http://www.nastyz28.com/ubb/Forum23/HTML/002193.html

 

Can you blame them?

 

So now you cant even go to the track and participate in legal racing........ I can understand them not coverering you or your car while at the track. What is this going to do to the people who have decided to race at the track instead of the street?

 

This isn't surprising. To maximise profits, insurance companies want to pay out as little as possible while still retaining customers.

At the track, remove or tape over your license plates. Track officials do not rely on your license plates as they use other methods of identifying your vehicle (i.e. numbers written or affixed to the window glass).

Insurance companies do not have the manpower nor the budgets to attend every single track day, autocross, or drag event. If you post pics of your cars online, use Photoshop or other software to 'remove' identifying info before posting.

I've had my insurance cancelled once before, based upon hearsay testimony given by a body shop technician. I casually mentioned to the tech that I'd attended (just) one autocross event. My car was in the shop for minor damage unrelated to the autocross. The company made good on the repairs but cancelled my coverage "due to engaging in competition events" (paraphrasing). Moral of the story? Don't file false claims or commit other forms of fraud but also don't discuss anything performance-related with the bozos at a repair facility.

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

I'm not sure I agree with that whole "If they're racing at the track they're likely to speed" I'd be inclined to think people who race legally would be less likely to speed because they know where it appropriate to drive fast and where it's not . . . and since when was having a filter, tires that don't suck, and a muffler heavily modified?

edit: the more I think about it, the tire thing pisses me off, they should give discounts for mounting good tires, it's just common sense, better tires = better handling = better accident avoidance = less money they have to shell out when a deer decides it likes your car

 

Total bs... cancel our insurance for being good drivers and racing on the track and not the street, even though we pay an arm and a leg for it(508$ a month) And some 85 yr old lady that can't see **** and doesn't check her blind spots while she tries to merge into you(happens to me almost everyday) just an accident in the making is paying 100$ a year.... Gotta LOVE IT

 

Its only a matter of time before the insurance companies insist on data loggers in cars.

There are already trial schemes operating where a black box logs speeds and g-loads from cornering, braking, and acceleration. People that drive carefully can then be rewarded by not having their premiums increased as drastically as everyone else. People are being encouraged to participate in these schemes by receiving an introductory discount on their insurance.

Twenty minutes into the future: once this is coupled into the mandatory on-board GPS, you will automatically be issued speeding tickets and your insurance premium will be automatically increased to reflect these. Its all possible right now.

 

I believe that falls under invasion of privacy and you might be able to get it under search and seizure, they're entering your car to monitor you without a warrant/probable cause

 

I auto-x my car. I am not insured while competing - fine, I don't expect to be. However, I would be pissed if my insurer cancelled my policy just because I auto-x.

They claim that people that race are more aggressive and they don't want those people on their books. What they are forgetting is that those same people are more experienced with handling their car - dealing with skids etc. I'm sure this must offset some of the risk. Furthermore, anyone that buys a performance car probably does so because they enjoy performance. That is why we pay a higher premium already.

 

Some cars already have black boxes in them. The Corvette is a perfect example which basically monitors your cars telemetry. This acts as a double edge sword basically; it helps you when dealing with the dealer for repair, and it doesn't help you when you're speeding and get into an accident. Some rental companies have this type of system employed on their rental vehicles to monitor speeding.

Also, future cars right around 2007 or 2008 will incorperate the new On-Board Diagnostics (OBD-III) system which basically gives the manufactures the ability to monitor your car's emission system from space. It's the same theory behind On-Star; your car hiccups and you have no choice but bring it into the dealer.

Also, some manufuctures were trying to have a proposed legistation that only dealers can work on their cars on 2006 and up vehicles--not you or mom & pop shop down the street can ever work on your ride. . . ever.

These are the things I'm expecting down the road. It took me off guard cause I found out all these tid bits when I attended a TECH II OBD class from GM. Just have to wait and see.

 

They've been trying to do this for years, and they lose every time. It's very anti-competition and I don't believe the US would allow it.

Additionally, while they do have the little black boxes in the car, they're more used for crash investigations. I believe privacy rights advocates will have a fit if insurance companies, car makers and the authorities tried to monitor your vehicle in such a fashion that they could auto ticket you and up your insurance. Doing so would give authorities the ability to track every individual at all times and I just don't see it happening.

Weirder things have happened though. If they start doing that, I'll have a fast car that is uninsured and only drive it on tracks and I'll have an econo bucket for getting to work and back.