Verra odd... I called USAA last December, and asked about 'racing insurance', as pertaining to AutoX. For those of you who don't know, AutoX is a timed event, 1 car at a time, out in a wide open parking lot, where you can't hit anything but cones.

So they said no, they don't have any kind of insurance, and if I participated in any kind of activity such as that and something happened, I would be completely liable. Alright, makes sense. They don't cover it. Simple.

So I get a call today from some underwriter in Texas who asks me if I've 'raced at all lately'. Umm... I havn't, and I responded no, but I was considering it. And then she specified the (reading from record entries on my account apparently) "Have you been involved in any kind of timed event in your Mini cooper, where you race other cars or against time alone?". Umm... Again I respond no, and ask her why she called.

She then elaborates that if I were to have participated in AutoX, they would have had to remove my Mini from my USAA policy. I clarified that if USAA doesn't cover AutoX, that it's fine and dandy, yeah I'm liable... But what does that have to do with USAA? She said regardless of what I say, if anything happens the litigation will be against USAA, and they cannot take that risk. I tried to talk some sense to her, but she was senseless. So I said "Anything else you called to talk about? No...? Nave a nice day *CLICK*"

So I understand if the rates increased if they did cover it, but now I'm curious if my rates are going to go up simply because I asked about it. Underwriters are responsible for assessing risk, and assigning a value to that risk, that directly affects your insurance premium. I told her I had not AutoX'd, but that I was still thinking about it. Does that make me part of the 'OMFG RISK RISK!' category?

Arg.

 

USAA is well known as a great insurance company but they are no different than any other in mitigating their risk and exposure.

If you want coverage, there are special rider policies that will cover you, but you will probably have to go to an actual agent, not a "by phone or net" large carrier. They usually only sell their product.

It is a safe bet that insurance companies keep track of any inquiries you make by phone, mail, or by email. My opinion is that you probably don't want to mention anything about that kind of activity to any company that may have fiduciary responsibility for or to you with regard to you car. Go to an independant insurance agent and see about a supplemental policy that will cover that specific activity.

I'm quite sure that the insurance industry monitors boards like this or at least contracts it's investigators to seek evidence of policy violations from sites like NAM in the event of a large payout (ie. a 30k payout for a totaled MCS) if they have reason to believe it will save them money.

I'd bet that if you were to roll your MINI and put in a claim, they will now take steps to ascertain whether you were engaged in a activity that was non-compliant with your policy.

Just gotta love the insurance industry, after all, they never suffer a loss, just raise the rates!

 

Wagn, IMO yes ...

What you need to consider is that insurance is really risk management and there are some risks they are unwilling to take. For example, any insurance company may have a long list of cars they will not insure. Period.

I have read that homeowners have found that merely calling to discuss a potential claim is not a wise idea. Rates have gone up next time around because "damage" has happened and that makes the customer more risky. (its never a good idea to make any insurance claim unless its truly substantial ... little things might get you quick money back but you will pay it back)

Same thing about mods. Read your policy carefully about what they cover. If its not OEM they may have a very small limit and over that, its on your nickel.

By calling them, you opened the door for them to check further into you which they would not have known about.
Its all about the money. In underwriting, its more than assigning risk ... in doing so they may determine that the risk is too high for that particular company (whatever rules they follow).

By calling and asking for a clarification, I can see them holding that against you just like a homeowner talking about a potential damage claim. What they do? Who knows?

 

I think they are even more concerned with the damage you could do. I have never done it myself and won't ever do it :impatient, but I would venture a guess that they are also concerned about the damage you could do to others that they could get sued for. Like running over a corner worker.

 

I have USAA...and I would never think of calling them and asking them that. For one that would increase my premium...and 2) why risk that increase in premium . Bottom line, you shouldn't have opened that door - that is your own fault. What are the chances that something would have happened?

 

Wagnbat, why not come down to Fed Ex Field on Sunday to the SCCA sponsored Autocross event. MINIs will be running in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 6th heats, for a total of 14 drivers. Currently, there are 277 drivers registered for this event. Free to watch and you can ask some other drivers about USAA and how they are handling the insurance issue.

For more info check out the web site.

A member of TEAM.DFL

 

Yeah, I hear everybody... And I was calling to ask about 'rider policies' on top of my regular policy, which is how the information was relayed... I guess I expected more understanding out of USAA, which is supposed to be one of the best, as well as the most 'military friendly'. So much for that.

 

In my opinion you only ask those sorts of questions anonymously. Call them up and
identify yourself as a policy holder (or, if you want, as someone shopping for insurance)
and then ask your questions. I will even make the call from work or my cellphone rather
than my home phone (which they can "caller ID" and match to my policy). If they insist
on knowing your policy number, just hang up and call back later as a "potential new
customer".

Yes, I'm a bit paranoid about this sort of thing but, as you found out, it ain't paranoia if
someone really is out to get you.

 

Does anyone know how USAA handles non-timed track events such as a HPDE?

mb

 

Generally, most good insurance co's will cover damages from a HDPE once. I know that my insurance co (State Farm) covered repairing my friend's bimmer when he hit a wall at Mid-Ohio and they entered it as "driver's education" since there was an instructor in the car and it wasn't timed and his rates didn't go up! (I don't know that I would expect that though) And most of the instructors for HPDE's that I've talked to have said that most insurance co's will cover it once and after that you need to find some track insurance to be safe

 

Insurance companies want everything neat 'n tidy so anyone who uses their car outside of "normal", ever-day driving is gonna get their attention. This example reminds me of Geico and their attitude about radar detectors; I've heard that they continue to deny coverage if you have one.

 

Last time I checked my policy, USAA excludes any "incident" that happens at a track even if you are not on the track. State Farm seems to be the best about covering crash damage at Driver's Ed events.

 

I remember reading something about a guy that got cancelled for asking USAA. We have USAA and it's one of the reasons we have no plans to do a HPDE or auto-x.