GA Insurance in 2021 Recap – Part 4
You may recall our In January we posted a GA Insurance in 2021 recap along with a review of the Lienholder portion of the policy. In February we focused on Hull Coverage and in March we presented information on the Aircraft Liability section. This is the 4th and final part of the 2021 GA Insurance Recap – a review of the Warranties and Conditions section of the policy.
As mentioned in the “Breach of Warranty” discussion (part 1 -lienholder), the Insurance Policy is a contract between the Policy holder and the Insurance Company. As such there are certain items that have been warranted and if not complied with could be a violation of the contract, voiding the coverage. Two of the most visible are the pilot warranty and the approved uses. The pilot warranty is applicable to any inflight operations and states who is approved to fly the aircraft. On most personal aircraft policies there will be named pilots who have been specifically approved by underwriters and then there will also be an ”all other “ provision called the Open Pilot Warranty which will state the minimum qualification for anyone not already named and approved to fly the aircraft.
This is probably a good place to point out that “in flight” is a defined term and determines when an approved pilot must be at the controls or the aircraft. A generic definition would be the aircraft is in flight when it begins its takeoff roll and continues in flight until it has landed and exited the active runway. This definition varies on different policies, so it is good to check your wording.
Approved use is another pivotal warranty that deserves an aircraft operator’s attention. For most personal aircraft policies, the approved use will be Pleasure and Business (P&B). P&B is also a defined term and is generally defined as no use for which a charge is made. Included in that are provisions for sharing of some expenses and reimbursement. Some policy wordings are more liberal than others and exceptions can be endorsed, but as with pilots it is important to know how your policy is worded.
I should point out the other side of the “good news” coin is, we ONLY have about a dozen markets to work with. While historically speaking, a dozen or more insurers is a good aviation insurance marketplace, it is miniscule compared to some of the more traditional lines of insurance such as auto, and homeowners. As such, a wrong step in the marketing of your account can get around the market very quickly and, in turn, can be very difficult to fix. Selecting the Insurance Broker that you want to represent you to these underwriters is an important decision which can be a positive or negative factor in your insurance program.
This month we are pointing you to our blog section of the website for previously posted content. At the top of the website page, ap-aerospace.com, the word Blog is listed next to the search field. If you click on the word Blog, you will the see the part of our site where content is stored.
AOPA’s partner for Aviation Insurance, AssuredPartners Aerospace, is standing by to help you navigate the insurance marketplace. Visit ap-aerospace.com or call us at 800.622.2672 today!
