Monday, 28 October 2019

Track day insurance coverage - DO NOT CALL AND ASK


Been reading through a lot of reddit threads, some a number of years old now, about whether collision insurance coverage would extend to track days and which insurance providers would provide coverage for non-race, non-timed track events. The most frequent, most popular advice has been "call and find out". I did exactly that, and learned that this has become bad idea. Let me shout it from the mountaintop to the reddit community:DO NOT CALL UP INSURANCE COMPANIES TO ASK ABOUT TRACK DAY COVERAGE!!Insurance agencies flag you for doing this and not only indicate track days aren't covered, but they also jack up their premium for your road-only insurance or just suddenly refuse to sell you road insurance outright. I'm a Massachusetts resident, it's 2019, and the stories of old where non-timed non-race events were covered by some major insurance carriers no longer represents the current realities. This is what I found out when I called around about insurance w/ track day coverage for a new R6 I am in the process of buying as a follow on to a Ninja 300 I'm trading in.Progressive - my existing carrier thru USAA. Does not cover any damage that occurs on the track in any circumstance. Still proceeded with a street quote. My street quote was then nearly TWICE the value that I was given from an online quote I did a few weeks earlier despite identical coverage elections/bike model/additional details.AllState - had to speak to a local office. They indicated track usage would increase the premium but could not immediately answer my question about track coverage. I'll get an email tomorrow w/ a quote and hopefully an answer. A thread on New England Street Riders indicated track days are not covered.State Farm -Does not do motorcycle insurance in MassachusettsForemost - Does not do motorcycle insurance in MassachusettsLiberty Mutual - Does not cover track activity, only road use. I appreciate that somebody answered my question without collecting my info for a quote.Geico - This is the most bizarre one. The call taker, as a person, was awesome. He knew all of the motorcycle slang, eagerly talked about all of the different motorcycle racing Geico sponsors, was clearly a rider with extensive track experience under his belt and mentioned that Geico likes to hire experienced riders, mentioned other people in the room's varying expertise in dirt riding, etc. I mentioned USAA and he was familiar with all of the ins and outs of what my experience as military rider would be. Gave me very good advice about getting and having a track bike that I honestly wished I had heard much earlier. I was then informed that not only was track activity not covered, Geico was unwilling to offer me any insurance whatsoever, not even a road plan, because I had a single motorcycle and had a stated interest track days.This is a pretty crazy experience to have while trying to do everything right. I've done my BRC, ARC, I've got an accident free track day under my bike already, I install appropriate sliders and other protection on my bikes and I would be able to repair damage from many slides on my own - I just want to be covered for a catastrophic total loss like a tumble. I'm trying to obtain explicit coverage instead of even thinking about doing something sleazy. It's completely changing my entire calculation regarding this hobby and what motorcycle I'm buying, which is unfortunate because I've already $500 deep into buying this new R6. It's not a bike I would be able to afford to lose as I make very little money and this would be paid for over a 5 year loan. I'm understanding the meaning now of how folks say don't take a bike to a track if you wouldn't be willing to throw it into a dumpster. Sucks because I've been to a track already now and I'm a little hooked. via /r/motorcycles https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/dohqin/track_day_insurance_coverage_do_not_call_and_ask/?utm_source=ifttt

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