Wham!

[Bernard Littau]

Hi Roger,

[snip]
>
> Having had to argue at great length to get losses covered that SHOULD have
> been covered, I would never, never, never take the chance that my
> automobile
> itself, or my net worth, could even potentially be put in jeopardy, and
> before I would take one of my cars out onto a private track in
> proximity to
> other cars on the same track, I would make sure that I had MY OWN
> insurance
> that would cover me on that track at that time, without ANY fear of
> exceptions being raised AFTER the wreck.
>
> People totally misunderstand automobile insurance,a nd it amazes
> me that for
> the most part, people worry about damage to their CAR.  Automobiles are
> primarily throw-away items.  But a relatively low physical damage accident
> can end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bodiy
> injury that can
> have an effect on drivers and their families for decades.  It is
> simply not
> a place that I would want to go.

As I am considering a local driving school track event next month, thus I've
been paying close attention to this thread.

Early on in the thread it sounded like coverage for my car might well be
excluded for such an event.  I could stand the loss of the car -- it's an
old old Audi.  However, I was starting to figure out that much of my medical
coverage is also covered on that same policy.  Now you have mentioned this
explicitly.  Loosing medical on the auto would be not so good.  Like you
said, don't go there.  You have me thinking that I don't know all the
exclusions on my or my wife's medical plans through our employers.  I
wondering just a bit if I have any coverage while on the track.

Since you obviously have some insight and experience into this, what would
you suggest to do for coverage for this sort of event?  Is this something I
can and should get through my auto insurance agent?  What should I ask for?
Is something like this better handled through some sort of umbrella policy
over me, the cars and the house?

While I am asking questions on the topic of insurance :-)  We have two
drivers with 3 cars, a truck and a motorcycle.  We pay the same rate as
would a family with five drivers.  An auto policy is attached to a vehicle,
and the drivers of that vehicle are taken into consideration to set the
rate/risk, but the principal part of the rate is based on the car.  Thus, we
pay quite a bit more rate than what I see as the risk, given our situation.
I know many of the people on this list are in a similar situation.  Is there
a more cost effective way to insure the fleet for use by two drivers?

Another question :-)  This one is more Audi related.  The insurance rate for
a vehicle is set in part by the original value of the vehicle, yet the
coverage only covers the current value.  Audi's were expensive cars when
new, so I pay more for insurance for my '86 4kq than I would for most other
types of cars of the same current value.  Is there a way to bring the cost
of the insurance more in line with the current value?  I know people that
have increased the value of their cars with special insurance for a restored
car.  Would going with such a policy, with an low agreed-upon value, be a
way to bring the rate in line with the coverage?

Finally, what kind of insurance representative would generally be best to
work with on the specifics of any of these above items?  I have been using
an agent, who I see basically as a front end for the single company they
represent.  I understand brokers deal with multiple companies.  Are there
other options, or different kinds of agents or brokers that would be more
desirable to work with?

Your statement "People totally misunderstand automobile insurance" is
partially correct, however, I think many of us just plain do not
_understand_ automobile insurance, or insurance in general.

Thanks for the eye-opening commentary, and for the information so far!

Best,

Bernard Littau
Woodinville, WA
'88 5ktq