The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has announced the creation of a Motorsport Insurance Task Force in a bid to confront spiralling insurance premiums that are increasingly threatening the accessibility of motor racing.
The move comes amid wider turbulence in motor-related insurance lines, with the UK market itself experiencing sharp fluctuations in private motor premiums over the past two years. While consumer car insurance prices have begun to soften, motorsport cover remains an area of concern for insurers, promoters and event organisers.
The FIA task force will be chaired by its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and co-led by Valerio Iachizzi, Secretary General for Sport, and Willem Groenewald, Secretary General for Mobility and Sustainability. Representatives from member clubs and industry specialists will also take part.
According to the FIA, the committee will review the scope and scale of premium inflation, coverage restrictions and reduced insurer appetite. The goal is to produce guidance and practical solutions for member clubs globally, with an interim report expected at the FIA’s annual assembly in Tashkent this December.
“Our Members are at the heart of everything we do at the FIA,” Ben Sulayem said. “Rising insurance costs risk limiting opportunities and undermining accessibility across the world.”
Iachizzi warned that rising costs posed a direct threat to grassroots competitors, while Groenewald pointed to parallels with the mobility sector, where affordability and consumer protection are central to regulatory engagement.
For UK insurers, brokers and reinsurers, the FIA initiative highlights the unique complexity of motorsport risk. Event cover typically combines catastrophic bodily injury, property damage and third-party liability, all under compressed timeframes. Escalating premiums risk making smaller events unviable, with knock-on effects for talent pipelines and sponsorship.
The issue also lands at a moment when motor insurance more broadly is under scrutiny. UK private motor premiums have fallen by around 16 per cent year on year, according to WTW and Confused.com data, but claims costs remain stubbornly high. The Association of British Insurers reported payouts of more than £6 billion across the first half of 2025, driven by repair inflation and theft. That environment is likely to shape underwriter appetite for niche risks such as motorsport.
For insurance professionals, the FIA’s task force raises several questions:
While immediate relief for event organisers seems unlikely, the FIA’s move signals a recognition that without insurer engagement, the growth of motorsport could be curtailed. For the UK insurance sector, long accustomed to balancing regulatory scrutiny, competitive pressures and claims inflation, the global effort may offer valuable insights into how to align sustainability with affordability in one of the industry’s most specialist lines.
