Racing and Insurance Off-Track or On

When it comes to car racing, there are two kinds of people: spectators and participants. Aside from a love of fast cars and precision driving, both groups have one more trait in common: they need insurance.

For the Spectator

Auto insurance for race spectators is nothing extra – your normal policy will take care of you whether you're on the road to the track or on the road to the grocery store, and it will also cover you whether you're parked at a racetrack or parked in front of your office, whether you are in a few car accidents, or the victim of vandalism or theft.

Of course this is assuming that your existing policy includes comprehensive and collision coverage and not just the minimum required liability and uninsured motorist insurance mandated by the state in which you live.

As a spectator in the stands, the track owner's insurance takes over: should you slip and fall on the stairs or if a car careens through the fences and into the crowd (which is extremely unlikely) the track's insurance will kick in. As a spectator, your only real worry is the cost of concessions, and whether or not your favorite wins.

For Participants

As a race car driver or owner, or a track owner, you have special insurance needs to consider, above and beyond what a spectator does, and this is why race car insurance exists. It must be purchased from special providers, but it is absolutely necessary. Typically race car insurance includes:

1. Coverage for the car: Race cars are hardly inexpensive, and driving one is a high-risk profession with a high chance of an accident occurring. Coverage for the car, then, may be more expensive than coverage for a street car. On the other hand, race car insurers will use "agreed value" to determine the coverage amount for the car if it is totaled.

2. Owners and Sponsors: This coverage protects the interests of all parties (owners, sponsors and drivers) if they are named in claims for damages. The specific race's sanctioning body may have a limit for such claims, but in case their limit is insufficient, this coverage will kick in.

3. Off-Track Coverage: This protects race cars and equipment from losses and damages due to fire, theft, trailer upset, vandalism, and other such occurrences, and extends to cover tools as well. This ensures that whether your car and gear is in paddock and garage areas, or is in the process of being transported to or from an event, it always remains covered.

Racing is a fast paced, high energy sport, with loyal, enthusiastic fans, but whichever side of the fences you occupy, it should be clear that you must have insurance.