"Klatt, Nathan LMC-TACCSF" wrote:
>
> Hey Team.netters,
>
> I'm an autocross newbie (one whole event under my belt).
> I would like to at least consider continuing in this
> sport, but I'm a little concerned about trashing my only
> 4-wheel vehicle and being out the remainder of my car
> loan. I tried the web for the info and found one
> (personal) site that said "most" insurance companies
> consider it driver's education and, therefore, cover it.
> Well, as far as my Farmer's agent and district manager
> are concerned, no dice. Anyone have some hard facts
> about whether any companies do cover, or have covered,
> autocross incidents?
Nathan,
Welcome to the fold! It sounds like that one event was "the big hook",
and you're now terminally infected with the autox bug. Don't worry,
you're among friends here, and we can help. We don't know a cure, but to
relive the symptoms, show up to every empty parking lot or airport that
has cones on it and scrub away some of your tires at every opportunity. :-)
It can get interesting with some insurance companies. It pays to
discuss it one on one with your agent. The benefit of SoloII
competition, is that the rules specifically state that it is a non-speed
event, and that the "R" word is never mentioned. Now some companies may
indeed void coverage if you somehow crunch your ride, but many will
likely cover you in an autox.
I personally had an unfortunate incident a number of years ago that
resulted in the untimely loss of my VW GTI. This in fact occurred on
course at an autox. My insurance company paid up without even the
slightest complaint. I received alot of good advice from other autoxers
on how to deal with the insurance monster. They ranged from the absurd
(drag the car out to a deserted road and then claim that I swerved to
avoid a deer), to the sensible (tell the truth). The best advice was to
be up front and honest. It worked.
My own advice would be to be straight up with your insurance agent,
now, before anything comes up. If they say "no", then you know it's time
to switch to a different carrier. If you try and sugar coat it, and they
aren't clear on what it actually is, or if you decide to withhold that
from the agent, then you might be in for a rude surprise if you find
that you ever have to file a claim.
I was covered under Mercury Casualty when I suffered the loss of my
VolksWagen. They covered me. I am now covered by State Farm, and the
first thing I did when I got the policy was to discuss the autox issue
at length with my insurance agent. I didn't sign the policy until I was
confident that they fully understood what autox was, and that I was
going to be covered should anything (as unlikely as it is) ever happen.
Good luck on you insurance searches. See you out there someday, and have fun!
-Josh2
--
Joshua Hadler '74 914 2.0 CSP/Bi - Hooligan Racing #29 - CONIVOR
'87 Quantum Syncro - aka stealth quattro
jhadler@rmi.net
http://rainbow.rmi.net/~jhadler/
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