Ring Insurance
Discussion
</snigger>
This has come up a number of times over the years but I can't seem to find a definitive answer. I am putting together a trip to Germany which includes some ring laps and a couple of people have asked about getting insurance for the/their ring. I understand that this is quite important here as you can be liable for damage caused for the infrastructure itself.
So what do people do?
This has come up a number of times over the years but I can't seem to find a definitive answer. I am putting together a trip to Germany which includes some ring laps and a couple of people have asked about getting insurance for the/their ring. I understand that this is quite important here as you can be liable for damage caused for the infrastructure itself.
So what do people do?
Safest option is to do a trackday or rent something from RSR Nürburg.
I'm dealing with three nurburgring claims at the moment:
1 - Biker lost his arm. Says UK driver caused accident. Liability disputed.
2 - German car hit UK car then failed to stop. German denies liability.
3 - multi car accident. Very high value.
Two of the aforementioned cases involve very significant amounts of money that _potentially_ the driver is liable to pay.
Forget about the it's a road like Monaco, IoM argument. it isn't.
I'm dealing with three nurburgring claims at the moment:
1 - Biker lost his arm. Says UK driver caused accident. Liability disputed.
2 - German car hit UK car then failed to stop. German denies liability.
3 - multi car accident. Very high value.
Two of the aforementioned cases involve very significant amounts of money that _potentially_ the driver is liable to pay.
Forget about the it's a road like Monaco, IoM argument. it isn't.
Martian O said:
There, that's better! 
I've hired from all the companies at the 'Ring, R4R is by far the best.
I've rented from a few of the local companies. it depends what you want. RSR Nurburg has by far the best cars; Lamborghini, Ferrari 458, GT3, etc. if you're after a Swift then go see Dale at R4R. I've hired from all the companies at the 'Ring, R4R is by far the best.
Martian O said:
agtlaw said:
Safest option is to do a trackday or rent something from Rent4Ring....
There, that's better! I've hired from all the companies at the 'Ring, R4R is by far the best.
Is there really no option to get something like 1 day insurance cover at the Ring?
agtlaw said:
Martian O said:
There, that's better!
I've hired from all the companies at the 'Ring, R4R is by far the best.
I've rented from a few of the local companies. it depends what you want. RSR Nurburg has by far the best cars; Lamborghini, Ferrari 458, GT3, etc. if you're after a Swift then go see Dale at R4R. I've hired from all the companies at the 'Ring, R4R is by far the best.
Shame that my two experiences with RSR were that they were incompetant when I turned up to collect the pre-booked car. "No car reserved for you sir, oh you have the email print-out"........
I've taken my 911 and 360 on a number of occasions, just be aware of what's going on around you and don't get into lap timing on TF days.
Edited by Martian O on Thursday 20th December 12:46
agtlaw said:
If its your 1st trip then a swift is probably fast enough.
Wasn't talking about speed 
Would just prefer to go round in something a bit more exciting then a luke warm FWD hatchback, even if they'd modded it a bit.
The BRZ which is a bit more interesting is 459 euro's which I think is a bit steep for less than an hours track time. I still think if you cculd find an insurance company that did 1 day ring cover for £150 say they'd still be quids in and it would be better value.
agtlaw said:
Olivera said:
Other option is to man-up, use your own car (with mandatory 3rd party cover from your uk policy), and be careful not to hit anything.
That's fine right up to the point that you're repaying your insurer the £100,000 settlement. Olivera said:
How likely is that to occur? In ten years of reading PH, Northloop and the media in general I've never heard of a UK driver having to either pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation out of their own pocket, or be bankrupted by such a cost. I've no doubt it could occur (and possibly does in one or two cases), but like all things in life you must weight up the probabilities and make your own decision.
The reality is that you gamble your car and everything you own on every lap. I've dealt with dozens of problem cases and i have no doubt that there are dozens more i don't know about. They don't get put on the internet so I wouldn't expect you to hear of them. Settlements between driver and insurer are common. You need to open your eyes to the massive risk you take on every lap.
Martian O said:
TBH, I've punted a R4R stage 2 Swift and Corsa around the 'Ring far faster than 80% of the GT3 'driving gods' who turn up on a TF Sunday!
Just because it's a 'Ring prepared hatch doesn't necessarily mean they're slow, just that the driver loses a bit on the straights.
Again I wasn't talking about speed. Given the choice between a Corsa and a GT3, I know which I'd rather be in, even if I was slower Just because it's a 'Ring prepared hatch doesn't necessarily mean they're slow, just that the driver loses a bit on the straights.
Just surprised that there don't seem to be any insurers willing to take on what I expect would be an easy money maker. Statistically how many people are likely to write off their car compared to what you could charge for 1 days insurance? Just make the excess high enough to discourage people from going mental because they are insured (say £3000) but give them the cover to protect against the worst case life ruining scenarios.
agtlaw said:
The reality is that you gamble your car and everything you own on every lap. I've dealt with dozens of problem cases and i have no doubt that there are dozens more i don't know about. They don't get put on the internet so I wouldn't expect you to hear of them. Settlements between driver and insurer are common. You need to open your eyes to the massive risk you take on every lap.
Massive risk? No. A tiny risk, but one with potentially grave consequences. A bit like anything that is fun. Guvernator said:
Martian O said:
TBH, I've punted a R4R stage 2 Swift and Corsa around the 'Ring far faster than 80% of the GT3 'driving gods' who turn up on a TF Sunday!
Just because it's a 'Ring prepared hatch doesn't necessarily mean they're slow, just that the driver loses a bit on the straights.
Again I wasn't talking about speed. Given the choice between a Corsa and a GT3, I know which I'd rather be in, even if I was slower Just because it's a 'Ring prepared hatch doesn't necessarily mean they're slow, just that the driver loses a bit on the straights.
Just surprised that there don't seem to be any insurers willing to take on what I expect would be an easy money maker. Statistically how many people are likely to write off their car compared to what you could charge for 1 days insurance? Just make the excess high enough to discourage people from going mental because they are insured (say £3000) but give them the cover to protect against the worst case life ruining scenarios.
Plenty (well one or two) of insurers will provide add on first party cover for track days or even TF at the 'ring.
Have a look and see if you can find anyone willing to provide 3rd party cover as a by the day add-on to an existing policy for anything let alone TF.
If you can they would be the people to approach.
This is a summary replying to the original question driving a UK car on UK insurance :
Normal UK car policies specifically exclude the Nordschleife in their small print. 3rd party cover is still in force but due to the small print any potential payout by the insurance company can be recovered from you by the underwriter. Now imagine the sums of money involved if you run over a motorcyclist. Your house could be at risk if you own it.
Private trackdays are an easier issue as nobody is insured to cover the costs of anyone else and you will sign a disclaimer to that fact also. Personal and separate car insurance can be purchased to afford your car cover if it is damaged. Some of the companies apply a huge excess typically 10% the value of the car.
If you can insure your car in Germany then you will be covered by the German Insurance but this is not easy to do for obvious reasons.
Driving on a TF day is a risk ... a big one. If you have naff all to your name and drive a shed then you personally have very little risk. If you own your own house and have a reasonably expensive car then there is a little more to think about.
If you damage any of the barriers you will be held there until you can pay or your car will be confiscated , if there is anything left of it !
To give an idea of cost , a mate insured his GT3 for a DN trackday closed to the public and it cost him £565 for the day. This was only to cover damage to his car , nothing else.
Go there with your eyes open and make an informed decision as to the risks. No one drives it with the intention of having an accident but the close proximity of the barriers combined with the huge speeds achievable mixed in with the motorcycles different lines and general race track attitudes make it quite a risky ( but rewarding ) place to drive.
Normal UK car policies specifically exclude the Nordschleife in their small print. 3rd party cover is still in force but due to the small print any potential payout by the insurance company can be recovered from you by the underwriter. Now imagine the sums of money involved if you run over a motorcyclist. Your house could be at risk if you own it.
Private trackdays are an easier issue as nobody is insured to cover the costs of anyone else and you will sign a disclaimer to that fact also. Personal and separate car insurance can be purchased to afford your car cover if it is damaged. Some of the companies apply a huge excess typically 10% the value of the car.
If you can insure your car in Germany then you will be covered by the German Insurance but this is not easy to do for obvious reasons.
Driving on a TF day is a risk ... a big one. If you have naff all to your name and drive a shed then you personally have very little risk. If you own your own house and have a reasonably expensive car then there is a little more to think about.
If you damage any of the barriers you will be held there until you can pay or your car will be confiscated , if there is anything left of it !
To give an idea of cost , a mate insured his GT3 for a DN trackday closed to the public and it cost him £565 for the day. This was only to cover damage to his car , nothing else.
Go there with your eyes open and make an informed decision as to the risks. No one drives it with the intention of having an accident but the close proximity of the barriers combined with the huge speeds achievable mixed in with the motorcycles different lines and general race track attitudes make it quite a risky ( but rewarding ) place to drive.
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