Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes insurance recommendation?

Hey folks,
I'm in beginning process of buying C150 in midwest area.
Will pull plane's title and 337 report tomorrow; if cleared then pre-buy inspection by AP next week.
Assuming everything checks out; I don't have insurance lined up yet; can anyone recommend one?

I use Falcon Insurance as my broker. I've been using them for 11 years and they've always been easy to work with and have provided good bids. Much cheaper than AOPA.

A broker is better than going directly to an insurance company, because different insurers prefer different risk profiles. The insurer that gives me the best rates may not be the same one that has the best rates for you because of our differing pilot experience.

https://falconinsurance.com/

Just got Falcon quote for about $500 per year.
Thank you Henry!

I go through AOPA, assured partners. About 500 for very good coverage. had a claim one year and my rates never went up.

When I was searching for insurance AOPA and AVEMCO were more expensive than the others.

AOPA is a broker and doesn't provide insurance directly. The company that provides the coverage is the one that didn't increase your rate.

I’m late in seeing this so likely not much help to you but maybe for others. I have used Regal Aviation Insurance for over 23 years and they have always been the least expensive and have very good service. I pay $375/year for motion and not in motion coverage.

Eric,

Regal is a broker, not an insurance company. They go into the aviation insurance market and get insurance quotes for you - that's what brokers do. They are obligated to be your agent, with their duty to you, not the insurance company, so they seek the best deal for you. The price you describe is pretty low, so I suspect that you have a policy with $100,000 sublimits. That means you have only $100,000 of coverage per person who is injured. If you have any assets, that may not be enough. You might want to talk with your broker about a "smooth" policy. That has no sublimits so the full amount of the policy is available if only one or two people are injured, not $100,000 per person. The price is more expensive and some insurers won't write smooth policies for two-seat airplanes.

The insurance market is "hardening" so it's probable that prices are going up across the board. So far the people most affected are those flying high-performance piston and turbine airplanes.

Rick, thank you. I will look into it.
Anyone know the benefits to starting a corporation and having that entity own the aircraft in order to form a barrier for liability?

I don't know the laws in Oregon, but keeping my small corporation legal in Massachusetts requires a number of forms to be filled out each year along with an annual fee (around $450.00). My airplane is NOT in my corporation and I never use corporate money to pay for airplane expenses.

Based on what I have been told by my attorney over the years, a small corporation that is designed to basically protect your financial assets will not actually protect you in a lawsuit. I believe that he used the term "thinly veiled corporation". I don't know if that is a legal term or something he is using to describe a small corporation. He said any competent attorney will show that you are merely trying to protect assets in the event of a significant at fault lawsuit.

My recommendation would be to talk with your personal attorney or an attorney that specializes in aviation matters. If you are an AOPA member, I know that they have something on their website regarding forming a corporation or LLC. If you are a member of their legal services program, you can get a consult with one of their attorneys for free.

Since Rick Durden is an aviation attorney, he may have some general recommendations for the members of this Club. I'm sure that you would have to engage him as your attorney for any specific legal advice.

Eric,

Usual warnings about this not being legal advice and not representing you. In general - it may vary by state - having a corporation own your airplane does not give you any liability protection if you are the one flying it during an accident. Your hand on the yoke, you're the one potentially liable for damages. Corporate ownership is generally worth considering if you own the airplane with someone else - that way you are less likely to be at risk for liability if the someone else has an accident. Also, if you do a lot of volunteer flying and the airplane is in a corporation, the corporation is renting the airplane to you and you can deduct the full cost of the rental. If you own the airplane outright, you can only deduct the cost of fuel and oil for the flight. In addition, if you have the airplane owned by a corporation, you incur the fees the state charges to form and annually register the corporation and the corporation has to file a tax return - and it may make an income that is taxable. Plus, it takes time to track the corporate finances so you can prepare the return.

When it comes to liability protection the answer is a combination of insurance - to protect your assets after an accident and regular recurrent training - to prevent you from having an accident. (Some insurance companies give a premium discount if you take regular recurrent training such as a FR every six or 12 months because their underwriters know that it cuts down your risk of having an accident substantially. Last I saw, the average time since a FR for pilots involved in an accident is 13 months.)