Trackday Insurance

[Rich H]

Hi all - hoping for a bit of advice. My searching has been inconclusive..

What are your views on trackday insurance? Am I daft to consider not taking any, or is it a common practice?

Quotes I'm getting seem fairly reasonable, but with some chunky excess being applied I'm wondering how much value they are.

Thanks in advance
Richard

[jleroux]

Rich H said:

What are your views on trackday insurance? Am I daft to consider not taking any, or is it a common practice?

Can you "afford" to lose the car? No-one wants to just throw their track car away, but will it affect your ability to pay the mortgage, eat etc?

If the answer is YES then you need to insure. statistically you are unlikely to see a benefit from the insurance though so if you could live without the car then don't insure.

massive caveat - also depends how you drive and how hot-headed you are. If you're a laid back kinda chap who knows his limits then, in all likelihood, you'll be OK. If you're the sort of guy who likes to push the boundaries, or have *any* kind of ego, then you need to insure.

Jonny
BaT

[shim]

nice answer Jonny

[tertius]

I don't bother.

I would if it were more reasonable but it isn't.

If you want cover your best bet is to get your regular insurance with one of the providers who will include it in a standard policy, e.g. Manning.

[A.Wang]

I don't bother either, but I am lucky enough to have a dedicated track toy that I consider "disposable" should that worst happen. Saying that, when I used to track my Audi (which is my commuting car), I did take out insurance for individual days at around £180 each time!

[Dani007]

Hi,

I have a contract hire car and want to do a track day. Does anyone know how thy would tell about the tyre wear?

Dani

[A.Wang]

Dani - slightly O/T there I'd guess they'll have guidelines on expected tyre wear over particular milages, but if you're only doing one you might just get away with it! I use a set of tyres over 4-5 full track days, just to give you an idea.

[edh]

I have trackday insurance through HIC - cost me around £100 on top of the std policy for my 944 turbo. Covers unlimited UK trackdays, with a £500 (I think) excess. The excess is higher if you have no trackday experience.

I think you're right - the excess is a significant factor. I had one small shunt a couple of years ago & didn't bother to claim as it was fixed for under a grand. I'm wondering whether the cover is worth having, but I have the reassurance that if I have a major accident I will get paid out.

[istoo]

based on the first reply, i am considering these options too, my caqr is fairly cheap and in that sense disposable, being cheap it is not that fast so i am not going to be pushing it.. however, what if some crashes into me, or god forbid i nudge a supercar? Then whats the story there?

[System-G]

I don't tend to bother, but then I consider my track car to be disposable (would cost me less than £2k to replace).
I don't let myself into situations on track that could compromise my safety or those around me.
If it's looking like it might, I take a trip through the pitlane to give some space/cool down/whatever or make a mention to the operators that there is a numpty out on the circuit.

[jleroux]

istoo said:

what if some crashes into me, or god forbid i nudge a supercar? Then whats the story there?

There is no 3rd party liability between participants on track days. everyone is responsible for their own "risk". if you crash into an enzo that's mr enzo's problem, in the same way that if an enzo crashes into you, it's your problem.

System-G's comments are spot on - manage your own risk by watching out for loons and reporting them ASAP to the TDO.

Jonny
BaT

[dxb335d]

jleroux said:

Rich H said:

What are your views on trackday insurance? Am I daft to consider not taking any, or is it a common practice?

Can you "afford" to lose the car? No-one wants to just throw their track car away, but will it affect your ability to pay the mortgage, eat etc?

If the answer is YES then you need to insure. statistically you are unlikely to see a benefit from the insurance though so if you could live without the car then don't insure.

massive caveat - also depends how you drive and how hot-headed you are. If you're a laid back kinda chap who knows his limits then, in all likelihood, you'll be OK. If you're the sort of guy who likes to push the boundaries, or have *any* kind of ego, then you need to insure.

Jonny
BaT

Jonny, that does not stop unfortunate incidents.

Some one spinning in front of you and you have no where to go... Does not matter then how hot headed you are or how close you drive to ''the limit'' etc

[dxb335d]

edh said:

I have trackday insurance through HIC - cost me around £100 on top of the std policy for my 944 turbo. Covers unlimited UK trackdays, with a £500 (I think) excess. The excess is higher if you have no trackday experience.

I think you're right - the excess is a significant factor. I had one small shunt a couple of years ago & didn't bother to claim as it was fixed for under a grand. I'm wondering whether the cover is worth having, but I have the reassurance that if I have a major accident I will get paid out.

How does the HIC, road policy to which you have additional TD cover compare to other normal road policy pricing?

[A.Wang]

I recently insured my Porsche 944 S2 track car with Hagerty for £186 (limited to 5000 miles per year), and I can get individual track days fully covered for 10% of the premium + insurance tax (so around 20 quid). This is useful as I don't want to take out insurance for all track days, only the ones that are "higher risk" (e.g. circuits as opposed to airfields).

[shim]

dxb335d said:

edh said:

I have trackday insurance through HIC - cost me around £100 on top of the std policy for my 944 turbo. Covers unlimited UK trackdays, with a £500 (I think) excess. The excess is higher if you have no trackday experience.

I think you're right - the excess is a significant factor. I had one small shunt a couple of years ago & didn't bother to claim as it was fixed for under a grand. I'm wondering whether the cover is worth having, but I have the reassurance that if I have a major accident I will get paid out.

How does the HIC, road policy to which you have additional TD cover compare to other normal road policy pricing?

This year i took out an HIC road/uk track policy instead of my NU road policy. Cost was £195 more for all uk track cover for one year and then i protected the policy for another £90.

As i have been doing around 15 track days a year in a £25-30k car it seemed a good deal, especially with possibly a few lives already used up to take it out now,

but i would say if you are sensible there is not much chance of a big cost without insurance

[911teo]

I track my Ford GT and Porsche RSR. I didn't bother with insurance up until last year as the cost was just silly (like 1-1.5k per track day plus 15k excess) given the amount of days I did (around 20).

Then I switch my normal everyday coverage to Pace Ward (I think they use Chaucer) for all my cars and I can insure the single track day.

The Ford costs me 240-300 pounds, whilst the Porsche around 320-360 depending on the track.
If I were to track the 993 it would be around 140-170

Excess is 10k for both (circa 10% of the value of the car).

Their everyday policy was quite competitive and with the above costs for me it's a no brainer to get track cover.

[edh]

dxb335d said:

edh said:

I have trackday insurance through HIC - cost me around £100 on top of the std policy for my 944 turbo. Covers unlimited UK trackdays, with a £500 (I think) excess. The excess is higher if you have no trackday experience.

I think you're right - the excess is a significant factor. I had one small shunt a couple of years ago & didn't bother to claim as it was fixed for under a grand. I'm wondering whether the cover is worth having, but I have the reassurance that if I have a major accident I will get paid out.

How does the HIC, road policy to which you have additional TD cover compare to other normal road policy pricing?

I think it's pretty competitive - the cover also inclused Class 1 busines use (I occasionally use the car to visit clients) and a 6000 mile limit. This year its costing me GBP 500 - but I am old and have 9yrs NCB. Lots of insurers won't cover the car as it's modified (engine, suspension & brakes)