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Duff,
You’re asking exactly the right questions, IMHO. I asked the same ones a couple seasons ago and really didn’t get good answers. So I just pulled out the flyer for the WKA insurance program. Note that it says that it’s only a summary and to “please refer to the policy” for more info. I sure wish they’d put the full policy on their web site to make it easier. But here are some the key points from the summary:
There are two parts of the insurance: A “Master Event Liability Program” and a “Participant Accident Program.”
The Master Event Liability Program provides $1M of general liability coverage for each occurence at all WKA approved events. This seems basically to cover the track, covering for instance, “bodily injury and property damage protection in the event of lawsuits brought by participants.” It also includes spectator liability. However, it also says that it covers “Any participant, competition vehicle owner, and competition vehicle sponsor in conjunction with approved WKA events.” I take that to mean that if a wheel flies off your kart and hits a spectator, the insurance would cover a claim against you. But I’m no attorney! But would it cover you if a Junior parent is upset because the Junior was injured by you while racing in an event that included adults and minors? I have no clue, since that presumably is not in conformance with WKA class rules. (God knows what they’d think of running karts and motorcycles at the same time during practice sessions….) :bs:
The Participant Accident Program covers “insured persons participating in racing events held at sanctioned tracks” and includes practicing, tuning and testing, as well as racing. It provides $20K of coverage for accident medical expenses, with a $500 deductible; the deductible is waived if you have other “valid and collectible insurance.” (It also provides $5K accidental death and $2500 accidental dismemberment coverage. 🙁 ) When I actually spoke with someone from IKF a couple years ago, I thought they said that this coverage kicks in only after your own insurance pays, but I don’t see anything to that effect in the summary flyer (of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not hidden in the fine print of the actual policy to which we’re supposed to refer.)
Who is covered by the Participant Accident Program? “Driver participants and Non-Driver participants in a covered event which has been endorsed onto the policy and for which the appropriate premium has been paid and who has signed a valid waiver and release of indemnity.”
What’s covered?
1) treatment by a licensed physician/surgeon (but not dental treatment, so don’t chip your teeth!)
2) X-rays
3) Confinement in a hospital (hmm, I wonder if that covers ER charges if you don’t stay overnight?….)
4) Ambulance from the event
5) Up to $1k max for physiotherapy (aka physical therapy?)BTW, all this is from the 2004 WKA insurance flyer, and the carrier is American Specialty Insurance Services. My recollection is that the IKF summary was very similar (I think both use the same carrier).
Anyone know how SKUSA’s insurance compares, or that provided by CSC last year?
My own bottom line is still that if you’re going to race, you’d better make sure you have good medical coverage. WKA and related kinds of insurance would be good to cover anything your own medical coverage might not (for example, I’ve heard that personal insurance won’t always cover the full ambulance ride). But the main value seems to me to cover other kinds of liabilities that might arise during an event, for which racers might be the unwitting targets of litigation-happy lawyers. I suspect most of the tracks are covered by limited liability corporation protections, so without this kind of insurance, the rest of us may be a bit too tempting as targets for people who want to sue someone. FWIW.
Brian,
I don’t see what Jesse Egan’s unfortunate accident has to do with anything. He was barrelling into turn 1, made contact with another kart, and flipped. Very unfortunate (and fortunate that he wasn’t hurt seriously), but what does that have to do with CRE, George, or IKF?
After that event I read my IKF policy pretty carefully (and since then I’ve read the WKA policy, which is nearly identical). It’s been a while, and I’m no insurance expert, but my reading of the policies is that they’re not really intended to replace a racer’s personal medical coverage insurance. They might cover some expenses that your own insurance doesn’t, but any of us would be crazy to race without our own, adequate medical insurance.
As I understand it, though, it could be of help if someone else decides to sue us racers as part of a track activity. Say, for instance, that a wheel comes off your kart and flies into a crowd of spectators. The spectator’s attorney might decide to to sue you, as well as the track operator (despite the waiver the spectator signed). That’s where having WKA/IKF/etc. insurance might be handy for us, as well as the track operators.
More generally, do you have to make everything a personal attack on George and CRE? This thread was really about WKA as one option for affiliation for CSC. That’s a useful discussion, let’s not make it a personal pissing match, OK? :cheers:
Rodney,
I think we’re in agreement. Clear, published rules that conform to national standards and that are enforced uniformly and consistently.
Merry Christmas! :cheers:
Doug,
I think we may be able to join you in the Junior ranks, again assuming no other major conflicts.
I’ll definitely agree about Victory Circle Graphics. AJ does absolutely top quality work, and will customize to meet YOUR objectives.
Brad Fleming asks an interesting question–why does CSC allow TAG Jrs to run a full-out Rotax and “make up” for the extra power with extra weight, when there is an accepted Jr version of the motor? (Exactly the same motor, except that it has a different cylinder that lacks the power valve.) Given that the Jr. option exists, is actually less expensive than the full Rotax version, would help reduce confusion about motor differences, and is the standard everywhere else in the country, why don’t we follow that model? :idn:
The only reason I can think of is that a few people have a senior motor and don’t want to invest in the new cylinder. I was in that situation, but was happy enough to get a Jr. cylinder and have it installed and sealed for $60. Then just save the Sr. cylinder until your kid is ready to move, and switch back–almost no cost to move up a class!
Don, we can argue till we’re blue in the face about whether to “trust” a sealed engine. As others have pointed out, a dealer would be nuts to cheat on this; if you get caught you lose the franchise and all your credibility. For a few hundred bucks? Doesn’t make much business sense. “The seal is the deal” works on a national and international level with the Rotax Max Challenge–why wouldn’t it work in CSC??? (Moreover, as Doug Welch pointed out a few weeks ago, racers who want to compete in RMax Challenge series races are not going to be willing to be torn down and have to pay a few hundred bucks to get it re-sealed. )
Seemed at least 3 pounds light to us (maybe more, not sure exactly what our fuel level was last time).
For those of you who don’t know Mike, he’s trying to pull the wool over your eyes with references to being a geezer or a fat guy! If I was still running Masters, I’d probably tell him to run 13:70 just to give the real geezers a chance! :cheers:
Scott,
Make sure the floats aren’t in upside down. That’s easy to do, and will result in the valve being totally closed (and thus not allow fuel into the bowl).
See 10th image down on this URL (which is in Japanese). If you let your mouse slide over it, the image will change to show the bracket as its mounted. Looks pretty cool to me….
http://www.eikoms.com/item/rotaxoption.htm
I also like the jet holder on that page–anyone know where to find one of those?
Mike,
Where did you get the support? I bought one from Speedquest, but it sounds a bit different from the one you describe. I think it cost a few bucks more, and it supports the end of the starter near where it bolts to the engine, rather than the far end. I recently saw a support–on a Japanese web page–that sounds more like what you describe, but was told that it’s not a official Rotax-approved part (for those who care about such things).
Well, that was certainly a good role model for a constructive post. 🙄
The reality is that reliably hearing PA announcements can often be difficult, and missing them can be a bummer. Curt has suggested that FM transmission is a better solution than bigger PA systems–that seems constructive.
Perhaps another way of framing Greg’s point is to ask who should pay for it. As I recall, an earlier post suggested that not too many racers were willing to pay more in registration fees in order to have better PA systems. Maybe the FM system is a reasonable compromise by splitting the investment between the tracks (who purchase the FM system instead of bigger PA systems) and the racers (who purchase boom boxes as Curt suggested)? Everyone benefits–racers don’t miss gridding instructions, race directors experience fewer delays, sponsors get more for their investment! :cheers:
