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Track day insurance

9K views 54 replies 26 participants last post by  RBH 
#1 ·
Doing my first HPDE in the Lotus and was wondering whom to get track day insurance from.

I did a search and most of the LT threads were about whether regular street insurance covers track days.

I know that MotorsportsReg offers track day insurance, but would be interested to get some other suggestions, as well as any advice (has anyone here had the misfortune to make a claim, was the company good to deal with, etc.).

Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Lockton. They know what we are all doing, easy to work with and yes were great last year when we had a fine off at VIR.
 
#3 ·
Thanks!
 
#4 ·
+1 for Lockton. If you plan on doing several others after the bug bites you get the 6pack. Its worth it.
 
#5 ·
Insurance companies are largely starting to exclude track driving, but you may want to check the wording in your current contract. Geico had covered mine since "stunt driving" and "racing" we're the only related exclusions. They define "racing" in the sense of competition (including autox).


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#6 ·
#7 ·
If you get a "six pack" of event coverages, be aware that there is a time limit to use them. I got stuck for one last year while my car was being fixed. That is, I'd paid for the expected six events, but had an accident after five. The time limit expired before we could get the repaired car out again, so we forfeited the fee, about $300.

But gee, they did not blink to pay out something like $15,000 for mostly nonmechanical repairs.
 
#9 ·
I'm going to be the first to say - don't waste your money. Rather than pay for insurance find a respected club (BMW, PCA, etc) that offers a high level of instruction and listen to your instructor. If you do and he's worth a damn (which you'll know in 2 laps) there's virtually no chance you're going to do anything to hurt your car.

And that's from someone who's killed a car on track before as I didn't follow the above, I was driving solo and way to green to do so. After hundreds of days at this point I've seen 2 maybe 3 incidents and they all fall into this category.

Now I'm going to total my car next time I take it out aren't I?? D'oh!

Just my .02 - clearly your call as it's your cash so I wouldn't give you a hard time or anything I just personally think it's not necessary.
 
#10 ·
Ross -- Sh*t happens which is the point of track day insurance. It covers you for getting involved in other peoples' sh*t -- the biggest risk of a track day. And at roughly $325 per event for our cars it is a pretty good deal relative to the price of our bodywork -- even with $5000 deductible. Nevertheless, as you note, it is a personal decision based on ones own assessment of the risk involved.
 
#11 ·
Actually, it's pretty rare that "**** (randomly) happens". 95%+ of the time it's people putting themselves in stupid situations and then wondering how someone hit them or how they lost control, or my all time favorite, "mechanical failure".

Almost every instance of "**** happening" at a track that I've witnessed was avoidable. I could list many examples, but that would just be too much work. However, there's a simple rule to follow. If you even remotely "think" something looks or feels off, back-off, bring it into the pit lane, let traffic pass or pull yourself off, park it and assess what didn't feel right.
 
#12 ·
Bob while you're right that random stuff can happen I think F1SML8R is more right in that it's just extremely rare and usually due to stupidity on the part of you, the driver. It's pretty easy to stay away from the nut balls if you go out with the right group. The way I look at it is the way things are going to happen is when you do enough days that the averages go up. When you do that many days (I average 20 a year) that $325/day gets cost prohibitive very quickly.

Again being clear I would never say someone is stupid for getting the insurance - we all have our risk/reward ratios that we're comfortable with. For me I feel that while you're a novice/non-expert level driver so long as you're with a (qualified) instructor there is very very little chance of something happening. I think the risk of something breaking and causing an incident is far greater so that's where my arguement breaks down. Again all about your personal risk level.
 
#13 ·
Definitely agree with all you said, but the part (F1SML8R) about the sh*t being you the driver. Semantics, perhaps, but to me sh*t happening is something you as a driver could not affect. Usually, that would be another driver's mechanical issue. As to probabilities, IDK. I handle questionable driving skills by running with PCA and CHIN or truly private track rentals where I know all participants and pulling into the pits or dropping away when I don't like what is occurring in front of me. I also have a discussion with the event operator/chief instructor regarding any incidents waiting to happen that I observe.

Cheers,
Bob L
 
#14 ·
I've been driving and coaching HPDE track days for years, and over these years, I've seen quite a number of crashes. Not a single one of these crashes involved one car hitting another on the track. What usually happens is that someone overdrives their car for the given track conditions, goes off, or hits a wall. The only car on car action I've seen has happened in the paddock when people weren't observant when backing out of their spot. Granted, the groups I go with are very safe and there are strict rules about passing. Your selection of track group is much more important than whether to buy insurance. PCA, BMW, Hooked on Driving and other such high end groups will really pay attention to safety.

I'd personally skip the track insurance, and only consider it if the forecast calls for inclement weather, since many people seem to avoid wet conditions and don't know how to drive on a wet track, so there will be lots of offs.

If you drive within your own limits and within your car's limits, you'll be fine. If you have the kind of personality who will exhibit the red rage once you get on track, then by all means, buy insurance. :)
 
#15 · (Edited)
I think insurance is good for a lot of people.

Stuff happens, no matter who's at fault, what failed, etc.

Long ago, Fishguy posted what I think is an important thread.

(He also switched to a formula car; much cheaper to fix than a Lotus. If I had to tow something to the track, it wouldn't be a shockingly-expensive-to-fix Lotus.

Here:
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f163/oil-50679/


Certified Lotus totaled his Exige at the track, btw.
 
#16 ·
And thats why if I go, I buy the insurance. Never seen two cars collide either, but have seen oil, coolant, brake fluid and believe those are the things that are going to get you into trouble.
 
#17 ·
I think track matters a lot too. Most of the Midwest / Rocky Mountain tracks are pretty darn wide open with huge runoff and few walls. Most coastal tracks in more built-up areas are way scarier in terms of car loss potential. For example the chances of losing a car at HPR are fairly slim, while Infineon/Sonoma/Sears Point is a lot scarier.
 
#18 ·
How would you guys rate Speed Ventures for safety?

My biggest safety concern with some organizations that do track days is that they allow people to self tech their cars. Not sure if you can trace that to accidents, though.

I also agree that anything can happen. On my second track day I was running with the PCA at Streets. My mechanic/instructor was showing me the lines in his 964 RS America when someone in a 944 went off the track ahead of us and managed to come skidding backwards into our path. My mechanic is a very good driver and was able to get out of the way. Very close call!
 
#19 ·
Yup, again things can happen and while that is the reason we all have insurance on our street cars I suppose I just do too many days for it to be cost effective. I'm actually taking my Jag out this weekend for some open lapping which is probably the least-safe event you can run but honestly I'm not worried about it. The odds on contact with another car are almost non-existant and I know I won't push hard enough to risk hitting anything.

Again I would never call someone stupid for getting insurance but in general I advise against it. If you're going to do this often you should have a car that you're willing to walk away from but I suppose if you're a twice-a-yearer that it can make sense. I also thought that you could only get it for certain club type events and most of those events are the safest around. Anyway definitely a decision each of us have to make.

-Ross
 
#21 ·
What the hell was he doing, seemed he massively over breaked the corner as you caught him so damn quickly.
 
#23 ·
I didn't describe it well. We were on a part of Streets which goes uphill and then downhill after a right hander. He went off on the downhill part and came flying back towards us across the dirt between the two parts of the track.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I don't think all the "normal" insurance companies started adding language that excluded events on race tracks because no one was making claims.

That said, still an individual choice. I ran the numbers for me and for the number I'm at it makes more sense to have it, thats really what anyone should do, assess your risk and run the numbers for you, and go with what makes sense.

I have a hard time understanding buying multi event policies though. If I purchase 6 or 9 events worth of policy, it seems like I'm naturally assuming I won't have an issue (and if I believe that I why am I buying insurance in the first place?) For example, if I bought 9 events coverage and had an off and busted a clam or two up good, it could very well be 8 months or more before everything was repaired whole and you could easily be out the majority of cash I laid out for coverage in the first place. I'd love to save the cash though, so if I'm missing something I'd love to be enlightened!
 
#26 ·
D'oh - sorry about that, yup, that's exactly what I was asking. I wondered how I missed the Ferrari not going off!
 
#29 ·
Thanks - I did buy insurance from Lockton. Happily, I didn't have to use it!
 
#28 ·
I use Lockton

did my first track day without insurance, but have been using them since (3 more events)

I did spin at my last event and was/am glad I had insurance even if I kept it on the track and had no damage

Still its a load off my mind and not worth the "savings" if I didn't have it
 
#31 ·
IMO, trackday insurance is a ripoff.

I insure my Elise, full coverage, for about $300 every 6 months. My policy excludes racing, but not track operation. I specifically chose my insurance company for this reason.

Even if I did not have that coverage, I still would not pay $300 for a one-day policy, when I am paying the same for 6 months. I don't know the statistics, but it seems to me that there is no way a single track day could possibly hold more risk than 6 months of driving on the street.
 
#33 ·
Even if you do find an insurer that does cover HPDE, as soon as you have to use it they will likely drop you, then it will be harder to get insured again. If all your vehicles are on the same policy, this could be a high impact problem.
 
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