I was just thinking. I'm tracking my Porsche and get into an accident. What do I tell my insurance agent, hit & run in the parking lot.

Maybe the remark was made tongue in cheek, but maybe not. I do agree with you however that if there is any fraud by guys who destroy their cars at track events, it is infinitesimal. All of the guys that I know who track their cars have the same attitude as the posters on this forum; if their cars are damaged at a track event they either repair them or replace them without getting Insurance companies involved.

The biggest area of fraud IMO, are the kids who buy high performance cars and get their parents to ensure them. About a month ago the driver of a new M3 ran a stop sign and collided with the SUV of one of my coworkers. The driver was a teenager who was specifically excluded from driving the M3.

 

Re-read your policy Dell. I have USAA and they have new wording in the policy that excludes DE's. If you have some information to the contrary I would love to hear about it, however it is my understanding that DE's are not covered by USAA

 

I just asked mine and got a special rider on my renewal stating that if I did any mods that increased the car power my insurance would be void. Also got a rider that explicitely state that if I tracked my car my entire insurance would be void..on or off the track....so much for just asking.

 

u are on the list now.....
and u do know that ins. company share info. with each other.

 

My GEICO policy states that they exclude competitive or timed events or practicing for such an event. Very clear to me, DE or lapping day is neither and therefore covered.

 

Good catch Ray, I just got my renewal in the mail. I will go read it over.

 

I have USAA and called to inquire... Big NO! The previous year I had gotten a Yes!

 

I'm glad y'all called and verified. But, know that they probably entered that info into that damn database that logs all that info. At some point when they want it will be used against you....yes, just for inquiring.

 

My GEICO policy states that they exclude competitive or timed events or practicing for such an event. Very clear to me, DE or lapping day is neither and therefore covered.
___________
not so fast.
i know of ppl who got covered by geico for track mishaps.
but that doesn't mean you will. and what you read above is NOT clear not all.
some DE and lapping days are timed.
i mean how does one define timed event really? let say you and i showed up at one event, and i decide to put a timing becon out. then you had a mishap. somehow your ins. found a witness who was at the event and saw the becon... but didn't know that your had no timer in your car...

sorry, i am just playing devil's advocate. it's much better to get pissed at me raining on your parade now rather than finding out the hard way later.

 

Good grief - do you guys swap companies frequently? My wife and her family has been with our agent for almost 20 years, and my parents have been with their agent since the 60's. Neither would EVER consider reporting us for inquiries into this sort of thing, and both would gladly look for ways to help us navigate the companies rules & regulations.

 

That's the difference between a broker and dealing directly with the carrier. With Geico and USAA for example you are dealing directly with the carrier and clearly they will always protect their own interests...with a broker they are a representative of the insured.

Being in the claims business I enjoy these types of threads. Here's my advice...always be extremely polite and honest with any adjuster. They deal with fraud and inflated claims all day and will go the extra mile for you if you just take the time to be decent and honest.

 

raclaims hit the nail right on the head. I have been with USAA since I was 15 and got my learner's permit. 18 years later I would NEVER change a thing......they have the BEST rates, the best customer service, the speediest claim service, and the best part all--the send a refund check for a % of your policy premium every year based on surplus profit made over prejection b/c of lower claims reporting.

The only dowside? just as raclaims said.....broker versus carrier.

 

So the bottom line I'm hearing is that nobody can name a regular (non-specialty) insurance carrier who covers DE, not even USAA.

AND if you ask whether you are covered (esp. for non-agent represented policies) you may be subjected to undue scrutiny.

There are many people still telling new drivers at the track that since it’s not racing/timed that they will be covered. This is FALSE and we all have a responsibility to make sure that people are well informed of the risks.

 

DE's are designed so that accidents should be covered by your standard insurance policy. No timing, controlled passing, instructors. Racing is different and rarely covered. Ask the question. State Farm covers accidents for DE’s.

Note that it is very rare in a DE to have an accident with another car. I have never seen this happen. Most likely you hit something stationary or run the car off the track. If you choose a track that has lots of runoff (Willow Springs in SoCal is one example), you generally don’t do much damage. I have also seen a 993 Turbo blow a tire and tumble, totaling the thing. I understand that insurance picked up the tab for this mishap.

The bigger issue that I found out the hard way is that if your have a mechanical failure. Porsche voids the warranty. Autocrosses, any track event, and even PAG-sponsored events all VOID the warranty. And 996TT’s have weak transmissions, but this isn’t the thread to discuss this …

 

Mike -- Please read the thread. What you said above is just plain not true.