[lucid]

Originally Posted by jm1234

For my own education, how much of his personal time has he spent on the case?

I think it's being going on for about about half a year, but I have no idea about how much time he has spent on it himself.

Originally Posted by jm1234

I'l bet that with a straight face, you can't make an argument that a reasonable person who heard about all the logic an planning involved (assuming a stock car) would not consider jumping a bus to fall under the intentional damage clause of the policy? I don't think there is a "gray" area in this example.

I was obviously pushing it to make a point. But you can't possibly think that every single driving scenario can be accounted for in a policy, and that there are no gray areas to be encountered in that regard.

Originally Posted by jm1234

Even your friend must feel that way or he wouldn't have risked his legal costs (and maybe the insurance companies too) taking the case to court?

I don't want to be too specific since his case is ongoing, but I will say that he has evidence that he thinks proves he was given the wrong guidance by an employee of the insurance company (not an agent).

Originally Posted by jm1234

I agree there will be some "pain" getting your money, but I do not plan on totaling my car (I'm not jumping a bus with it ). The odds are your going to drive in 10, 20, 30 or more events before it happens. Sure you could go out on the first event and total your car and your insurer could be a dick and for $400 you could save 10-15 hours of your time. That is a legitimate risk and then HPDE insurance would be a good deal. But at the more realistic HPDE accident rates (for a total loss) you will pay $7,000 ($11,000, $15,000 or more) to an HPDE insurer as opposed to your $1,000 deductible on your regular insurance. I've been to court and it's time consuming and sometimes real boring. But if the contract is "gray" as you say then the insurer will wind up covering your legal costs and damages and I can put up with a degree of hassle to save/make that sort of money. Think of it this way, if you totaled your car would you pay someone $6,000 to $15,000 to save 5-10 talking to a lawyer and then 4-8 hours in court?

Well, I don't know of anyone who goes to the track planning to total his car. The thing is it's not that hard to spin a car and put it into a wall once you begin to get the hang of things and start wanting to go faster, or run over spilled coolant or oil. Anyway, I think the rest is subjective. I do agree that insurance companies usually do back down if they think they are faced with a determined person who will go to bat with them. I've done it with health insurance for a major claim and won. But let me tell you that it was not pleasant. As always, it's good to chat with you jm1234. Cheers.