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Liability of racetrack on my property

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insider

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What is the name of your state?MI Lets assume I want to construct a racing track on my property for my use and with some friends. Also assume that I did go through the Special Land Use permits & it was granted for my zoning. Also assume that I did not inform my homeowners insurance that I was doing this activity. Would I need additional insurance other than homeowners for liability? Could my homeowners insurance be cancelled or increased if they found out about this activity? What is the downside..? Thanks
 


insider said:
What is the name of your state?MI Lets assume I want to construct a racing track on my property for my use and with some friends. Also assume that I did go through the Special Land Use permits & it was granted for my zoning. Also assume that I did not inform my homeowners insurance that I was doing this activity. Would I need additional insurance other than homeowners for liability? Could my homeowners insurance be cancelled or increased if they found out about this activity? What is the downside..? Thanks
Do you currently have liability on your homeowner's? If you do not, then you would need to get a very high liability policy - possibly an Umbrella policy. If you would even be able to get it.

Yes, there is a very good chance that the liability would be cancelled as soon as the company found out about the race track. Companies don't want anymore liability than what is "normal".

Just like trampolines, swimming pools & big, mean dogs, race tracks are a no no with insurance companies.
 
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insider

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I suspected as much. So you know, it's not my battle as the one proposing this activity. I'm a resident who lives adjacent to the proposed activity location. Thanks for the reply.
 
insider said:
I suspected as much. So you know, it's not my battle as the one proposing this activity. I'm a resident who lives adjacent to the proposed activity location. Thanks for the reply.
We had one set up on our county correction line. They would race until all hours of the night. There are some homes very close to the track & the people that lived in these houses said that it sounded like the bikes were coming through the walls.

The people starting the track were taken in front of the county commission because they did NOT have the permits to have a bike track. They ended up getting approved with a lot of stipulations. Some of the stipulations are that they can only ride until 9 p.m. They can not ride on any major holidays. They have a build a high fence around the property (I think that is more safety of drivers since the road curves very sharp). They can only have a certain number of bikes going at one time due to noise.
 
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insider

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I attended the initial planning meeting where this was proposed. Much of the same stipulations were mentioned. However, this is not wide open-land, more of a rural-residential neighborhood with many homes within 400 feet of the proposed location. The board did mention that one conisderation would be if proposal would be "harmonious with the area"...which it is obviously not. Our hope is that once the "proposer" is required to jump through the many hoops, it's just not practical with the noise screening, access, drainage etc. But, with the types of people currently in our local township government offices...I will say you can't "count the chickens before they're hatched". I do think their homeowners insurance company would be interested in the proposal, now that it's public knowledge...Thanks
 
I

insider

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Still in MI. I was informed that notifying the resident in question's Homeowners insurance agent of the past activity & proposed activity may be considered "infringing the right for them to run/operate a business". Is this so?
 
If you left the tip anonymously, how would they know who left it?

Many homeowner insurance companies specifically prohibit operating a business on the insured property. If someone left me an anonymous tip that one of my clients was running a race track on property that I insure as a private residence, I'd go check it for myself. I'd do the same thing if the call mentioned a trampoline, an empty pool being used as a skate-park, a day-care, or anything that is strictly prohibited.

You might call *your* insurance agent and ask. They'd have a better idea of how policies in your state read.
 
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insider

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How would you know?

Michigan....How would one go about ever determining what specific insurance company, or if property even has a homeowners insurance policy in place? Assume asking the owner is not an option here...
 
Do they have another meeting set up to discuss the track? If so, I would ask to see a liability policy that is written to cover the track & people that will be walking by &/or riding on it.
 
I

insider

Guest
Yes, we attended a meeting last Thursday, and the question of liability was brought up. The people claimed that even though 200~300 typically people show up, it was all close friends & family, so they are not worried about liability. It was than suggested that nobody has 200~300 close friends.... Although approval was denied, the threat was made to continue the activity regardless. I believe if their homeowners insurance company was aware, they would be dropped like a hot potato. Just no way to know who insures the property
 
If they continue to operate after being denied, I would contact the police every time that they do it.

Unless they are willing to give you the information of who carries their insurance, there isn't a way to find out (due to privacy issues).
 

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