Insurance and Autocross. Your experience?
 

I read this article about a guy's insurance dropping him because he autocrosses his BRZ. I wanted to see if anybody here had any similar experiences. Conversely, does anybody use an insurance company that has no problem with you tracking your car?

Like the article says, I wouldn't expect the insurance company to approve claims (without maybe some sort of specific extra coverage) caused by tracking the car.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/geico-...brz-1770135735

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104249

^ thread on that topic

Autox, what is autox? Why tell them things like that.

I don't think not telling them is an appropriate approach unless you want to inject luck into the process.

I email my insurance agent every year or so with questions about my policy; as we are insurance heavy.

What I'm going to go ahead and do, is email my agent again now and ask for clarification on this. My insurance is through Allstate.

Read. Your. Policy.

If results are posted online with your full name, you probably don't have to tell them for them to find out.

Just depends how bored they are or if they're big enough and have software to scour the internet for anything.

The guy who wrote that post is a good friend of mine.

He isn't exactly private about his car activities, regularly posting on Oppo and to a blog that he writes about his car adventures. And I've definitely heard stories of insurance companies sending people out to events to take down plate numbers or looking at results online.

However, it happened to him because he added his new wheels to his insurance policy and in the process got into talking with the GEICO guy (also a car guy, apparently) about his wheels and doing autox and stuff. Then that guy noted it in his stuff, and they dropped him.

It's perfectly within their right to do, since it can indicate you may be a higher risk client. But most insurance companies won't drop you for doing autox. Apparently GEICO just really sucks. My old roommate, and former insurance agent, HATES them.

The majority just won't cover you if anything happens at an event. They will cover you to and from, but not at. Just don't tell them. If something happens at an event, figure out how to pay for it. Don't try to file a claim.

For track days buy insurance from Lockton or OnTrack, or just accept the risk.

Also, as @mav1178 said, read your policy!

Directly from my agent this morning:

Hi George,

Well, I believe this is the same answer I told you in the past. Just to be sure I did talk to my claim buddy. So if you are using the car at an event for autocross/tracking and something happens and you damage your auto, other property that is owned by someone else or hurt someone in the process you would NOT have coverage of any of those at all. If you are using that same car and you are just driving down road/highway and get into accident you would have coverage for those up to your policy limits. See attachment, page 7 bottom left column, #8.

The referred to attachment:
Attachment 135412

wow your real name is George I knew it!!!

and they dont cover street racing? inst that how the most damage is caused :lol:

Basically every single insurance company in the country has nearly the same wording.

This isn't news. Those provisions have been most policies for well over a decade.

Don't ask. Don't tell. Don't try to claim something that isn't covered.

Frankly, they are idiots to drop you for doing anything that will teach you more car control, but idiots don't look at the world that way. That's why they're idiots.

Unfortunately state law requires you give money to these idiots. Cover your ass. If they ever ask why you need $5k of aftermarket part protection, tell them you hard park it at cars and coffee.

If they find you or a pic of your car at an event and drop you? That sucks and is largely out of your control (yes, it has happened to people, although it's rare). If you told them and they drop you. Well, that was dumb.

Don't be dumb.

How would luck have anything to do with it? One would normally have less luck after giving details to a company.

Wow, my bad. I'll see myself out.

I grew up around this business, and that thread was the first I'd ever heard of anyone dropping someone for this.

I wouldn't just volunteer that information, though, for sure, and rarely will they ever ask that sort of stuff.

Just don't expect them to cover you if you hit something at the track or at an autox event, and don't try to stage the accident scene somewhere else (happens a lot), because that's fraud.

Thanked for first paragraph, removed thanks for this sentence. It's a damn good thing they make you have this coverage. Accidents happen, no matter how good you are or how much money you set aside to fix your own car. You got a spare $100k laying around for a lady you accidentally put in the hospital?

Me either.

Whether they provide a useful service or not is separate from whether they're idiots. If they want to drop people out of the blue for autocrossing or track days? They're idiots.

Correct, there is no point in trying to claim these things anymore, the insurance companies are very aware and have updated the exclusion's.

I didn't argue this point, but that the state regulation wasn't unfortunate.

Beyond that, I can see why they would. They have pretty sophisticated models for risk. They aren't perfect, but they are complex and evolving. I don't like it, but I also don't like paying more for being less than 25.