If you race your car and have State Farm auto insurance...
 

... you're obviously not covered when you're at the track.

However, you may not be covered when you're driving to or from the track. I recently received a notice about change in coverage and it specifically excludes cars "prepared for racing."

I called my agent and asked what exactly that means. IMO, the gist of his response is that if you drive to the track or home with non DOT-approved tires, or if you leave the numbers on your window the track put on there, you might have a problem with being covered if you have an accident driving to or from the track.

This would apply to street cars or DDs, since race-only cars need other coverage.

Not sure this is the right forum for this, so please move if needed.

Thats good to know.

This is not new information. I had a similiar discussion with my State Farm agent seven years ago. I was informed at that time that if State Farm knew of a car being raced at a track and street driven, they would "actively persue the insurred for violation of contract".

I then contacted every other insurance agency I could find, including Geico, Peerless, Progressive, Allstate, Farmers, Firemans Fund, Hartford, and determined very quickly the policy was the same at all of them.

When I contacted specialty companies who insure race vehicles, none of them had any policy that was valid for a vehicle that was registered for street use.

I contacted our State board for insurance and was told there was nothing they could do and nothing they would be willing to do.

The fact that our state has two active drag strips and that drag racing is the largest participant sanctioned motorsport in the US means nothing to the insurance industry.

I have been casually mentioning to anyone who will listen there needs to be an exclusion for street legal cars that compete at drag strips but so far my efforts have fallen on deaf ears.

I have a very strong negative view of insurance companies in general, so...

I believe that anything an agent tells us verbally is of no consequence. The only thing that matters is what's written in the contract.

For one agent to say "keep the non-DOT tires off there" and for another to say they'll "actively pursue the insured for violation of contract" shows me they are just winging it.

I don't recall having to affirm I wouldn't race my car when I got my auto insurance. If the insurance company can prove I have violated our contract, then I owe them for any claims they may have paid, and they owe ME for the premiums I've paid them. Their implication that the policy holder is liable for monetary damages above and beyond repayment of claims is groundless and simply an attempt to intimidate the policy holder.

Bottom line, I totally agree this is a problem. I have no idea what the solution is. Unfortunately, standard insurance industry practice is to make the actual contents of your policy as hazy as possible so they can maneuver the outcome in a way that maximizes their financial benefit.

keep them on a need to know basis, they don't need to know!!

Lucky many of us with street/strip cars use DOT approved drag radials.


Just about any insurance company will not cover you at the track but something else people should know is some insurance companies may drop you if they find out you where racing at the track (which I think is retarded...)

I understand their view being that you are racing and they only cover you on the road. jonesy has the right idea though. If you put it in the wall at the track... don't make a claim cause they won't pay. If they question your drag radials, tell them it is a summer tire and nothing more. If they question the numbers on your windshield ask them if it is illegal to write on your car, and if it's illegal to participate in an automotive related event.

Years back my insurance agent had an office less than a block from my office. At the time I had about 20 employees and ten vehicles insured through his agency, plus my company was his IT department and we had a mutually beneficial business relationship that had lasted over a decade.

The company owner came to me and told me he could no longer work with us for our insurance and he recommended we go to an out of town agency for vehicle coverage.

Evidently a company rep from Progressive had visited his agency and made comments about my car and how he wanted to make certain that none of "his" agencies insured such a car because it could lead to a substancial lawsuit if it was involved in an accident.

The "real" problem (in my opinion) was at the time I had just been featured in our local newspaper after winning a track championship in Street Eliminator, plus the car was plastered with sponsorship decals, street legal skinnies in the front and 28" tires in the back, and had a six point welded bar and racing harnesses for each seat...

The fact that the car was probably safer than it came from the factory was of no consequence. The fact the car met Maine inspection code did not matter. The fact I had not had a moving violation in a decade did not matter. The fact I was actively promoting a "take it to the track" program did not matter.

The only thing that mattered was that the carrier did not want to be involved with such a vehicle and squeezed the agency until they cracked, and then they lost a good long term client and ultimately our business relationship degraded and I too lost a client.

The bottom line is insurance companies are concerned about their exposure to risk in regards to their profitability, their liability, and their public perception. Nothing more and nothing less.

I would very much like to see an exclusion for organized racing because I believe (but cannot prove) that it leads to safer driving on the street (in general).

Like you said, nothing new here. Even if you are involved in a "gimmic rally" in a totaly street legal car, at posted speed limits and get into a cash, and the insurance company finds out what you were doing THEY WILL DENY your claim. And probably drop you! Same goes for Solo SCCA events in packing lots. You are not insured while participating in these events.
I personally don't know of any company that will cover your car while participating in any sporting event, period.

We're talking about while you're traveling to and from the event, on public roads, doing legal things that would otherwise be covered by your policy.

Ironic that a car safer than most others on the road, is denied coverage. When I talked with my agent, I asked him about onboard fire extinguishers. I said you'd normally find that only on a race car, but wouldn't it make things safer if I were to install such in my wife's 15 y/o Corolla? Would State Farm then consider the Corolla as "prepared for racing" and not eligible for coverage?

He really had no answer to that since he doesn't know anything about cars (ironic again).

BTW, if you join the NHRA you get insurance that covers you at the track (one of their tracks). I would never consider racing my car without that coverage. On the street, though, you are still out of luck.