Track Day Insurance

[jezmilligan]

Doing my first track day at Bassingbourn on Saturday (with motorsport events ltd - anyone else going?).   I thought I'd better sort some insurance out.  

I spoke to Footman James who quoted £50 BUT - it doesnt cover ANY damage caused by collisions with other vehicles, there's £2,500 excess, and for any damage I have to pay 30% of repair cost, also it doesn't cover personal accident.  Hardly seems worth having at all.

Can anyone suggest other policies, otherwise I'm considering driving without track day cover.  Anyone had a claim on a track day?  How regular are collisions on these days?  I guess there's not a lot you can do if some psycho in a scoobie takes you out in a corner and he has no insurance?

Thanks

Jez

[gregh]

I use these guys when I take my Subaru on track:

Competition Car Insurance

regards

Greg

[Nick M]

Is it an airfield day ?  If so, I wouldn't bother with insurance.

Track day insurance only covers damage to your car - if you get taken out by someone else then he claims on his policy, you on yours.  That said, collisions are extremely rare provided that people abide by the rules of the day.

And with a £2,500 excess it really isn't worth it - you'd struggle to do that much damage to your car - even a new chassis doesn't cost that much.

[samcooke]

Is it an airfield day ?  If so, I wouldn't bother with insurance.

How so? The potential for damage at airfields is still there, particularly with rutted grass and sideways motion, and even if you're going forwards there's always the chance of getting walloped by a nutter in a hot hatch

Guy at an airfield day I was at recently rolled his new M3 convertible I expect he was pleased he had insurance.

Most trackday companies offer their own policies, or if not buy motorsport news or ccc where you'll find tons of adverts for specialists.

[Jon Murray]

I agree with Sam.  I was at Elvington when the M3 convertible flipped.  Not pretty and very expensive.  Ouch..  

Jon

[Nick M]

*shrugs*

If it's the same incident I think you're referring to, I think driver over-exuberance was primarily to blame.  The lesson being, don't drive like a nunney and you won't need to worry about insurance.

Personally I'd only bother to insure the car at tracks where I felt there was a risk of hitting the scenery, e.g. Cadwell, Oulton, Brands, etc.   I'm doing an event at Silverstone next week (plenty of places left - BookaTrack    ) and won't be bothering to insure the car simply because the chances of hitting something are pretty small.

At the end of the day you pays your money and takes your choice.  But if you do feel as though you want to insure the car then Competition Car Insurance (link above posted by Greg) is probably a good place to start.

[Nick M]

...there's always the chance of getting walloped by a nutter in a hot hatch

Not wanting to teach people to suck eggs, etc., but the chances of being hit by another car *should* be minimal.  That is, provided people are adhering to the rules of the day, i.e. no overtaking without consent, etc., etc.

If you've been experiencing muppet hot hatch drivers then just have a word with the organisers as they don't always see what's going on out there.  IME, a quiet word is usually enough to sort the problem.

Worst case, try another track day company which does have strict rules about driving standards and who will send muppets home.

[peterrosey]

Track days are not motorsport and yes the number of incidents is relatively low, but accidents do happen.

I had a very near miss (in a Golf GTI) at Castle Combe, when I entered a corner too fast and got four-wheels on the grass heading for the armco in 4th... scary.

The next track day I went to at Oulton Park (fantastic circuit, by the way) I got blue flagged and a Lancia Integrale shot past... got out of shape and smashed down the nearside armco before spinning back across my path (brake, BRAKE!, just missing me and coming to rest in the infield with the wheels hanging off.

The point is this: I made a slight mistake at Combe and got away with it, the guy in the Lancia wasn't so lucky.

If you have a Westy thats not worth that much (say £5000), then track cover is debatable, but for anything else I reckon it's a must.

After you've done a few track days without incident it's very easy to get blase about them, but personally I think track day cover is a must.

[Jon Murray]

*shrugs*

If it's the same incident I think you're referring to, I think driver over-exuberance was primarily to blame.  The lesson being, don't drive like a nunney and you won't need to worry about insurance.

I don't see your name on the entry list for Elvington on 6/4/02, located here

Unless of course you have two different log in names.  Shame I missed you there - I always try to chat to other Westfield owners at track days.

Jon

[Nick M]

No, I wasn't at that event, but the BMW incident was discussed in some depth on another forum, involving the people who organised the event and I don't think it was typical of the sort of accident that happens at airfield days.

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

If Bassingbourne is where i think it is (nr Royston, Herts)?

it is an old RAF Airfield, but the Army took it over in 1969

i was stationed there in 1970, as far as i know it is still in use by the Army, but there was plenty of room on the Airfield.

we used to blast around it in an old 850 mini, then get a bollocking  off the Officers.