Car Insurance for race cars?

I'm hoping that the folks on this board can provide some suggestions regarding car insurance options for a car that has as it's main purpose racing, whether lapping days, race events, or even just autocrossing.

I've been gifted, if you will, a '93 Civic that I'd like to turn into a car to take to NASA HPDE events to get some experience on a track, with the hope of eventually getting into some competition once I've accumulated some experience. I'd like to keep the car street legal and registered, and in Maryland that requires a minimum level of insurance coverage. When I posed the question of what coverages I could get, I made the mistake of mentioning that the car won't be driven all that much, but I'd like to put it on a track from time to time in high performance driving events. My agent said that essentially, once the car hits the track the coverage is null and void.

I'd like to know, is there a way to have car insurance coverage for a car that hits a race track from time to time? I read all the time in GM about folks who drive their cars to the track, perhaps change wheels/tires, etc., do their racing, slap the street tires back on afterwards, and drive home. I'd like to know what to do in this regard, because especially during the first steps of doing the HPDE events, the car may not be at a point in its development where its been radically modified. I plan as my first steps to work on the suspension, brakes, wheels/tires, add a racing seat, and install (or have installed) a roll cage and fire suppression equipment. Is there a point in time where the modifications alone make the car un-insurable. As to getting the insurance in the first place, is it best to just be silent about the planned usage?

I'm not looking to get myself in trouble, I'm not looking to defraud the insurance companies, but at the same time, I'd eventually like to be one of those folks who drives their car to the track, races, then drives the car home. Up to this point, the only racing I've done is in a previous vehicle I owned and I attended a few autocross events and had a blast. I want to do some more autocross events, but I really want to take it to the track, that's my real goal/intention.

Any insights that folks can provide that will help me navigate around my dillema will be greatly appreciated. I'm a neophyte looking to the experienced for some advice!

Thanks!

Don't track a car you're not prepared to ball up and write off.

That said, check the specific exceptions in your insurance policy. I went with AAA because their exception is along the lines that they will not cover "Timed competition speed events." Or something like that. Basically I figured that if something happened at an HPDE, I could get away with saying it, was not timed, not competitive, and was an "instructional" event. I'm certain that if I did that I'd get non-renewed, but I could probably get my BMW replaced once if it was really that bad.

I've also heard of people banging up their car on the track, then driving it 10 miles away to call the insurance and telling them that the damage occurred at that location, and not the track. I don't think I'd do that myself, and won't condone it. Insurance fraud can get you in bigger trouble than a bashed up car.

I have heard that there are specialty firms that do track insurance, but pretty much exclusively for really high-end exotic vintage cars that the owners would like to take on track and are paranoid about anything happening to it. You will not be able to get that for a '93 Civic. If you're worried about balling-up a '93 Civic, you can't afford it either.

So you have a bunch of crappy options.

Or you can go back to my original suggestion of not regularly tracking a car you're concerned about balling up.

Thanks for the info. I'm thinking I wouldn't get more than liability coverage in order to be compliant with Maryland law, but in order to drive on the street, I'll have to have that at a minimum. I'm not looking to file any claims should I wad it up, that's why I don't want to compete in the vehicle I drive every day ('05 Mazda 3). I just want to find a way to get coverage I can use to drive the Civic to and from the track legally, and that would cover the other party should I get into an accident in transit that is deemed to be my fault. As for what happens on track, I'm prepared to deal with that and say goodbye to the car if a crack-up is bad enough.

Hambone1973 wrote: My agent said that essentially, once the car hits the track the coverage is null and void.

Could it be that what your agent means to say is, "If you wreck it on the track, dont bother calling because we will not cover it."

That is, no coverage during racing.

It seems that you are hearing, "If you compete with it once will will never cover anything, not even things that could happen during your regular morning commute."

I suspect that they cover the commute. If you file a claim while commuting, the Ins. Co. will investigate the accident (as they always do) and determine if they find you at fault.

If you wreck it on a track, I think he is pre-warning you that the investigation will not go your way, dont even bother.

I think Hagerty will cover race cars, provided the vehicle is not used on the street.

My agent said, and this could be particular to this company, that they won't cover a car that's used on a track, even when it's back on the street due to the extreme wear and tear, and possible damages caused on-track that don't manifest themselves until the vehicle is back on public roads. For this reason, I'm leaning towards covering this car with a company completely separate from the company that currently covers my vehicles and home.

Thanks Dresden, in this case, I'm not worried about what happens on the track, but only concerned about having coverage on the street so I can drive it to and from the track. I don't have a vehicle suitable for towing another car, nor the funds to get the car I want to race prepared and buy/insure/operate a tow vehicle and trailer.

Hambone1973 wrote: My agent said, and this could be particular to this company, that they won't cover a car that's used on a track, even when it's back on the street due to the extreme wear and tear, and possible damages caused on-track that don't manifest themselves until the vehicle is back on public roads. For this reason, I'm leaning towards covering this car with a company completely separate from the company that currently covers my vehicles and home.

I haven't heard about that being an issue before. You made the mistake of telling them you were going to race it. That logic they're using does not surprise me. These are insurance companies we're talking about. I've never heard of any of them saying "if you ever take it out on a track, all your coverage becomes null and void." Lots of people track their nice car once or twice.

Yes, liability coverage will cover your car in normal usage and meet your legal obligations on the car. It will not pertain to anything that happens at the track.

Going with a different insurance carrier is not necessarily a bad idea though. That way, if something happens with your track car, the insurance carrier can't say, "Oh, we found out you race your cars, so we will non-renew all of your coverage. Thank you for your business."

In any event, with whatever insurance you consider, actually take the time to go over the exceptions in your policy and find out what it will and will not cover. Do that with whatever policy you have or are thinking of getting.

Just call up and put the minumum insurance on it - and take the plate OFF before you leave to go to the track.

I have seen the Gieco cars at Summit and NJMP taking pics... and if one company does it you can bet they all do.

Hambone1973 wrote: My agent said, and this could be particular to this company, that they won't cover a car that's used on a track, even when it's back on the street due to the extreme wear and tear, and possible damages caused on-track that don't manifest themselves until the vehicle is back on public roads. For this reason, I'm leaning towards covering this car with a company completely separate from the company that currently covers my vehicles and home.

This doesn't include autocrossing does it?

Probably depends on what's in the fine print of the policy and how the insurance company interprets that language, how much research they do into your driving activities, etc. The car I autocrossed in my past I never filed a claim on, so it never came up.

Salanis wrote: You made the mistake of telling them you were going to race it. That logic they're using does not surprise me. These are insurance companies we're talking about. I've never heard of any of them saying "if you ever take it out on a track, all your coverage becomes null and void." Lots of people track their nice car once or twice.

I indeed did make that mistake with my agent, but haven't actually moved to register and insure the car in question yet so I won't make that mistake when I look for another company to cover my "racecar".

I forget the name of the companies, but there have been a couple of ads in Classic Motorsports about race car insurance. Sure, they are aimed more toward the high end market but they may have more pedestrian policies as well.