Track insurance

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:33 am

Does anybody here buy it? The quote for my car is about $179 but running in Green group really doesn't seem so dangerous to me, and the deductible is high enough that minor sheet metal damage would be under the 2-3k deductible anyway.

Obviously this is somewhat if a personal decision, but I figure long as I leave the nannies in competitive mode the car will save me from minor mistakes that could mean a strip off track into a tire wall. Even then I suspect the most damage would be some scratches and dents. I also run street tires so corner speeds are pretty tame.

Cash Davidson · **Posted:** Wed Jan 07, 2015 1:41 pm

I've never bought it, but I'm more nervous in Green group than in other groups because folks are less predicable.

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:04 pm

Cash Davidson wrote:

I've never bought it, but I'm more nervous in Green group than in other groups because folks are less predicable.

Certainly a valid point there, I felt that during the NASA hyperdrive I did, I also made sure to leave plenty of room but unfortunately you gotta get up close somewhat so they'll give you a point by. It seemed like some of the instructors were doing a poor job at telling their student to give one, so every single lap I was stuck behind somebody. Darn corvette drivers wouldn't let the Camaro by, lol.

clinehall · **Posted:** Wed Jan 07, 2015 8:26 pm

This is not an official statement as an insurance professional (well at least somebody who makes a living at insurance). Based on the level of risk, this is pretty high priced insurance. Just think of how many cars you have seen on track and how many times you have seen incidents that would get above the deductible. Still if crunching your car would cause you undo hardship then you need it.

RickyBeam · **Posted:** Thu Jan 08, 2015 12:35 am

hah. None of the cars I drive on track are even worth the deductible. (95% of the value of the Duff car is in the engine bay.)

George Bright · **Posted:** Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:12 pm

To determine the payoff on my cars they would ask how much gas is in the tank.

Bernie Baake · **Posted:** Thu Jan 08, 2015 3:51 pm

Chad, Just an opinion from a guy who teaches about 30 track days a year. I would not buy the insurance for the first few events. Other drivers are not the problem because of their unpredictability. YOU will be the problem if there is one! Some accidents do occur in novice groups, but the vast majority occur in the intermediate and advanced groups. The reason, they are faster and are pushing the limits. If you intend to push the limits before your skills are developed then by all means buy the insurance, you know yourself better than anyone passing advice. If you're overtly aggressive, by all means get the insurance. If you think you already know how to drive on track, by all means get the insurance. I was glad my insurance covered me when I totaled my corvette at Rockingham.....So the decision is yours JMHO.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Thu Jan 08, 2015 3:55 pm

Bernie Baake wrote:

Other drivers are not the problem because of their unpredictability. YOU will be the problem if there is one!

^This. Not to say you shouldn't get the insurance, but the likelihood of an accident being someone else's fault is really, really, slim. That said, sh*t happens and the risk assessment is totally up to you.

Rob Keehner · **Posted:** Thu Jan 08, 2015 5:21 pm

I think you should buy it for anything you don't tow there. Brain fade and brake fade both happen, even if you don't factor in rain and other things in the environment that happen like mechanical failures. I remember the huge trains of cars and accordion effects happening in the green groups which cause drivers to pucker up. I don't think the abs and nannies are trustworthy enough to bail you out either.

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Thu Jan 08, 2015 11:29 pm

Thanks for the input guys, I don't think I'm the overly confident type and have always erred on the caution side. I'm also not doing track to prove anything, I just want to have some legal fun.

My eventual goal is to have a track beater, had I thought I would ever get into this I probably would have kept the ram mega cab I had before the Camaro. Seeing as how the Camaro is my DD and I couldn't afford to total a 25k car, I'll probably buy the insurance just because it'll make me more comfortable. Seeing as how ill probably only do a couple HPDEs a year its not a huge amount of money.

Cash Davidson · **Posted:** Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:56 am

Chad Culbertson wrote:

My eventual goal is to have a track beater,

There is definitely something liberating about driving a $1500 dedicated trackcar. Forget about "an incident" - I have seen a number of DDs simply break leaving the driver just as bummed.

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Re - track beater. I'm about to post for sale my 1993 BMW 325i with koni / GC / M3 diff. $3k for a THSCC member. Mechanically great, cosmetic issues only. I'll have the ad up in a few days, just something to consider

RobLupella · **Posted:** Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:11 pm

Over about 20 track days I've bought it once - at Road America with the Corvette. I would actually consider it if you A) don't own the car or can't afford to pay it out and/or B) want to drive near your ability limit.

To Rob's point yes, anything can happen but a lot of it can be minimized by the nut in the left seat. To me it is a risk scenario as to how much you can afford to pay out.

Rob

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:54 pm

MikeWhitney wrote:

Re - track beater. I'm about to post for sale my 1993 BMW 325i with koni / GC / M3 diff. $3k for a THSCC member. Mechanically great, cosmetic issues only. I'll have the ad up in a few days, just something to consider

What's going in all of this space that you're clearing?

JasonWatts · **Posted:** Wed Jan 14, 2015 12:19 am

has anyone ever seen someone try and use this insurance? I know some insurance companies specialize in not paying out and would hate to spend that kind of cash on something just to be told they will not pay out because of some excuse they make.

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