Insurance & The Track

[krugp]

Turns out not all vehicals are covered by their insurance companies when they are run at the track.

At the Salem Honda-BMW-Ducati dealership here in Salem Oregon a few week ago they had a very wrecked brand new K 1200 S. Word has it the owner was at the track and crashed with the bike going end over end several times. Owner okay, bike totaled. The shop guys at Salem indicated they had just done a estimate by walking around the bike and had already hit $18,500 US which is about the cost new. The really sad part is the owner had insurance BUT his insurance company is NOT paying a dime on repair/replacement. Sounds like an expensive lesson.

I called from my Agent and it turns out that starting two years ago that State Farm WILL cover your vehicles at a Race Track and that if you crash State Farm may ask you to sign a waver/exclusion that would remove any State Farm coverage from that vehicle if it were taken to a race track in the future. There seems to be some discretion here specifically if you are NOT "racing" for profit. If you are racing for profit then you will have to sign the waver for the specific vehicle.

In my case where I was on the race track back in about 1995, had I crashed I would NOT have been covered and I could only have been compensated via the courts (maybe). Since January of 2004 I am covered by my State Farm Policy. I think State Farm got taken to court on this issue when they refused to pay on someone's claim because the vehicle crashed on a race track. Its a "fine print" issue and now as far as State Farm is concerned the burden is on them and if there are going to be any exclusions then the customer has to sign something stating that the customers knows what is going on......

My Agent reminded me that this is specific to State Farm and may not be the same for other insurance companies. It is worth checking out with your specific company.

Am I the only person on the planet that doesn't know about this insurance issue. Are there specific insurance companies that will cover your bike when you ride it on a race track as well as on the road? Are there insurance companies that will provided you coverage when you are just at the track (single day coverage)?

This issue also raises an interesting problem when you have your vehicle financed.

[DesktopRacing]

I don't know how true this is, but I have heard that if the track day provider has instructors, you could technically be enrolled in a 'school'. That might change the way insurance will look at it.

That opens up a different question: Is it right to use insurance for a race track incident?


-Bri

[Monstaman]

Here in NZ, when you race or step foot on they circuit NO INSURANCE or if what you are doing is illegal, i.e. driving drunk, high speed smashes or driving in a National park without permit then you get NOTHING if something happend to your vehicle.

[krugp]

Originally Posted by DesktopRacing

I don't know how true this is, but I have heard that if the track day provider has instructors, you could technically be enrolled in a 'school'. That might change the way insurance will look at it.

That opens up a different question: Is it right to use insurance for a race track incident?


-Bri

Just check with your insurance company before you do anything at the track. Insurance companies will try and wiggle out of anything they can... Don't assume anything and don't believe what anyone tells you except your insurance company and then get it in writing.

[robo]

The really sad part is the owner had insurance BUT his insurance company is NOT paying a dime on repair/replacement. Sounds like an expensive lesson.



if you cant afford to crash it you shouldn't have it out there...