Insurance advice please.

[jhoyle3]

I know this subject pops up from time to time but would appreciate comments from those with experience. I let GEICO know that one of my three bikes was no longer street legal and that I was only riding it on the track. They immediately downgraded my coverage to liability only on all three bikes. I moved the two road bikes to another carrier and left the track bike with GEICO until I can figure out what to do. I'm only looking for coverage against theft (or fire, or flood, or whatever) while the bike is stored in my warehouse or in my trailer while traveling. I don't expect an insurance company to cover damage while on the track (I'm sure that would be $$$ even if you could get it). Does anyone insure their track only bike in such a way? Thanks.

 

[rpm894]

Your Geico policy may still cover theft if they just dropped the collision coverage.

I insure my trackbike through Progressive without collision but with comprehensive coverage, which covers theft/fire. I wouldn’t tell them it’s for the track, and it may not cover theft/fire that occurs on the premise of a track. Read the fine print.

I like Progressive because of the optional accessory coverage. Read the contract / ask a lawyer, as it may change state to state, but their accessory coverage covers the cost of new aftermarket parts, even if the part replaced a stock part. So if my bike gets stolen, my claim will be for a R6 plus lots of parts, like ohlin suspension and aftermarket rear sets.

If the bike is on a trailer away from where you store it, coverage may apply differently.

 

[Rehh]

I have progressive too, although my track bike doesn’t have coverage I know they do cover off road machines like, dirtbikes and 4 wheelers etc.
I might try to add my track bike just for theft, it’s never been titled for street use. I do know guys that have titled track bikes with full coverage who have crashed and got paid out. What they do is trailer the bike home and report the crash happened on the street.

 

[kbowker]

None of the major carriers want to deal with you because you are a bigger risk and they concentrate on the lowest common denominator type riders. I’d recommend you work with a specialty insurer, someone like Foremost. Note this is not an endorsement of them, as I have no personal experience. My track bike is self-insured at the moment. But I’ve seen them mentioned a lot on r/Trackdays.

 

[MK3Brent]

Seems the consensus of advice I read online on this topic is "never mention track riding to your insurance company."
This would be a case in point, I guess.
Very unfortunate.

Keep us posted on what you end up doing, because it won't be the last person to come across this.

 

[Rehh]

There are companies that offer insurance for track riding, I’ve heard it’s very expensive, no one I know has it but it is available. I had a big highside last year with N2 at Road Atlanta, cost me around 15,000 with bike, medical bills and loss of work. I’m still paying for it actually, paying for rehab every week and the bills are still coming in; that’s with good medical insurance that paid out. I received a credit for half the cost of the track day from N2 because I’m a member.

 

[bmart]

The info I've read from various insurance companies differentiates between competition and noncompetition. Track days are training and specifically prohibit competitive riding. There might be a grey line (nor not) on a track day before a race weekend as this is classified as race practice loosely by some orgs. Insurance companies may drool over that to deny a claim. For training, one may have a strong argument that training happens on a closed course and not on public roads...which are becoming more terrifying every day.

I don't ride anything worth insuring...so I don't have this problem.

 

[kbowker]

The info I've read from various insurance companies differentiates between competition and noncompetition.

Not anymore. About 15 years ago all the major carriers got wise and just created coverage exclusions for all race tracks. Doesn’t matter whether it’s “real” racing or a track day. And calling your insurance company to ask any questions whatsoever is more than likely to result in you getting dropped. These exclusion details are generally buried in fine print that is difficult to obtain without digging deep and hiring a lawyer to interpret the BS legalese. Long story short, don’t ever call your insurance company with questions about race tracks and coverage limits.

The exceptions are: 1) specialty insurers like Foremost; and 2) if you have a good personal relationship with an independent insurance broker who is carrier agnostic and actually cares about customer service and can give it to you straight without ratting you out to the suits at corporate.

 

[rpm894]

I do know guys that have titled track bikes with full coverage who have crashed and got paid out. What they do is trailer the bike home and report the crash happened on the street.

This is insurance fraud. While I don’t particularly like insurance companies, the cost of that fraud trickles down to everyone else with a motorcyle. And you probably don’t want to post online that you have first hand knowledge of this, especially if you are in a jurisdiction that has whistleblower rewards or private civil claims for insurance fraud.

 

[Rehh]

This is insurance fraud. While I don’t particularly like insurance companies, the cost of that fraud trickles down to everyone else with a motorcyle. And you probably don’t want to post online that you have first hand knowledge of this, especially if you are in a jurisdiction that has whistleblower rewards or private civil claims for insurance fraud.

Maybe, I’m not worried, wasn’t me, I have nothing to hide; I just came out of pocket 15K on a crash. This is what people tell me at the track, maybe it was you that told me…lol

 

[bmart]

Maybe worth a look at Google?