Trackday insurer sues participant

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David
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Trackday insurer sues participant

Post by David » Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:58 pm

I've been following this for a while, but this is worth reading. Basically REIS took a Honda Civic driver to court to recover losses they paid out following an accident to a Caterham. The Civic collided after lift-off oversteer following a yellow flag for the Caterham spinning.

It worth noting that, in law, it is not possible to disclaim against negligence. It is therefor important that you drive with 'due care' when in the proximity of other drivers.

Chaucer Insurance press release (supplied to me by Phil Barnard, Head of Motorsport Broking, REIS):

REIS are a leading track day* (see definition below) insurance broker who arranges
motorsport and track day insurance policies through Chaucer Insurance. Chaucer
Insurance has been underwriting specialist motorsport insurance for 15 years.
REIS offer an accidental damage policy to cover participants for damage to their own
vehicles. The track day fraternity generally accepts that all participants pay for
damage sustained to their own vehicles, regardless of the circumstances and every
participant signs a disclaimer intended to put this principle into effect. However, we
have had our concerns regarding the validity of these disclaimers and their ability to
protect individual track day participants from suing each other in the event of damage
to their vehicles.
In agreement with our policyholder following significant damage to his vehicle
through no fault of his own, we pursued a recovery from a driver who had collided
with our insured’s stationary vehicle on the grass verge just off the track. At the court
hearing last week it was held by the judge that the disclaimer did not protect the track
day participant who caused damage to a vehicle that Chaucer Insurance covered
under a policy arranged through REIS. The participant was ordered to pay for the
damage he had caused to the other vehicle, as a result of his negligence which was
established by the court through CCTV evidence.
In this instance, Chaucer Insurance will not be pursuing the award issued to them by
the county court. Last weeks court case does not set a precedent for any future
actions as the claim was held in a court of 1st Instance.
Now that it has been established that current disclaimers are not protecting track day
participants sufficiently, we have taken legal advice which recommends that the
following clause to be inserted into track day disclaimers:
‘It is a condition of your participation of the activity, or activities, in which you
intend to take part that in the event of accident, loss or damage occurring
during such activity or activities you will not pursue any claim for damages
against any other participant (save in respect of injury or death)’
Under the provisions of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 it is not possible to
exclude potential liability for injury or death.
If this clause is inserted into all disclaimers and every participant signs the document
prior to commencing the activity then it is the view of our legal opinion that a court
would enforce the clause.
Please be assured that REIS and Chaucer remain committed to a vibrant and
exciting track day market. Implementation of the above clause should ensure that it
remains so.
*A track day is a non-competitive event that allows an individual to drive their vehicle
outside of the Road Traffic Act requirements. There is no racing; lap timing; time,
speed or distance targets; or winners and losers.
[End]
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j2 lot
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Re: Trackday insurer sues participant

Post by j2 lot » Fri Sep 27, 2013 5:48 pm

Am I reading this right - they won the case and were awarded damages against the Civic driver for his carelessness but are not going to pursue said damages but are requesting that all track day participants sign a disclaimer that they won't sue third parties who run into them on future track days ?
I am a bit confused as to why they pursued the claim in the first case if I am right - other than to establish the legal precident which they say it has not done :?
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robin
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Re: Trackday insurer sues participant

Post by robin » Fri Sep 27, 2013 6:22 pm

Presumably because they wanted to clarify the situation - it's not clear, but maybe they felt in other circumstances they may have become liable for a claim against them (e.g. had they been insuring the civic and not the caterham). By winning this award they've shown the track day organizers that a better disclaimer is required, which is probably what their goal was in the first place.

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David
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Re: Trackday insurer sues participant

Post by David » Fri Sep 27, 2013 6:31 pm

There was a huge backlash on Pistonheads. Basically they were looking at loosing all their motorsport business. It seems that people didn't like the idea of REIS not taking the loss and suing individuals that they (and the industry) refuses to provide a product that covers third party risk. It really amounts to a financial scam.
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