“Don’t take a car to the track you can’t afford to lose it”… car Insurance won’t pay. Only, now they will. Sort of.
That’s the advice, passed down through the ages and it’s very true. Accidents do happen, and on a racetrack or in competitive motorsports they can be very expensive. So if you look at your car insurance policy you’ll see words like this:
AAMI
Not covered – If your car was being used or tested in or for a race, trial, test or contest or on a competition circuit, course or arena.
Covered – If your car was being driven by you on a safe driving course commercially conducted by trained instructors.
RACV
Not covered – Your vehicle or a substitute vehicle was being used in a race, trial, test or contest, or for unlawful purposes.
Suncorp
Motor sports or similar activities
your car being used:
– in, or being tested in preparation for, a race, contest, trial, test, hill climb or any motor sport;
or
– on a competition race track, competition circuit, competition course or competition arena unless;
– your car is being driven as part of a driver education course that does not involve speeds in excess of 100km/h or the timing of cars;
or
– you have told us about this use of your car, we have agreed to cover you and this is shown on your certificate of insurance.
Translation – you take your car to the track, it’s not insured. That’s one reason I drive an 86 and not a Cayman.
A side note is that most insurers do cover training courses, provided the course is commercially run and at low speed. Some “training” events are simply track days dressed up as driver training, and good luck making a claim if you crash on one of those.
But now, there is a way to get some limited insurance for motorsports. Enter Famous Insurance, who offer coverage up to $10,000 for drivers participating in CAMS sanctioned Level 2 Speed events, which covers sprints (track days), autocrosses and the like, all time-trial events with no speed limit – but not actual races.
The excess is $1000 at a minimum or your normal excess, whichever is greater, and third-party damage is not included. The coverage is only for collisions between your car and anything else, so not fire (sorry, classic car owners), there’s no coverage for wear and tear, and you must not be in breach of the rules of the event. You can read all the details in section 9 of the Famous Product Disclosure Statement, found here. Interestingly, Level 1 events are specifically not covered.
Translated – if you’re driving within the rules on a L2S event and have an off or a collision, you can get up to $10k to fix your car. It is not a license to drive like an idiot and expect all costs to be paid.
This cover is an option on a normal Famous policy, and it’s very good news for motorsports enthusiasts who can now take to the track with a little bit more peace of mind than before.
Famous is, as you might expect from their track cover, a specialist insurer for vehicle enthusiasts. They offer all the usual features car people want, such as choice of repairer and acceptance of modifications. Good to see Shannons have some competition!
If you get a quote from Famous before October 16th then you could win free entry into the MSCA’s Come and Try Day for racetrack novices. If that’s of interest, don’t forget to read our introduction to track days here.
[ title image by www.sdpics.com ]
