11 Dec Aircraft Insurance Owned and Non Owned

If you own an aircraft or employ pilots, it pays to know exactly what is covered and what is not.   With expensive equipment and the potential for high dollar lawsuits you can never be too educated and aware about how your policy and insurance works.  At what point do you add additional pilots to your policy?  And how much will it cost?  What situations would exclude a claim from being paid?  All of these answers can be found in your policy.  While the coverage of a claim is always dependent on the situation of the claim, knowing what risks and situations to be aware of will help you avoid claims and loss’s.  If you own the aircraft and are renting, leasing or borrowing it out… you can still be named liable in a lawsuit.  Even if you did nothing wrong you may still be called in to court to defend your reputation and assets.  As an insurance Field Underwriter, the most common advice I tell people is to read and understand your policy.  It’s not worth running the risk that an agent was trying to meet a price point and had to sacrifice coverage and security to get there.  Buying insurance off of cost alone is the best way to leave yourself open and exposed to a lawsuit.  Buying insurance based on what coverage you need is in turn gives you the best chance that you are protecting your assets.  As an insured person myself, I don’t view insurance by how much it costs me.  I view it based on what it is saving me… which is everything that I have and continue to work hard for.  Paying a small percentage to keep everything else makes complete sense to me, especially when the unknown is always out there.  If you’re not sure whether or not you are at risk for liability, feel free to give me a call and I can help you.  Just make sure you have your policy handy… because that’s one of the first things I’ll ask you!