Liability?

#21

[quote=“Steve D” post=61557][quote=“FARTBREF” post=61552]Note to Steve D

Do not come to Colorado…

Al[/quote]See you in Vail on Tuesday, OK?[/quote]

no snow in vail…

#22

[quote=“FARTBREF” post=61607]no snow in vail…[/quote]Bummer. Oh well. The boss man is rehabbing at Steadman so the office holiday party is there. I hear there’s enough snow for cross country skiing. Beats working.

#23

you do realize who you’re talking to right?

#24

Haven’t heard back on a quote for this yet, but K&K Insurance specializes in this kind of thing. They write the policies for some of the local tracks.

#25

It’s not the kind of insurance you are looking for (if you are still looking for liability insurance).

#26

The cheapest form of insurance that is actually freely available to all is to be well liked and respected in the paddock. That won’t protect you from a determined lawyer, but it will minimize the likelihood that some A-hole would seek out the services of a determined lawyer; and if they did, the rest of the racing community would definitely have your back. Coverage for your disability/loss of life/other damages is another issue covered well by others below.

#27

Funny, I met a woman in a hot tub last night that was wearing a cast…she had just come back from Steadman…the world got smaller when I told her I drive race cars every now and then, she explained that the spa where we were is owned by the Whittington Bros, yes the same guys that owned Road Atlanta way back when…I think those guys needed a lawyer or two.

Sorry for the jack

Plenty of snow here at Wolf Creek…

Al

#28

cosm3os and theshoe make excellent points.

Theshoe’s point about life insurance is critical if you have family or people who count on your existence. Let’s face it, people can get seriously hurt in racing. Yes, fatalities are few, but they happen and an once of prevention is worth it. His advice on disclosure is critical. Most people don’r realize that there is a wait time that life insurance companies can enforce for them to investigate the death and make sure there were no material misrepresentations. This is where the family can unknowningly give them information that you should have when you got your policy. The the insurance company has a legal and definable reason for not paying the claim.

cosm3os is also right in the an LLC will not fully protect you. Most people who do that are using it for tax reasons and creating a “real” entity that has real expenses and does not require them to comingle their personal money with anything else. There are lots of benefits of the LLC for the racer and I can see a couple of liability issues it may help with. However, just as a smart attorney might find a way through the LLC, a smarter attorney may find a way to use it to your advantage and it may possibly work. In CA, I have seen cases where you would bet your bottom dollar on the outcome (even having a legal background) and it went the other way. Not sure about the rest of the Country, but in CA it happens.

Futhermore, the LLC may not protect you 100% financially, but there are other methods of use that can help you financially.

I like the advice that your “insurance” starts in the pits. Your reputation is everything and most people would not sue the guy that is always nice to see at the track because he made a racing error or was just simply involved. The family of the other driver might not be so understanding, but the waivers that are signed and the inherant danger racing presents are strong arguements in front of a jury. Without getting too into that part of this (way to lengthy), sufice to say that for every lawyer that says he will get to the source and make them pay, there is another that will say “Well, I don’t know about that and I disagree.”