Anyone else use geico insurance? I was wondering how there coverage works at an HPDE/auto-x. I'm sure some people out there unfortanately have had mishaps and needed insurance coverage. Was there any trouble? I know this is an ongoing debate and the whole head to head or time trials is the exclusion, but any first hand actual experiance???

 

to answer your first question I use Geko and I love them. good service, fair prices and just all around easy to work with. for me at least.

as far as your second question I have no idea. you could call them and tell them you are thinking about switching from X company and ask them if they cover any events i.e. auto-x, HPDE.

 

If you have an accident, don't tell you ins. company that you had an accident while racing a track. Tell them it got hit and run in a parking lot.

 

many insurnace companies have it in their agreement that permits driving school type activities....so just use those type of words if anything happens. The main thing for being on the track is to say that it was a "non-timed" and "non-competetive" event. Since autoX is usually in parking lots of some other random place, you can probably get away with a bit more.

 

A more fundamental point:

If you can't afford to throw the car away, don't ever drive it on a race track.

 

i talked with Geico this morning. They tell me its NOT covered. I explained it is a educational driving day and they tell me regardless of what it is, if it is held on a race track, its not covered. They say it falls under the "intent to damage or injury" section which obvisously is not covered. We are still talking back and forth concerning this.


i can't afford to throw away my car which is why i do not race it. only hpde's and auto-x. I believe my commute home on I-40 becomes much more hazards then any time I am on the track. I can't watch for 50 other people around me on the hwy. Atleast on the track for the most part anyhow I am the only to be concerned with....within reason.

 

Yeah, pretty much all insurance companies are starting to not cover any kind of driver training events -- thank the wide distribution of the video of the Viper hitting the inside wall at Phoenix during a "driver training event" for a lot of that. Add the additional "lapping days" that more and more drivers are attending, and you've got a recipe for only double-digit ROI (return on investment) for insurance companies.

In addition, doing full-on racing with a car pretty much precludes it from being any kind of street car, mainly because the required safety equipment makes them acutally *less* safe to drive on the street (you don't drive on the street with a helmet, do you?). Autocross is relatively safe, HPDEs less so, but unless you can convince insurance companies that high-performance driving will reduce their costs, they'll continue to "not cover" anything timed or on a track.

The problem is that there's actually no way to prove that driving on a track is safer, since the number of incidents per car is far higher on a track than it is on the street, mainly because of the sheer number of cars on the street.

 

reason number 1,543 that I hate paying for insurance. pay, pay, pay, pay, and pay and then its a big pain in the *** to collect.

 

They've even changed their wording a little. When I called them and asked it was "they will not cover any accident on a racing surface."

 

If you can, switch to USAA.

They DO cover HPDE's and quite a few people that go to the track have them as well for that reason. Plus it is alot cheaper than my previous Progressive rate.

 

Axelerate -
I have USAA and am glad to hear that. I haven't been able to find anything in writing that support that position. I am curious as where I can read that info.
It would be nice to have a complete understanding of what they will cover.

USAA is the best. I have always had them (Dad was in the Airforce) and the service is great. The year end dividend check can be nice as well.
Marc

 

after a little bit of discussion with Geico, this is what I got back....

We are currently reviewing your request with our Coverage Underwriters regarding this particular situation. In order to further review your request, they are in need of additional information. Please reply to this e-mail by providing the following information: -

What takes place at a High Performance Driving Education Day?
- What is the purpose of this course?
- How will taking this course benefit you?
- How will the information learned in this course be used in the future?

Once this information has been received, we will be happy to further review this matter for you.




either they are just making me feel good by acting interested or maybe i can figure out a way to get coverage....who knows. but its worth a couple emails i suppose.

 

I'm pretty-sure it has already been said in this thread but your car could be in the paddock or parking lot of a performance driving area and if your car is hit by anyone within that area, your insurance is void.

 

when i started my wife's and i policy i asked about it, and i answered some questions. i was told that it is covered as long as no timing devices are used.

After speaking to some other people at a hpde, quite a few were aware that usaa covers the events.

 

Don't ever think that you won't wreck your car at an HPDE or Auto-X. **** happens.

 

oh how i definately know this....

as i spun out cresting a hill at VIR this past weekend running about 85-90mph. Sheot happens definately. but i would like my sheot to be covered when it does happen...... as long as I am not being timed or racing.

 

lucky you didnt flip!

 

Huh. I thought USAA didn't cover track events, even HPDE's. I'll have to call them today and ask about it. Got anything in writing?

Dave

 

please let us know what you find out. thanks

 

Well if you're a member of the SCCA, don't you automatically get auto insurance??
I would never even call my ins. company to inquire, they will probably flag the account.