Track Insurance
 

I'm not here to grind on anyone or pick on any particular track. I just thought I would relay some info based on our experience. If you're a driver or pit crew and you think you're immune from a serious accident, think again. If you don't have a strong personal medical insurance policy, stay away from the track or pit area. Most of the tracks, race series, promoters, etc. do not have enough insurance coverage if you get hurt. ALL of their coverage is secondary. Which means that it only kicks in after your primary is out or if you don't have primary and in most cases, you're only covered for $25,000. The only exception I know of is Usac. I believe a sanctioned Usac race you are covered for $200,000 secondary. I was told there are a couple of tracks that might have $50,000, but $25,000 seems to be the norm. Either way, it doesn't matter. The $25,000 will just barely cover the helicopter ride and if you end up in the trauma center, $15,000 to $20,000 per day is the norm.

Like i said above, I'm not trying to spoil your fun or degrade any track. Just make sure you have some kind of good primary coverage. There are companies that sell racer medical insurance if you don't have primary coverage. Get some. Kenny's medical bills are pushing 1 million. Our blue cross primary is 80/20. So, I'm sure you can understand our dilema. Sell everything.

I would strongly urge you to do some insurance homework before you start racing.

curt

Re: Track Insurance
 

Thank you Curt this is good info. I just hope that all pay attention now. Or maybe the tracks will pickup and make changes. Jeff

Re: Track Insurance
 

STIDA STIDA STIDA. Check it out at Stida.com

Re: Track Insurance
 

Yah.blame the track.You pay the premium for the insurance policy with your membership and your only covered at USAC sanctioned events.If you obtain a personal policy it would cover you at any track ,any event,practice ect....I spoke to my local track promoter and if I could get a group of racers to agree and consider it a priority he'd put us in contact with his insurer to help us get a good rate....i'm still looking for a few good men....

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Call the Rices , STIDA

Re: Track Insurance
 

The amount of coverage will vary from track to track. Ask the promotor at the track what their coverage is. They will have a printed policy they can show you. Don't just assume the track will have enough coverage.

Re: Track Insurance
 

Some have no insurance at all! Your series director needs to check on this prior to any engine being fired. Some arrange for insurance but wait and see if anyone gets hurt before paying. As the TV used to say, "let's be careful out there". Promoters are not always the most honest businessmen. Most of us are very careless on such important things.

Re: Track Insurance
 

Just a tid bit... I got hurt at Kokomo back when Lipkey's owned it in 1993. I broke my leg and was sent to Methodist where Terry Trammel was kind enough to put me back together. Lipkeys at that time only had $10,000.00 secondary and my primary did not cover driving race cars. I got lucky and it took all of the ten grand. I did have to pay for the Ambulance ride. Also, after they lifted me out of the car they took me to an ambulance -if you want to call it that. The paint on the outside said so, but inside was a gutted out van with a gurney. I sat on the side door ledge then hopped over to the gurney. They took me outside the pit gate where the real Ambulance picked me up. We switched gurneys and off we went to the local hospital. After some arguing I got a hold of Terry Trammel and they sent me to Methodist.

The bottom line is... I got lucky!

George Wilkins

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by snoopy:
Some have no insurance at all! Your series director needs to check on this prior to any engine being fired. Some arrange for insurance but wait and see if anyone gets hurt before paying. As the TV used to say, "let's be careful out there". Promoters are not always the most honest businessmen. Most of us are very careless on such important things.

That's why you should ask to see a copy of the policy. If you still have questions call the insurance carrier. Do this BEFORE you put that first tire on the track. It's better to be safe than sorry. Any honest promotor will not have a problem showing this to you. Don't take chances. Always check these things out ahead of time at each and every track you go to.

Julie

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by 4wheelsinthekoosh:
STIDA STIDA STIDA. Check it out at Stida.com

This is great Billy and I totally support it. But please realize theres still 750,000 to account for even if they had it.

I've said for a long time. Anything less than a million in insurance and you could face possible castastrophy. A couple weeks and surgeries can easily top the half million mark.

Curt and Kenny and family, continued thoughts and prayers, The main thing is Kennys still with us. despite what comes around finanancially. thats the important thing. Racers help racers and I will continue to do so when and where possible.

Chuck

Re: Track Insurance
 

You know it Chuck. I give that kid a big hug every day and realize that no matter how hard the situation is, we've still got him here.


thanks
curt

Re: Track Insurance
 

You mean people get hurt in race cars?

No offense to Curt or anyone else, but so few people think:"It can't happen to me/us." Well it can and most likely something will to almost every driver who straps in. Curt is right about needing insurance and as Billy pointed out the Rice family has a good policy.

So many people say things like"it's a mans' sport" and things like that when track safety and insurance is pointed out, but the truth is these are very serious issues that should be addressed.

Re: Track Insurance
 

Please call 800-378-4608 or email at stida22@aol.com with any questions or concerns about STIDA www.stida.com

Re: Track Insurance
 

Thats what happened to Todd & Troy Shields. After Todd got hurt/burt at Sumner IL Jerry, their dad explained to me how none of the local tracks had enough insurance and thats why he wouldn't race anymore. This information isn't really new but needed to be posted.

Thanks Curt, best wishes to you all and for Kenny. :thumb

Re: Track Insurance
 

Curt, Thanks for this post. I hope you do not mind but I copied your post and posted it on our local micro message board. I am sure most people (including myself) have no idea what kind of insurance any of the tracks have that we race at. Some tracks do not even have an ambulance at the track. Also I have not heard any new updates on Kenny's recovery. Often think about seeing you guys at the Grands and knowing you would be one more car we would have to contend with. You guys were always fast. They were great times.
Best wishes The Bodines Big Daddy BBQ #99

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It is stupid of me to not think about this but I was just ready to go racing.Didnt never think about the insurance part just assumed the track's had insurance.But since this came up I will be looking into it.Thanks for opening up another racers eyes.

Re: Track Insurance
 

Curt makes a good point. You need to be responsible for yourself. STIDA is a good choice. I know that having it eased the burden on my family. And then there is the issue of safety equipment. Dont cut corners there. I know new safety equipment cost money, and we all know how hard that is to come by. But Helmets wear out, belts strecth, and so on. Take time before you climb in this spring and make sure your giving yourself every chance to walk away when that wreck happens to you. Physicaly and finacially. Robert McIntosh

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by mcintosh34:
........ And then there is the issue of safety equipment. Don't cut corners there......

GREAT advice! :respect: A couple years ago I was worrying about my son's plans to move my grandson up to mini-sprints as soon as he could afford it. I knew Bill and Scott Baue, so I cornered Scott at a race and asked about some issues involved with having a close relative driving race cars. To sum up Scott's advice, just read the part of Robert's post that I quoted above. Scott told me the same thing.

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i wasn`t going to join in this but................. i have to ask what does the track pay for insurance premiums? not only for drivers and crew members but what about spectators getting hurt? is it the same policy? Or do they have to purchase separate policy`s? I`m positive the track stance has been adopted thru the promotors workshops and the attitude the tracks have towards making the racer pay all the bills. having attended one in reno a few years back....anyone else find it`s strange that they dont invite many racers to their workshops?

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by grinch:
i wasn`t going to join in this but................. i have to ask what does the track pay for insurance premiums? not only for drivers and crew members but what about spectators getting hurt? is it the same policy? Or do they have to purchase separate policy`s? I`m positive the track stance has been adopted thru the promotors workshops and the attitude the tracks have towards making the racer pay all the bills. having attended one in reno a few years back....anyone else find it`s strange that they dont invite many racers to their workshops?

It's called "Racing Promoter's Workshop" for a reason....if you were a race track promoter. you'd likely get an invite........

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ah....but thats just what happened. as the v/p of a touring series i was invited to the reno work shop........as a lifelong racer i didn`t like what i heard. but this post questions how much the promotor pays for insurance.

Re: Track Insurance
 

This is the very reason you run your race team as a business. You put all the team assets in your personal name then lease them to the race team for a fee, You then hire all persons including the driver as contract labor and buy a workers comp policy. This all sounds expensive but its not when you look at what can happen. This also protects your personal property from being attached in a court of law. We then also carry a general liability insurance just in case a spectator gets hurt by one of our cars or a part of our car. In all this cost us around 2500.00 per year. cheap when you look at what life long care and emergency care cost . I had my company attorney set all this up for us a one time fee of 1000.00. This included the Limited Liability Company setup.

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by grinch:
ah....but thats just what happened. as the v/p of a touring series i was invited to the reno work shop........as a lifelong racer i didn`t like what i heard. but this post questions how much the promotor pays for insurance.

Wouldn't the important thing not be what a promotor pays for insurance but what the coverage consists of?

Julie

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by sc96:
This is the very reason you run your race team as a business. You put all the team assets in your personal name then lease them to the race team for a fee, You then hire all persons including the driver as contract labor and buy a workers comp policy. This all sounds expensive but its not when you look at what can happen. This also protects your personal property from being attached in a court of law. We then also carry a general liability insurance just in case a spectator gets hurt by one of our cars or a part of our car. In all this cost us around 2500.00 per year. cheap when you look at what life long care and emergency care cost . I had my company attorney set all this up for us a one time fee of 1000.00. This included the Limited Liability Company setup.

Sounds like great advice but do you now have to pay witholding on the driver and the crew?

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by badgerfan:
Sounds like great advice but do you now have to pay witholding on the driver and the crew?

The driver and help are contract labor so no I do not pay withholding on them.

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by sc96:
The driver and help are contract labor so no I do not pay withholding on them.

That reminds me....you owe me a dollar. Happy 2009! :rolling
David.

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by grinch:
ah....but thats just what happened. as the v/p of a touring series i was invited to the reno work shop........as a lifelong racer i didn`t like what i heard. but this post questions how much the promotor pays for insurance.

But as the V/P pf a touring series, you had a legitimate reason to either ask the promoters what insurance they had in place(to insure that your racers' were covered) or call and insurer like K&K to get a rough quote.....

I'm sure each track/promoter pays a different rate based on track size, safety features(guard rails or no guard rails, as an example), class(es) of cars competing, fan safety/security...among many things...

Re: Track Insurance
 

Originally Posted by Ovalmeister:
That reminds me....you owe me a dollar. Happy 2009! :rolling
David.

The check is in the mail .

Re: Track Insurance
 

Stida was something we "thought" about last season. This season it's a "must buy". We'll be calling you before Lawrenceburg opens.

Your post is an eye opener Curt.