Irish Road Racing Under Threat

[Grimly]

NI races off and it's not looking any better in the Republic.

https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2023/02/10/news/all_road_motorcycle_racing_cancelled_in_northern_ireland_over_soaring_insurance_costs-3051083/

[Cipher]

Good it will teach the gougers a lesson. I assume no one pays entry fees nor have any business who profit from increased tourism stepped up to sponsor.

[Rijko]

SOARING insurance costs have been blamed for a decision to cancel all motorcycle road racing in Northern Ireland this year.

The drastic decision was taken following an emergency meetings of the main clubs who faced paying three times as much for public liability insurance in 2023,

I would be interested to know what urged a 300% insurance fee.
Is there 3 times as much damage in comparison to other years ?

[Cipher]

I would be interested to know what urged a 300% insurance fee.
Is there 3 times as much damage in comparison to other years ?

They are gouging back money lost in other areas. Just like the grocery stores are doing.

[Buffalo Bill]

Absolutely appalling, and sad. We are prisoners of insurance corporations.
We have to note the fatal crashes last summer. Rather kills the joy of the sport.
Imagine after 20 years of racing, and wanting to look back at your joy of racing and friends, but it's spoiled by the memories of deaths and injuries to close friends on the same days you did well.
Depressing even for a spectator.

[Grimly]

I heard the news on RTE radio, ironically enough, as RTE haven't covered a road-race event in the near 30 years I've been living here.

[Brendan W]

Bookies in suits is all they are......
A while back the annual steam thrashing festival was faced with a similar problem.
The machines were deemed too dangerous.
They went ahead on the traditional site without the main attraction but by a curious co-incinence the neighbouring farmer offered free parking, for any steam powered machines that happened to be passing by, in the adjoining field.
Of course the ditch of sceachs, furze, briars and buachallans was an insurmountable obstacle for the public and they were never in any danger and anyway it was a pure accident they ended up there

[bwringer]

I would be interested to know what urged a 300% insurance fee.
Is there 3 times as much damage in comparison to other years ?

Yeah, I was wondering what happened.

It would appear this insurance is for "everybody else", not the riders, if I'm understanding the terms correctly.

Perhaps there were a couple of large lawsuits filed by spectators, or a new kind of lawsuit risk. Or perhaps one insurer went under, or is trying to keep from going under. Or an insurer left, etc.

There's something at the bottom of this, but the article doesn't mention it.

[GregT]

I'm wondering if Brexit has had any influence on the insurance companies.Yes, public liability insurance is effectively for collateral damage. Bike goes into house, house burns down,that's covered. Damage to surroundings and spectators.
Watching it with interest as we still have 3 street circuits here in NZ. One at the Burt Munro actually on tomorrow. The Bluff hillclimb which is part of the Burt actually had spectator injuries for what i think is the first time. Don't know all the details yet but they're already talking about no spectators on the hill next time.
Could be a problem.

[Grimly]

Use to be, even when I'd paid into a venue, there would be a sign...
"Motor Sport is Dangerous.
You pass this point and view this activity at your own risk."
Now, in all probability these signs carried no legal weight, but they certainly re-inforced the point.

[Buffalo Bill]

I did hear Keith Huewen talk about how promoters had to keep event insurance in case the queen died.
Did the whole country shut down for 10 days?

[Grimly]

I did hear Keith Huewen talk about how promoters had to keep event insurance in case the queen died.

Not sure I follow - do you mean if the Queen croaked it just before an event was due to take place?

Did the whole country shut down for 10 days?

Seems like it - a lot of places went into suspended animation for a fortnight and it certainly wasn't met with universal approval.
Otoh, several UK riders found the roads were fairly empty on many of those days, much to their enjoyment.
Same thing happened with the Diana funeral.

[GregT]

Use to be, even when I'd paid into a venue, there would be a sign...
"Motor Sport is Dangerous.
You pass this point and view this activity at your own risk."
Now, in all probability these signs carried no legal weight, but they certainly re-inforced the point.

Printed on tickets and prominent in the programme at all motorsports events here. You are there at your own risk.
No cost accident medical care and wage cover has largely made that irrelevant here anyway - but it's usually still printed.

[Buffalo Bill]

Not sure I follow - do you mean if the Queen croaked it just before an event was due to take place?

Seems like it - a lot of places went into suspended animation for a fortnight and it certainly wasn't met with universal approval.
Otoh, several UK riders found the roads were fairly empty on many of those days, much to their enjoyment.
Same thing happened with the Diana funeral.

Whenever HRH might croak, all events would be cancelled or effected. Promoters bought insurance to cover the loss of investment and profit.

[Brendan W]

Yeah, I was wondering what happened.

It would appear this insurance is for "everybody else", not the riders, if I'm understanding the terms correctly.

Perhaps there were a couple of large lawsuits filed by spectators, or a new kind of lawsuit risk. Or perhaps one insurer went under, or is trying to keep from going under. Or an insurer left, etc.

There's something at the bottom of this, but the article doesn't mention it.

Some or all of those perhaps. Only certain thing is you never get the full story in proper context.
In fairness to the insurance industry, it must be difficult calculating odds when there is no line in the sand when courts get to thinking about things like duty of care and reasonably foreseeable events.
In the long run anything that can happen will happen and that must scare actuaries when the look at a case that never made the news, perhaps, and then have a close look at what up to then was a tiny segment of their business.