| Just copied this from MCN
Happened longer ago than i remembered but its STILL valid.
Road policy pays out for track day crash
A RIDER who crashed on a track day has won a two-year battle to force his insurance company to pay his accident claim.
25 Oct 1999
MCN Reporter
Industry watchdogs ordered the unnamed insurers to settle after refusing to accept that the terms of the policy, which included a standard ?no racing? clause, excluded simply riding on a track.
The ruling is certain to trigger similar claims and challenges the long-held notion that normal policies for road bikes won?t cover riding on a circuit. And, according to the Association of British Insurers, there is ?little danger? of insurance companies rewording policies to exclude track days in the light of the ruling.
A spokesman said: ?There may be a small risk of increased premiums for riders who regularly attend track days, but to rewrite policies would be to go against the spirit of the whole ruling.?
Few details have been revealed about the landmark case, other than that the rider crashed his Aprilia RS250 at 60mph during an event at Donington Park in 1997. His insurers refused to accept liability, citing an ?exclusion for racing? clause in most policies which covers racing or pace-making, any trial or speed contest, competition or rally.
But the industry?s ombudsman ? the ultimate authority on insurance matters ? ruled that taking part in a track day could not be considered a form of racing as it didn?t involve any of the activities listed.
Spokeswoman Reidy Flynn said: ?For years people have assumed they weren?t covered for track days, but it is now clear that?s not the case. The argument that any use of a bike on a track is a form of racing cannot be accepted.?
The rider?s complaint was upheld thanks to evidence from the track day?s organiser, Track Attack, which proved riders were supervised at all times and even recorded on a network of CCTV cameras. They confirmed riders were neither timed nor awarded any finishing positions and were actually encouraged to ride within the limits of their own ability.
The ombudsman concluded that the crash ?could just as easily have happened on the public highway?. The decision has just been revealed and news of it is still filtering through the insurance industry.  |