I am hoping some of you out there can help with a track participation versus auto insurance dilemma. If you would rather not hear me rant on and on about how peeved this lady at my insurance company made me today, here is my question in a nutshell.
Is there an insurance company that will allow you to participate in legitimate, club organized track events and not cancel your public road insurance coverage? I know that no one will cover your car ON a track. I just want public road coverage to and from the track without having to lie and say I have never been to a track.
And now I will vent some steam…
I FINALLY have my Cobra in great running order, so I thought about doing some open track events. Nothing serious, just a good time in a safe environment. I already know from previous performance cars I’ve owned that my insurance company doesn’t cover “racing”. I don’t know of any major company that does.
Reading over some guidelines for an upcoming event, it states that drivers are personally responsible for damage to track property. Being new, the last thing I want is to wipe out a hot dog stand and owe $$$.
I called my long-time insurance provider to enquire about an umbrella policy. Maybe that would encompass any personal liability that, God forbid, may arise. The answer was no. That quickly turned into an ugly auto insurance debate. The rep kept telling me repeatedly that racing was not covered. I in turn told her I already know that, and I just want to know that if I did put my car on a track, would it affect my policy? I was lectured like she was my mother about how racing was dangerous, and that she would have to make a note on my policy that I intended on racing my Mustang. ALL I ASKED WAS A QUESTION! WTF? I just wanted to know IF I did go to a track, would it affect my policy? Eventually, I got transferred to an under writer. They said if my car ever went on a track for any reason, they could no longer insure my car. That sucks. OK, so no track events until I can find alternative coverage.
Since my annual mileage is low, I called the collector auto policy that insured my high $$$ 88 5.0. After going through all the fine print of can and can’t, he states that “TIMED” driving events are not allowed. Well, what I want to do isn’t timed. So what does my dumba$$ do? I ask about HPDE’s. Now they want web links to all my clubs and any events that I might THINK about doing before they decide on IF I can have a collector’s policy.
If feel like I’m trapped in a B-version rip off of Minority Report. I am being penalized for something I THOUGHT about doing. Why does doing the right thing and being honest up front bring so much grief?
So as it stands, if I participate in organized events, with rigid safety guidelines and controlled environments; I will lose my insurance coverage. If I just street race (or speed on a public road in general) with NO extra safety gear required, an easily circumvented safety inspection (if even required by the state) with unknown road conditions and random traffic; that’s OK as long as I don’t get caught. If I get caught, then I go to jail; lose my license and my insurance policy. It seems as though I am damned if do and damned if I don’t.
What do insurance companies think Viper, Z06, 911 and GT500 owners are doing with their cars? Driving to church on Sundays? I think you are far more likely to die in an everyday accident than during a legitimate track event. Thousands of people are taking their street cars to tracks every year, so there must be something out there that will work for me!
Well, I feel a bit better now. If you made it this far, thanks for listening. If you have any info or advice, I’m all ears. Until then, I’m stuck enjoying my car in limited capacities. Not to say that’s all bad, but come on. I might as well have a 4 gigahertz CPU and a 5 year old video card in my computer!:Track:
Is there an insurance company that will allow you to participate in legitimate, club organized track events and not cancel your public road insurance coverage? I know that no one will cover your car ON a track. I just want public road coverage to and from the track without having to lie and say I have never been to a track.
And now I will vent some steam…
I FINALLY have my Cobra in great running order, so I thought about doing some open track events. Nothing serious, just a good time in a safe environment. I already know from previous performance cars I’ve owned that my insurance company doesn’t cover “racing”. I don’t know of any major company that does.Reading over some guidelines for an upcoming event, it states that drivers are personally responsible for damage to track property. Being new, the last thing I want is to wipe out a hot dog stand and owe $$$.
I called my long-time insurance provider to enquire about an umbrella policy. Maybe that would encompass any personal liability that, God forbid, may arise. The answer was no. That quickly turned into an ugly auto insurance debate. The rep kept telling me repeatedly that racing was not covered. I in turn told her I already know that, and I just want to know that if I did put my car on a track, would it affect my policy? I was lectured like she was my mother about how racing was dangerous, and that she would have to make a note on my policy that I intended on racing my Mustang. ALL I ASKED WAS A QUESTION! WTF? I just wanted to know IF I did go to a track, would it affect my policy? Eventually, I got transferred to an under writer. They said if my car ever went on a track for any reason, they could no longer insure my car. That sucks. OK, so no track events until I can find alternative coverage.
Since my annual mileage is low, I called the collector auto policy that insured my high $$$ 88 5.0. After going through all the fine print of can and can’t, he states that “TIMED” driving events are not allowed. Well, what I want to do isn’t timed. So what does my dumba$$ do? I ask about HPDE’s. Now they want web links to all my clubs and any events that I might THINK about doing before they decide on IF I can have a collector’s policy.
If feel like I’m trapped in a B-version rip off of Minority Report. I am being penalized for something I THOUGHT about doing. Why does doing the right thing and being honest up front bring so much grief?
So as it stands, if I participate in organized events, with rigid safety guidelines and controlled environments; I will lose my insurance coverage. If I just street race (or speed on a public road in general) with NO extra safety gear required, an easily circumvented safety inspection (if even required by the state) with unknown road conditions and random traffic; that’s OK as long as I don’t get caught. If I get caught, then I go to jail; lose my license and my insurance policy. It seems as though I am damned if do and damned if I don’t.
What do insurance companies think Viper, Z06, 911 and GT500 owners are doing with their cars? Driving to church on Sundays? I think you are far more likely to die in an everyday accident than during a legitimate track event. Thousands of people are taking their street cars to tracks every year, so there must be something out there that will work for me!
Well, I feel a bit better now. If you made it this far, thanks for listening. If you have any info or advice, I’m all ears. Until then, I’m stuck enjoying my car in limited capacities. Not to say that’s all bad, but come on. I might as well have a 4 gigahertz CPU and a 5 year old video card in my computer!:Track:
) The only thing around me to hit are cones... 
Seems pretty safe to me.
