Hello, I have been intending to join the forum for a while and this topic has pushed me to finally get it done. First of all I'm curious as to what glimmer of hope Ross has, anything to help ease the pain of insurance should be a big help to get more people and cars out on the stages. I run an insurance brokerage in Peterborough and am aware of the challenges everyone has to go through to get proper coverage.
I had the dream a few years ago of buying a rally car, did a Facility quote and couldn't believe the price. Over $2,000 a year for a car that would be driven maybe 6 days max. In Toronto it must be $3,000-4,000 for the year, how do you guys do it?
Facility really is the only option, and any broker HAS to provide you with insurance. The best thing to do is contact the same broker you have your street car and home with, at least they have more incentive to help you out. Faciltiy does not pay comission like a regular insurance company, so we really don't make any money on a policy with them. As Martin pointed out on the other forum an appraisal/inspection of the car is required, which is pointless because you are only buying liability coverage, no physical damage coverage for the car. But insurance companies love rules that make no sense and make our lives more difficult!
The best way to save money is to insure the car for the least amount of time possible. Ex: Start the policy May 1st for Lanark and cancel Nov. 29th the day after Tall Pines. Then you are only paying for 7 months coverage plus a small penalty for cancelling early. Doing this over and over will annoy most bokers, but make it as easy on us as possible by giving plenty of notice and having your paperwork organized and ready.
Hope that my rambling helps out, and would be happy to answer any questions. I'm not looking to get into the business of insuring rally cars, but can try to help anyone that's in a jam...perahps in exchange for letting a rookie co-driver ride along some day