A Complete Guide to Go-Kart Insurance

Let’s face it, by now you’ve invested a lot of time, money and effort on your go-kart. Perhaps your kart doesn’t only have a monetary value, but you’ve also grown sentimental towards it. Go-kart owners are often confronted with the thought of insurance. There are many questions that come to mind when thinking of go-kart insurance.

Can I insure a go-kart at all? Is my go-kart covered in my homeowners or auto insurance? What do I do, if my go-kart gets stolen or is damaged from a fire? They are all legitimate questions and the answer to them, may not be as obvious as you might have thought.

In this article we’ll be exploring various types of insurance policies and what coverage they provide for your go-kart. To give you a quick idea, you can definitely insure go-karts depending on the type of your go-kart and on the insurance company. Let’s take a look at the different types of insurance policies that you may be familiar with and what exactly they cover. We’ll also look at go-kart specific insurance and what measures you can take to keep you go-kart safe.

Do Homeowners, Auto & RV Insurance Cover Go-Karts?

The short answer to this important question is, sometimes! In some instances all three could cover your go-kart. The exact details depend on the type of go-kart and your insurance company. Don’t worry, we’ll go through it, step by step. First and foremost, it’s extremely important to stress that insurance coverage policies differ, depending on the country or state that you are a resident in. Especially if you’re living in the United States, insurance policies are state-dependent and it’s always advised to refer to local state practices and your insurance company’s policies.

Homeowners Insurance and Go-Karts

Generally speaking, homeowners insurance is a property insurance that covers types of losses and damages that happen on your property or residence. There are of course exclusions, such as war and other associated phenomena. For example, if a fire breaks out, damages and losses to your assets, such as furniture and items or value may be covered. By now, you should be asking yourself, does this policy cover go-karts as well?

Most homeowners insurance policies tend to exclude motorized vehicles, such as go-karts from any type of coverage. Insurance companies generally define a motorized vehicle as a self-propelled vehicle, commonly wheeled and that does not operate on rails. Go-karts typically fall into this category and are commonly excluded in the homeowners coverage. There are exceptions to lawnmower in most cases.

It’s best to check if your homeowners insurance policy is extended to go-karts. I’ve seen some scenarios where go-karts are covered for damage or theft in the homeowner’s insurance. Just note that if your policy does include coverage, the coverage is only valid if the go-kart is at your premise and not outside of it. To ensure that your homeowners insurance policy covers go-karts, speak with your insurance company or agent, and specifically mention go-karts.

Go-karts are generally excluded from homeowners insurance policies

Auto Insurance and Go-Karts

A car insurance is very easy to get and the insurance coverage on a car is also very easy to understand. Practically, all you need is your driver’s license and the vehicle identification number, along with another few documents. That’s pretty much all it takes to get your car insured. However, this is not the case when it comes to go-karts. You may think that a go-kart is essentially a smaller version of a car. Take note, that auto insurers see this differently. Let me explain. 

Automobile insurances typically don’t cover go-karts. Policies governing automobiles are generally reserved for registered vehicles, e.g. road-legal cars. Racing go-karts are commonly not road legal and therefore not registered. That’s also the reason why most go-karts don’t have a vehicle registration number to begin with, as they don’t need to be registered.

However, there are some exceptions. Certain off-road go-karts come with a vehicle identification number. Furthermore, some off-road karts even come with street legal requirements, which makes them eligible for road use. If that’s the case for you, check with your auto insurer, if their policies will cover you go-kart. Given that you have a vehicle identification number, and that it’s registered and cleared legally for road use, they may offer coverage. For all other types of go-karts, you will not be able to cover your go-kart with automobile insurance.

Go-karts are generally excluded from auto insurance with some exception for road legal off-road go-karts

Recreational Vehicle Insurance and Go-Karts

Believe it or not, some recreational vehicle insurance policies cover off-road vehicles, utility vehicles and other recreational vehicles such as go-karts. Certain insurance companies actually cover damage to or loss of the go-kart that is due to theft, fire, lighting, explosion, rain, earthquake and  damage in transit. That’s a pretty extensive list of coverage for your go-kart and would be more than enough.

Please keep in mind that not all recreational insurance policies cover go-karts. There’s a list further below this section that will cover some insurance companies that do cover it. Be mindful to always ask your agent or the insurance company directly, if their policies specifically cover go-karts. Don’t fall into a grey zone of loose definitions, as insurance companies know how to get out of liabilities. Always make sure that the exact word in the policy is go-kart. 

In certain scenarios, companies name this type of insurance off-road vehicle insurance. This essentially covers go-karts, similar to recreational vehicle insurance policies. Regardless of the naming convention of the insurance company, specifically check if they cover go-karts. 

Go-karts are generally covered in RV Insurance, best to check policies for coverage terms

List of Companies for Go-Kart Insurance

Now that you understand which type of insurance policies cover go-karts, let’s take a look at which ones are most suitable for you. Below is a growing list of insurance companies that provide coverage for go-karts. This list is live and will be updated from time to time.

CountryStateInsurance CompanyPolicy NameGo-Kart CoverageLink
AustraliaAllOne Underwriting Off-Road Insurance YesLink
USAArizonaSelect Choice ATV & Off Road Insurance YesLink
USAAllAllstateAllstate ATV Insurance YesLink
UKAllFarmersRecreational Vehicle Insurance YesLink
UKMorisAnnual Storage & Transit for Karts YesLink
GermanySports Cover Direct Go-Kart Insurance YesLink
GermanyAllWerner Hahn Go-Kart Versicherung YesLink

Go-Kart Security Tips

I think we can agree that prevention is better than cure. This means it is better to ensure that our go-karts are well and safely stored, in order to prevent it from damages or theft. Storing go-karts appropriately is key here, but there are also other methods that you can employ.

Of course, it’s good to have go-kart insurance but it’s even better if you don’t have any claims. Claiming any amount from an insurance policy will most likely increase the premium. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the proactive measures that you can take, in order to ensure that you go-kart is least exposed to theft or damage.

1. Storing Your Go-Kart the Right Way

It’s important that you keep your go-kart at a safe place and store it correctly. There is a separate guide that I wrote about the best go-kart storage locations. If you need some guidance on the best go-kart storage ideas, read that article and I’m sure you’ll find a place that works best for your arrangement. 

Remember that certain insurance policies only cover your go-kart if they are on your property. If you own a homeowners policy, ensure that your go-kart is parked safely at home, in order to enjoy the coverage. For recreational vehicle coverage policies that are location-independent, you’re free to park them at the race track or elsewhere.

2. Lock your Go-Kart

Cars have an advantage when it comes to safety. They are fully enclosed and secured by an alarm system. They’re only accessible with a key, however they can still be broken into. Go-karts are much different, as you can tell. They are not enclosed, don’t require a key and can be practically carried or pushed away. 

A theft is easily possible and you should take some precautionary measures to ensure that your go-kart is protected. You can simply get a live axle lock to ensure that the kart can’t be pushed away. There are also steering wheel locks, that will disable the turning of the steering wheel. This is usually enough to thieves people from stealing your go-kart.

3. Don’t Show Off

I know, I know. You’re extremely proud of the amount of work that you have put in and want nothing more than to show it to the world! Don’t worry, we all do. It’s definitely fine to do this, but bare in mind that you are practically advertising that you have a valuable go-kart at home.

With that in mind, you can minimize the risk of theft by not advertising where you keep your go-kart. Think twice before leaving it out in the open or parked openly in the garage. You never know, and it’s always best to be safe rather than sorry.

4. Be Diligent

The last tip to avoid having to claim from an insurance company is to always be diligent at home. This means minimizing any risk of property damage that can incur from fire or other instances.

You should try to ensure that all unused electricity sockets, gas units, faucets, are switched off or closed while not in use. Additionally, you should try to make sure that your garage and house doors are locked at all times. This may seem obvious, but some people may forget and leave their assets exposed to theft.

Conclusion

That was a lot to take in, especially if you’re not well-versed with insurance policies. But don’t worry, I’m sure you got the hang of it. If you didn’t, you can leave a comment below and I’ll make sure to get back to you.

To summarize, homeowners insurance usually doesn’t cover motorized vehicles, such as go-karts. Auto insurance usually only covers go-karts if they are registered and street legal. Recreational Insurance covers go-karts only when explicitly mentioned in their respective coverage policy.

With that in mind, make sure that you always check your coverage and policy. Ensure that they mention the word “go-kart” or other ways of spelling. Avoid any gray areas and misleading words. Also note that each insurer may have different definitions and policies depending on the country and state. Make sure to address any questions when in doubt, with the insurance company.


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About Gerrit

Owner, Researcher, Writer & Editor at GoKartGuide.com

Hi, I'm Gerrit. I have been racing go-karts competitively and recreationally for the past 20 years. Apart from actively growing local karting communities, I run GoKartGuide and write comprehensive articles, guides & reviews about go-kart racing. I race, build, mod, & discuss go-karts whenever I find the time. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the read!

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