Insurance company recommendations

[wdoubleday]

Hi Folks,

Any recommendations for aircraft insurance companies for an experimental SC? I'm an AOPA and EAA member if that provided benefits.

Thanks in advance
Wendel

 

[stid2677]

In this market,, anyone you can get to write a policy.... We use Avemco, but carry liability only on our Experimental SC.

 

[Steve Pierce]

Chose a broker with good customer service. They are all shopping in the same pool other than Avemco. Once you shop an N number it doesn't really do any good to shop different brokers.

 

[stewartb]

I've used Avemco for many years. A few years ago when I added my exp Cub I shopped a bit since exp Cub insurance isn't easy to get or cheap, depending on the aircraft value, of course. Ladd Gardner was the only agency that came close to Avemco's price. Beware, exp Cub insurance attitudes and prices are all over the place.

 

[bob turner]

If you are getting older you may find Avemco is the only game in town. I am 80, and insurers look at me with trepidation.

I have heard that the more expensive Cub derivatives can approach ten grand a year for insurance.

 

[WWhunter]

I recently got a quote from AVEMCO for an experimental and while talking to the agent, she mentioned that hull coverage stops when the tire leave the ground!! I asked to make sure....yes, you can taxi and everything else but once the plane is flying, the hull coverage does NOT cover any damage. I have never seen this from any of my previous policies. The agent said that is how they do experimentals. Double check, maybe it was only for my type of aircraft, but I am having to use a different insurance company.

 

[bob turner]

You might want to read policies carefully. There are definitely policies written that way, but you can generally get them changed. An underwriter did that to me on a Stinson Reliant, and the broker had said “you’re covered.” It was in the fine print. I got it changed.

I recently got coverage for a ferry flight. My requirement was “additional insured with waiver of subrogation for a flight from A to B including required fuel stops.” The underwriter said “we’re sorry; we don’t write things that way.” The broker sent me an e-mail stating that I was indeed covered exactly that way. Good enough for me.

Strangely, I was denied similar coverage in a Cirrus because I only had five hours in type. Amazingly, the Cirrus can be flown like a Cub if you care to look out the window.

I find things in the fine print all the time. For over 40 years I have been on a Mooney policy, both solo and as instructor. They added a paragraph on page 17 two years ago that stated flat out that instructors were not covered. It was in conflict with previous paragraphs, but the underwriter assured us that I was no longer covered when acting as instructor.

Read those policies!

 

[stewartb]

I recently got a quote from AVEMCO for an experimental and while talking to the agent, she mentioned that hull coverage stops when the tire leave the ground!! I asked to make sure....yes, you can taxi and everything else but once the plane is flying, the hull coverage does NOT cover any damage. I have never seen this from any of my previous policies. The agent said that is how they do experimentals. Double check, maybe it was only for my type of aircraft, but I am having to use a different insurance company.

Holy crap, you startled me. I just had a long talk with Avemco and FWIW, my Cub is insured in flight. The first answer was that it wasn't but I currently have my policies reduced to "not in motion." They qualified that some experimentals aren't offered hull coverage and some get hull but it excludes in-flight coverage. The nature of the experimental part determines what they'll cover. In my case with a kit plane and aircraft engine (albeit exp) there aren't any in-flight restrictions. The list of factors they consider is interesting. Kit vs scratch built, Lycoming vs Jabiru, etc. While I had them on the line I questioned the max value, since mine is limited to $200K. That's driven by Vref's market value of the plane. They insure Carbon Cubs to $350K because there's established market value to warrant it. My Rev is associated with the SQ-2 family and that segment is much smaller than the CC segment. While I was at it they ran the Vref on my 180 and that led me to raise the coverage by $75K. They're seeing purchase values at 25% over Vref and will write the policy for existing customers to that limit. $75K cost me $600 so I stayed at Vref.

Other comments worth mentioning. A year ago there were 22 aviation underwriters. Today there are 13. Of those 13, 80% aren't renewing some policies including for age 70 and over. Apparently Avemco is swamped as a result.