My son was injured in a crash back in July and with our good friend Ryan Kline injured at the last race of the season. It's got me wondering as a car owner, driver and a fan. How do we know what type of insurance is being carried by these tracks and what is covered. I know when we sign in each night that is some sort of insurance paper. But what exactly is covered by these companies I know most of them are secondary coverage? I don't think I have seen polices posted on any tracks Web sites or posted on a ticket booths. Why is this? As I understand it there is two different company's around here for the tracks K&K and AKTPA. Does anyone know the difference between these two? I also know that STIDA is available for the drivers at a extra expense but I am speaking of insurance for the tracks. Now before someone takes this the wrong way I have had no issues with the company I am dealing with right now I just think we should know how us and the fans are covered by these tracks if we choose to. Trust me till this year the insurance issue hardly ever crossed my mind but with my son and a good friend injured I can't help but think about this.
spectators should think of these issues also. know of one who may lose sight in one eye because of an object entering grandstands at a local dirt track and insurance is .... well insufficient. but we do enter at our own risk.
You are right any race car driver should be worried about insurance it could happen at any level. From quarter midgets up. If you contact Robbie Rice at STIDA he can explain to you exactly what the track has and what STIDA takes care of. Every racecar driver, any level should have STIDA! Robbie can also guide fans to an insurance as well, if you are interested. Give Robbie a call at (800) 378-4608 or visit there website at STIDA.com to answer your questions. Good luck!
Every time I have entered the pits at a racetrack I have signed a WAIVER OF LIABILITY/RISK ASSUMPTION statement...to me that tells me that I just agreed that I am entering/racing at my own risk and not to expect any type of coverage.
That being said, usually any track that has these forms has been provided the forms by an insurance carrier, and there is some small amount of SECONDARY coverage...probably 10 grand in most cases, for people on the pit side of the event.
I promote one race a year, for small cars on a rodeo arena, for a fundraiser for our local community center... the insurance we use for this event is pretty good as far as covering spectator incidents. For a small fee per every pit pass sold we get a million dollars worth of liability coverage for spectators (not pit pass purchasers) and all of our sponsors and the owner of the property are listed as "Also insured"...meaning if somebody gets hurt and tries to sue a sponsor the event insurance protects them. In 12 tears we have had 2 drivers go to the hospital...a badly sprained ankle and a broken leg... and each time there was some secondary coverage that helped with deductibles and co-pays.
Knowing all of this... I can not believe anybody would race without having STIDA coverage. I had a sprintcar ride last season and the first thing I bought was a STIDA policy.
