orders visitors, RVs and travel trailers out first, about 48 hours before tropical-storm winds. The only copy of that wording found is a November 2025 draft amendment. So ask the host, before you book, who moves a delivered RV when that order comes.

The money for the nights is a separate question, answered by the listing's cancellation policy and the park's. Of the listings that can reach the Keys, 20 carry a flexible policy, 16 moderate, 29 strict and 16 the host's own. The hurricane season trip guide covers booking in those months.

What does each park say about cancelling?

Only one Keys campground found publishes a refund for an evacuation. The rest publish an ordinary cancellation schedule and say nothing about storms.

Published storm and cancellation terms at Keys campgrounds
ParkStorm or evacuationOrdinary cancellation
Bluewater Key RV Resort, MM 14Full refund for unused nights if a mandatory evacuation is issued during your stay, and for a stay inside NOAA's 5-day forecast cone.Winter (Nov 16 to Apr 30) needs at least 30 days notice.
Key Largo KampgroundNot mentioned.Full refund less $35 at 60 days or more, half at 31 to 59 days, nothing under 30.
Keys Palms RV ResortNot mentioned.$35 fee 8 days or more before arrival, $200 fee inside 8 days.
Grassy Key RV ParkNot mentioned.Daily stays refunded less a $95 admin fee at least 5 days out; weekly less $125.
Sugarloaf Key / Key West KOANot mentioned.7 days notice, less a $20 fee. Stays of 28 nights or more take a $500 deposit.
Florida state parksNot mentioned on the FAQ read.More than 24 hours out, a $17.75 fee and the $6.70 reservation fee are kept. Inside 24 hours, the first night as well.

Keys Palms in Key Largo also admits only licensed and insured vendors. If a host delivers there, ask the host for proof of both before the day.

Questions people ask about cover

Yes. Outdoorsy's terms require a renter to maintain a personal auto insurance policy, and they say Outdoorsy does not check it. On an RV rental, Outdoorsy's damage and liability cover is excess: your own auto policy pays first and Outdoorsy's applies above it. Ask your insurer in writing whether your policy reaches a rented motorhome, or a trailer behind your own vehicle.

It depends on the package you pick at booking and on the class of RV, and it applies per incident, so two incidents mean two deductibles. Outdoorsy's help page shows the amounts only in a chart image, so they are not restated here. Read the figure for your package while you book, before you pay.

Outdoorsy applies it to the deductible, after the host has made any deductions of their own, then collects any balance from you. Across the 81 listings that can reach the Keys the median deposit is $1,000, and the range runs $500 to $3,000.

Sometimes. Outdoorsy lets a renter of 21 to 24 take a moveable RV worth under $75,000, never a Class A or fifth wheel, on the Essential or Stationary package only, for $25 a night extra. For a stationary delivered RV the minimum is 21. Of the 81 listings that can reach the Keys, 31 accept a 21-year-old, and 27 of those are travel trailers.

Damage to the RV from windstorm, hail, water or flood falls under comprehensive cover, subject to the deductible and the exclusions. A lost stay does not: Outdoorsy excludes loss of use, alternative accommodation and transport costs. Trip protection is a separate optional product that Outdoorsy says can reimburse a trip a natural disaster interrupts; its terms are on the listing.

Bluewater Key publishes a full refund for unused nights if a mandatory evacuation is issued during your stay, and for a stay inside NOAA's 5-day forecast cone. No other campground checked mentions storms in its published cancellation terms. Key Largo Kampground's schedule gives nothing back inside 30 days. Ask any other park in writing before you pay a deposit in season.

Sources

Pick the RV, then read its terms

The package, the deposit and the cancellation policy are on each listing. Call your insurer, choose the RV for the trip, then check all three before you pay.

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