It begins with coffee.
At home before work, an underwriter scrolls through the local news. A cougar is missing from the zoo. Authorities are reviewing video. An odd story, certainly. Then it is time to go to the office.
Later that morning, an underwriting action report arrives concerning an existing insured: Ricky Bobby.
Ricky was a successful NASCAR driver long before his racing accident left him afraid to drive. Now he is trying to return to competition, with a little help from his father, Reese Bobby. The report describes what that help has involved: blindfolded driving, strikes to parked vehicles, a crash into a house, and a separate exercise with a live cougar inside the car.
The underwriter reaches the cougar reference. Stops.
“Wait a minute…”
The morning news story comes back up. Then a new email opens.
This is an imagined underwriting aftermath inspired by Talladega Nights. The missing-zoo-cougar story and underwriting correspondence are fictional additions, not movie facts.
To: Ricky Bobby’s Agent
Subject: Ricky Bobby | Existing Account Review
Good morning,
I have reviewed the action memo concerning Mr. Bobby’s return-to-racing exercises. I also read an apparently unrelated local news story over coffee this morning. I would now appreciate your assistance in keeping those two items unrelated.
We understand that Mr. Bobby is an established NASCAR driver and that his racing accident affected his confidence behind the wheel. His profession is not a new discovery. The methods being used to restore that confidence, however, require our attention.
Please identify the vehicles used in each exercise, including ownership, insurance, and actual use. Confirm whether any vehicles on our personal auto policy have been used for racing practice, testing, or preparation. Please also confirm the drivers and ordinary use of the vehicles remaining on our policy and forward the available loss information.
We need evidence that an appropriate racing market knowingly insures the actual racing operations. Please identify how Mr. Bobby himself is protected and whether the arrangements contemplate independent practice or training. “The race team has insurance” will need to be expanded beyond its current level of optimism.
Please obtain written confirmation that the blindfolded driving and live-cougar exercises have stopped, together with credible controls to prevent recurrence. We also need to understand Mr. Reese Bobby’s future involvement.
Ordinarily, the presence of a supervisor is reassuring. Here, it appears to explain how we arrived at this correspondence.
“His father says he’s ready now” will require supporting detail.
Separate racing insurance does not automatically make this account acceptable to our personal auto program. We still need to assess the judgment being exercised, the actual use of the personal vehicles, and whether the proposed controls give us a reasonable basis for continued eligibility.
We understand the family philosophy is, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” Our underwriting guidelines permit several positions between those two outcomes, including arriving home without a property damage claim.
Please send the requested information so we can complete our review. Any policy action will follow applicable requirements; claims personnel will evaluate the reported loss under the actual policy and facts.
Regards,
Personal Auto Underwriting
P.S. Please confirm whether any additional training exercises are planned. I would prefer to learn about them from you.
The underwriting question
An existing account can change without its occupation changing. The underwriter needs facts about vehicle use, insurance arrangements, behavior, and the controls that will make the next report less eventful. A separate racing policy is one part of that review. It does not answer every question about the personal auto account.
Read the full underwriting action memo below.
Professional Insurance Foundation | Know The Policy™
