Insurance for 'ring.

[NCC1701]

Richard,

You may be right but my problem is that it is still taking a chance especially given the number of exclusions in most policies, de-restricted toll road, track days and racing etc.

I'm just not willing to risk it unless i can find cover which explicitly covers third party risks on the ring and this seems to be the difficult part as cover for my own vehicle is easy to arrange.

[jbaddeley]

Greenlight insurance might be worth a try.

[nords]

Nope, Greenlight specifically say "No 'ring". Otherwise I would have gone with them, very competitive quote and trackday cover can be built in, less Castle Coombe (as CC catches alot of people out so it appears!)

[vx220]

i'm in exactly the same situation

competition car insurance will do 'ring cover, but only for your car, not third party

only about £100 per day for me, which i thought was good, but i really want the third party!

maybe one of us should start our own insurance company?

[nickbell3]

vx220

Interesting you should post regarding competition car insurance. My mate and I have the same car, value etc. and he received a quote of £1000 for 2.5 days lapping at the ring. I'm not sure if that included third party? do CCI refuse third party cover at the ring? Third party is a must for me.

[gtdc]

I'd be incredibly surprised if Competition Car Insurance included 3rd party cover for the Ring. It's not included on any UK stuff.

Melindi
www.goldtrack.co.uk

[vx220]

gtdc said:

I'd be incredibly surprised if Competition Car Insurance included 3rd party cover for the Ring. It's not included on any UK stuff.

Melindi
www.goldtrack.co.uk

as above, definitely your car only, no scenery, no personal injury, no 3rd party vehicles

[bad_roo]

I would actually be surprised if any of the Brits you see at the Ring on a typical public day are covered for third party risks.

[NCC1701]

I am coming to the same conclusion. It appears that most are either on wing and a prayer using their road cover and hoping they can argue the toss over exclusions or they just accept they're not covered. Which is madness as the risks or rather the consequences are huge.

Given how popular the ring has become over the last few years I can't believe that there isn't a company catering for this market. It's a real shame as I won't drive the track again at this rate even though I treated like a fast a/b road rather than a balls out day at a UK track.

[davyboy]

NCC1701 said:

It's a real shame as I won't drive the track again at this rate even though I treated like a fast a/b road rather than a balls out day at a UK track.

And that's how you should continue to treat it. A "balls out" approach is not a great idea during TF.

I agree about the insurance thing though.......could be LOTS of potential uninsured drivers.

[Dr Jekyll]

How do the locals go on? Do German insurance companies not regard it as quite as risky? Or do they use specialist insurers?

[Hammerwerfer]

Dr Jekyll said:

How do the locals go on? Do German insurance companies not regard it as quite as risky? Or do they use specialist insurers?

I know a fellow who wrote off a 968CS and collected. In fact I was in the car when he did it. He then insured his next car with the same company, and had a similar sort of claim with them although much smaller. They politely asked him to take his business elsewhere.

Although there is talk about the red tagged export plates having been banned this year, I know another gentleman who did considerable damage to a car whilst covered by the export insurance last year. No problem whatsoever.

[crossle]

This may be a silly question, but how do the Germans manage? We're a fully paid up member of the EU, so should be able to buy insurance wherever we need to in Europe? UK insurance companies are notorius for evading paying out wherever possible, and seem to get particularly jumpy where the 'Ring is concerned.

However, the Germans seem to have a much more pragmatic approach to risk-taking in general, and their insurance companies must fully understand the legal nature of the 'Ring as a one-way public toll road with certain speed mandatory restrictions (at the Adenau bridge and the approach to parking/toll booth area). None of the many "locals" I've spoken to there seem to have a problem with insurance!

I specifically check my insurance before each visit there, and my limited mileage insurance with Classic Line covers me at the Ring, but ONLY on open to the public days, not at closed, marshalled or "club" days.

Also, you cannot go far wrong with taking out ADAC breakdown insurance - you'll get free recovery off the 'Ring and your car shipped bak to UK AND full European breakdown cover for just 79.50 Euros. Having to pay to get towed off the ring is an eye-watering experience,,, All the UK assistance companies now specifically exclude the Ring...

Click the link for membership application in English. If you want to pay by credit card, just paste a bit of white paper over the direct debit details and write your card details there. Fax the form to the number shown.
https://www.adac.de/images/Antrag%20engl%2

[gtdc]

So I don't confuse myself... German road policies seem to be treating public days on the Ring as a toll road and therefore offering full cover?

Melindi
www.goldtrack.co.uk

[kusee pee]

I understand the difficulty of getting your own car covered at the Ring but the question of third party cover surprises me. As far as trackdays in the UK go, people accept the risks to their own cars and if you are involved in an incident you pay for your own. There was a court case recently in the UK where this was upheld (a Porsche trackday company was being sued for causing an accident and the judge said that if you go on track you accept the risks). I'd presumed that this was the case at the Ring too. Are people saying that drivers at the Ring go around suing each other? Or do insurance companies try to claim liability from other Ring drivers?

[NCC1701]

kusee pee said:

I understand the difficulty of getting your own car covered at the Ring but the question of third party cover surprises me. As far as trackdays in the UK go, people accept the risks to their own cars and if you are involved in an incident you pay for your own. There was a court case recently in the UK where this was upheld (a Porsche trackday company was being sued for causing an accident and the judge said that if you go on track you accept the risks). I'd presumed that this was the case at the Ring too. Are people saying that drivers at the Ring go around suing each other? Or do insurance companies try to claim liability from other Ring drivers?

Cover for your own vehicle is easy, armco & track closures difficult and guaranteed third party nigh on impossible.

Imagine the scenario where you held to be responsible for causing an accident where 90k worth of 911 is written off or far more scary a motorbike rider is badly injured.

If you are not insured for their loss then I can quite easily see a civil case forthcoming to recover the costs. If you're lucky it'll be a few thousand and if you're not up to several million. Don't fancy selling my house and working for the rest of my life to pay that off.

I would love to be wrong about this but I am not sure I am. The Nordschleife is an amazing place and fantastic to drive but at this rate i don't think I will ever be able to do it again and that's extra frustrating as I am off there again in a month.

Edited by NCC1701 on Tuesday 15th May 22:48

[kusee pee]

Is this true? Does anyone know of situations of blame on the Ring? I can't imagine it being true on any track day - you go on a racing track you accept the risks. Surely it's true on the Ring too? You never see any warnings at track days about taking care or being liable or anything.

[NCC1701]

The ring is different to UK trackdays because it is a public road. I guess that most german drivers are covered on their standard road insurance.

If you have an accident on a UK track it is very unlikely that the BiBs will be called where as this regularly happens on the ring. Amongst other things you can be prosecuted for driving without insurance and leaving the scene of an accident if you fail to stop.

I also think you are more likley to be judged at fault when dealing the BiBs because you are a foreigner and for most language is also a problem.

It strikes me that if you are badly hurt or you car is written off by an uninsured driver on a public road remember then some form of claim is going to be forthcoming.

[kusee pee]

Thank you, that makes a lot more sense to me now. I'll continue not to worry on track days but just keep my wits about me a bit more on the next Ring visit.

[nords]

Again, I asked my broker about any restrictions on European cover that I should know about before I took out the (fully comp) cover. Told no, checked the schedule, not mentioned by name or under 'restricted/unrestricted too autobahn' so I believe I'm covered fully comp on tourist days. I would claim and expected it all to be covered (and not lose my NCB because it is protected) however....... I would fully expect my insurers to reword any new cover for me!

Just spent 3 days there and managed an 8:45 BTG in the Focus ST, don't worry insurers, clearly I was taking it steady!