SCCAForums.com

mattm:

Die lizard, die.

Mullen Advertising is their agency. They created the lizard and cavemen.

As noted, they fund speed detecting guns for police departments. They demand the use of non-OEM parts should you have a repair.

Die lizard, die.

 I wonder if they would cancel Mike Wallace?

jhadler:

SteveW:

Don't go to State Farm, either. They were going to drop me for autocrossing but I quit first. That way I could say I've never been cancelled on before. Allstate is good but try not to ever bring up anything but driving between the lane markers and under the speed limit with these people. Ever.

 

Then find another State Farm agent. I know for a fact that State Farm will cover autox and Driver's Ed events. I have had to deal with many insurance companies over the years, and have yet to have a problem with State Farm. The same can't be said for others...

 

-Josh2
 

 It wasn't the agent that wanted to drop me, it was their underwriters. I showed the agent the part of the rulebook that says autocross isn't supposed to be any more dangerous than driving on the street, blah, blah, blah and they had no problem with it. They didn't really know what to say and asked their underwriters for advice. I guess, that's the mistake I made.

Before we get are undergarmets in a twist..

Is this even true?

Just a thought.

Vince

No surprise.

There's a reason certain insurance companies are cheaper than others: They do everything and anything they can to avoid paying claims including cancelling anyone who files or even "might" file a claim. GEICO (only a caveman is stupid enough to sign up with them) is probably the worse followed closely by Travelers (their umbrella has more holes than a block of swiss cheese) and Allstate (their "good hands" are wrapped around yor private parts). These companies are notorious for denying or reducing settlements, they are NOT there to protect their policy holders, only to maximize their profits.

cobrar05:

mattm:

Die lizard, die.

the middle snipped so the start and finish can be abundantly clear

Die lizard, die.

 I wonder if they would cancel Mike Wallace?

Who said they covered him in the first place? They just throw money so they can get stickers on the cars.

Die lizard die.

To amplify the Wallace sponsorship (from another listserv):  If I wanted to watch NASCAR, I'd flush a bag of Skittles down the toilet and bet on which color would win.

And:  I mentioned this to a friend here at work and his comment was "mix them with a talking food, like rice krispies, to simulate the whining and bitching."

i find this very interesting, i took my 16 year old grandson to a street survival course (devensive driving) sanctioned by the BMW car club, so now he gets a discount on his insurance, ,  the whole driving part of the course was an autocross course without the timing lights, the same thing we all do every weekend,,  go figure 

camaroz1985:

 

This is a warning to everyone.

I just got off the phone with my insurance company (Geico) and they informed me that as of the end of the month my insurance policy is being cancelled.  Why might you ask I haven't had an accident.  No moving violations in several years.

The answer:

"We have found out that you have participated in time trial events."

I tried to reason with the lady, and explain to her that I haven't even autocrossed with my Subaru (the car I have insured with them) and that the SCCA has their own liability insurance for their events.  She told me it didn't matter there was nothing she could do and that it was final as of 12:01 AM Jan. 28 2008 I would no longer be covered.

I guess they searched results on the internet and found my name.  I have heard of this being a problem with warranties in the past but after 4 years of autocrossing with my other company (Liberty Mutual) I had never had a problem.

So I am writing here to warn all of you that if you have Geico, cancel your policy now.  They do not respect us for what we do, and therefore I believe do not deserve a single dime from anyone.

I can see why they might hesitate with this issue as some people can't leave it on the track, but the vast majority of autocrossers are responsible enough to not do this.  If anything we are lowering the accident rate through improving our driving skills.

SteveW:

Don't go to State Farm, either. They were going to drop me for autocrossing but I quit first. That way I could say I've never been cancelled on before. Allstate is good but try not to ever bring up anything but driving between the lane markers and under the speed limit with these people. Ever.

hzl6cm:

I haven't had any problems with State Farm.  They paid a claim on my autocross car years ago when it was wrecked while driving home from work even though it had numbers and other autocross decals on it.  Not too long ago they insured my CP car even though it had slicks on it, a roll cage, racing seats, etc. and was sitting on a trailer when their pictures were taken of it.  Of course I wouldn't expect them to pay for any damage to the car that occurred at an event and I think they realize that driving in the events makes you a better drivier on the street.

 Thanks!!! This is good to know as my car has a roll cage as well.  Although I still think it depends on the agent.  I called State Farm and they said basically what you are saying about the coverage.  They won't cover anything at the event (but I wouldn't expect them to), but otherwise don't have a problem.  The agent I spoke with said many of their clients are racers.

Geico will also cancel your insurance for using a radar detector and they are very anti-sports car oriented

Lot's of people have used Allstate, State Farm, etc. for decades without an issue (I've been with the same one for 25+ years, never a problem)

jhadler:

Then find another State Farm agent. I know for a fact that State Farm will cover autox and Driver's Ed events. I have had to deal with many insurance companies over the years, and have yet to have a problem with State Farm. The same can't be said for others...

 

-Josh2
 

Agreed.  My insanely honest wife insisted on listing autocross on our policy.  When they called to ask about it, I explained what it was, referring to it as a "precision driving exercise."  It is actually specified and covered in my policy.  There are millions of agents out there, so definitely shop around.

I personally know of two Washington State incidents where cars were totaled at autocrosses and the insurance companies paid out.  The companies in these cases were Progressive and State Farm.  State Farm dropped the person immediately after paying out, though. 

This doesn't necessarily indicate any precedent, but food for thought. 

Well if you are really concerned about it you could go other route of proving financial responsibility (at least in Texas.) Most people choose the usually insurance companies because it is cheaper but if you need insurance or for one reason or another you have been blacklisted from all the companies you could:

Create a Surety Bond,

Depositing $55,000 with the Comptroller,  

or choose one of the other options that involve large sums of money. 

More information on the subject is here: (Keep in mind this is for Texas residents only)

http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/TN/content/htm/tn.007.00.000601.00.htm 

SteveW:

.. but try not to ever bring up anything but driving between the lane markers and under the speed limit with these people. Ever.

...with hands a ten and two..  Like many other safety/health issues there is an risk management attitude that suggests, if you don't acknowledge a risk, then it doesn't exist, if you prepare for it it makes you more likely to be dangerous. Last night I was driving home on a residential street with a 30 mph speed limit that leads into a street with a 20 mph speed limit. There are always parked cars on the street and pedestrians. The streets are part of a grid, several stop signs. Not only is speeding here dangerous, but usless as the stop signs and what not will usually cancel any advantage. So behind me comes a guy in at maybe 45, 50. He passes me on the right, makes a left in front of some oncoming cars and seriously rolls a stop sign. Looking at it from the insurance companies perspective I'm the greater risk because I'm involved in motorsports.

Curious if there are any real facts to back up the idea that we're a bigger risk. Are all motorsports participants lumped into one group? I've been with State Farm for years, only had minor claims. I wouldn't begin to expect them to cover damage from somthing on course (expensive cone marks). But I expect them to honor my good driving record as proof of the value of my habby and cover me to and from the event.

GIECO fell off of our radar a few years back when our son was attending Ohio State and had them.  He got hit by a hit-and-run vehicle and we tried to get it covered under the uninsured motorist coverage (works for other insurance companies).  Low and behold GIECO claimed that there was mistake when the policy was issued two years prior because the State of Ohio insurance laws "prohibited" the sale of uninsured motorist coverage in that state.  GIECO was going to be gracious and refund the extra money we had paid for this added coverage, but they were NOT going to cover the damage to the car!  I went ballistic!

I researched the Ohio statutes and it turns out that more recent Ohio law does not "require" insurance companies to offer uninsured motorist coverage, but it is NOT prohibited from offering.  When they called me back I laid into them.  The guy made some comment about do giving them "attitude" as they were again going to be gracious and cover the damage to the car, but no more uninsured coverage after that.

The better part of valor here was to take the money and run... which we did and then cancelled the bastards.   That little gecko is a slimmy jerk.  I wish somebody with good Photoshop and FinalCut skills would make a parody commercial of that little gecko getting run over by a car!

I absolutely bash GIECO every chance I get.  They can save your 15% in 15 minutes and cheat you out of thousands of dollars in a heartbeat!  I've been with State Farm for decades and had excellent service and no nasty surprise rate increases, even after I went through a period of having two separate unattentive women plow into my cars within 2 months of each other! 

Sounds like another case of "you get what you pay for".  Their moto should be "So easy a caveman can call and cancel their policy!"

State Farm has been great in my 13 years of coverage FWIW.

fahrvergnugen:

  That little gecko is a slimmy jerk.  I wish somebody with good Photoshop and FinalCut skills would make a parody commercial of that little gecko getting run over by a car!

How about photoshop an M-80 up its butt?

Die lizard, die.

You know I found something quite interesting after watching the show Setup on SPEED Channel.

Geico is one of the main sponsors on the show and the show is geared around amateur racers (including autocrossers) driving for a chance to go Pro.

I just find it to be a conflict of interest when they are sponsoring a show like this with amateur drivers when they will drop you from your car insurance for participating in just autocrossing. 

Though they are a business and we shouldn't be surprised.....

 -Chris