Cliff Notes: Why do people want the insurance companies to subsidize their hobby?
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A similar discussion was just on the NER list up here. Some guy blew the finish at a (non-SCCA) autocross, tore up his car, and SUPRISE, his insurance company denied the claim. He didn't win the appeal either.
*Sigh* Here was my post to the list (since I'm lazy). Modified a bit for the current spin being put on the "Unfair Insurance Companies".
--------- Original Post -------------
This always seems to come up... people wanting their insurance companies to cover their racing incidents, and I'm sorry to inform people that Autocross is "racing". There's a clock. There's a winner. Racing. Period.
Think for a minute from the insurance company's point of view. They expect to be covering you for normal street driving. That's it. That's what they sign up for and give you a premium for. NOT autocross, HPDE, or wheel-to-wheel racing.
Autocross should be as clear cut as wheel-to-wheel when it comes to whether it's racing or not. It is. Period. Don't ever expect your insurance company to pay for a wreck.
HPDE tends to be a bit more hazy, since it is "technically" a driver's
school... complete with NO timing equipment and on-site in-car instructors. People have gotten their insurance companies to pay for these. Once. Then the rates are either jacked up so high the claimant will change companies, or they were dropped outright. Are there stories about people being covered no problem? Sure, when the agent is a brother, cousin, family friend, etc. or was just too busy asking other questions to bother asking the location of the accident.
When you race your car, it is YOUR responsibility if you wreck it, bend it, break it. I feel for the guy that blew the Autocross finish and bent his car... really I do. I've been there. I put my street Miata into a tirewall at VIR in Feb 2001 at an HPDE. Never did I once think of calling my insurance company to cover the damage. I chose to take the car outside the "normal street driving" environment that I feel my insurance company covers me in. I chose to go outside the coverage, so I pay for damages. Simple, or it should be.
I wish this guy luck with his claim with his insurance, but he shouldn't be suprised if he doesn't get anywhere, or he's dropped after this is over (regardless of the outcome). Maybe I'm a prick, but I'd drop you (or at least really raise your rates) if it was my insurance company, regardless of the outcome of the claim. You're now on my radar screen as "high-risk".
Bottom line: Take responsibility for your choice to race your car, and pay for all damages incurred while racing yourself.
------- Part of a response I got -------------
How many of us can *truthfully* say we don't speed or look down and
almost get into an accident on the roads. Would we want to hit someone and then it be denied just because we were looking down. That is what insureance is for, accidents, not to just have and never use.
------- My further response -----------------
Oh, probably nobody. The thing is, the insurance company KNOWS we do what you describe. It's part of the risk they are taking in insuring everyone on the road. This is handled through insurance points. If you get caught speeding, or driving recklessly, you get a ticket, which leads to points. These points lead to a higher premium for your insurance, thus putting a $ amount on your personal driving safety record (or lack thereof).
Here's the question... can you (or perhaps even *would* you be able to) call your insurance company today and ask them if they cover you if you damage your car at a timed driving event (or an HPDE) and have them say "Yes"? This of course assumes that you have explained truthfully what an Autocross (Solo 2) or Time Trial (solo 1) is? Probably not, if your honest with yourself. And if you can, please please please tell all racers what insurance company/agent that is so we can all switch. I'm not trying to be a pain here, just trying to get people to see how the world works.
It's unfortunate that the damage done in non-street driving (autocross, time trials, HPDE) isn't typically covered by our on-street driving insurance, but hey, it's life. I still maintain that you make the choice to drive your car outside the coverage of the insurance you bought. If is gets wrecked during this time outside the coverage, then I fail to see how the insurance company is liable for the cost of the damage. Even if you have paid your on-street driving insurance premiums for the last 40
years without a claim.
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The only reason that insurance companies have for looking into whether the people they are insuring are participating in stuff like Autocross, Time Trials, or HPDE is that the claims from these types of events must be rising to the point someone thinks it's worth their time to try and get rid of people (i.e. Tom, though Geico is a general bad example) they percieve to be "high risk" (whether that's reality or not). Unfortunately, perception is AT LEAST 9/10ths of reality to whoever is doing the looking. The more claims people file for what the general population perceives as racing, the more trouble we are all going to have with this.
My take on this is: Don't track a car you can't walk away from (financially). I wouldn't be happy about wrecking either of my Miatas doing the hobby I love, and I wouldn't be able to immediately replace them, but I wouldn't be in financial ruin if I had to walk away. Autocross it's far less of a risk. The chances of something happening are low, almost nonexistant, but if something does happen, I'm prepared to pay out of pocket to fix my mistake, just like on the track.
Did anyone get this far?
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