Given the risk-averse nature of insurance, it’s not surprising that covering a race car while it hurtles around the track tends to fall outside of the industry’s risk appetite.

But that doesn’t mean race cars are uninsurable.

As Tom Hall, Senior Technical Underwriter at Dawes Motor Insurance explains, race cars usually spend less than 5% of their time racing and can be covered for the other 95% under a storage and restoration cover. If these cars have no insurance cover, they are exposing their owners to unnecessary cost.

“A lot of our policyholders have a race car, and race cars are not necessarily Formula 1 cars. They can range from something that someone has converted from a road car into a race car at home through to off-road race buggies, factory-made GT3 race cars, and historic or classic race cars. By ‘race car,’ we simply mean a car that is not registered for street driving but is fully dedicated to racing use,” Tom says.

What is storage and restoration cover?

Tom explains that storage and restoration cover is a static cover for these vehicles.

“It covers the vehicle for fire, theft and flood risk while it's parked at your client’s house in a secure garage, or at a secure commercial unit,” he says.

“It also covers the vehicle while it's being transported on a trailer or a tow truck to and from a racetrack or car show, as well as while it’s parked statically at the racetrack, for instance, in the pit garage.”

Tom adds that Dawes’ storage and restoration cover isn’t just for race cars.

“It can cover a vehicle that is someone’s pride and joy but may be unused and unregistered. Perhaps it’s undergoing restoration or is being stored while it appreciates in value.”

The risk of underinsurance

However, many insurers won’t cover cars that aren't, or cannot be, registered for road use, and if brokers aren’t aware that this cover exists, it can leave their clients exposed and underinsured, Tom warns.

“These cars can be quite valuable, from $50,000 up to well over a million dollars, so it's important that they're insured properly. For example, what would happen if it’s in a client’s garage and that burns down? Contents insurance is unlikely to cover a motor vehicle, so it's very important to make sure it’s separately insured.”

As a specialty underwriter, Tom says Dawes understands specialist vehicles such as custom-built race cars, custom-built drag cars, historic race cars and classic cars.

First-class insurance with Dawes

With Dawes, your client's prestige, classic and exotic cars and motorcycles are always in expert hands. Visit our website or call us at 1300 188 299 to learn more about our first-class insurance for first-class vehicles.

Dawes Underwriting Australia Pty Ltd t/as Dawes Motor Insurance (ABN 18 050 289 506, AR No.342982) (Dawes) is an Authorised Representative of SGUAS Pty Limited (ABN 15 096 726 895, AFSL 234437) (SGUAS) and acts for the insurer, Allianz Australia Insurance Limited (ABN 15 000 122 850, AFSL 234708) (Allianz). Consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination available by contacting Dawes on 1300 188 288 or visiting www.dawes.com.au, before deciding if it is right for you.