Insurance

[allonsye 85]

It's time for me to shop around for a liability policy as I get close to making ser# 951 airworthy.

 

It's been a long time since I purchased aircraft insurance.

 

I'd appreciate feedback on whom to call  -- personal experiences/recommendations?  Should I be looking towards AOPA or EAA?  Someone told me yesterday that once you ask a company for a quote that pretty much that's what you'll get from anyone else you inquire with.

 

paul

[Av8r3400 1179]

I have been getting mine through EAA, to Falcon insurance. I've given Avemco, AOPA, and a couple others chances to quote, but Falcon is always won out.

I pay $1200 annually for $1M liability and $35k of full hull coverage on my yellow plane.

[jjbaker 73]

I know lots of happy Avemco customers.

 

The cheapest are definitely not always the best, nor do they always know what the usual general aviation aircraft looks like.

 

As I learned years ago, a Super Cub can haz 4 or even 6 seats and may even have more than one "proppellator".

 

Propellator = Dangerous invisible big thingy that goes around real fast...

[1avidflyer 1983]

I had Falcon insurance on one Avid and when I wrecked it after an engine out, they paid out on the hull insurance with very few questions asked. I even recovered it from the swamp it was in for the salvage rights, so I still had the plane afterwards plus more than I paid for it originally.

[KFfan 151]

Propellator???

Let's not lose our heads...

[thebriman 69]

I pay about 430 bucks a year through AOPA for liability ground and flight.  1M loss and 100000 per passenger.

[jjbaker 73]

Propellator???

Let's not lose our heads...

 

Literally.

 

Example of one is visible here:

[C5Engineer 1170]

I'm with Avemco because at the time they were the only people I could find that would insure me without having dual instruction in an Avid by a CFI with at least 50 hrs in one. Suppose I should shop around. I pay a little over $1K a year and have $20K moving hull.

[Guest]

I shopped around quite a bit before settling on Falcon. They are reasonably priced and allowed me to fly out of a 1000 ft grass strip. Other insurers would not allow such a short home strip.

[allonsye 85]

Great response from the collective as usual -- thanks guys - great leads/feedback/observations.

[TJay 1041]

So you say, some don't allow you to fly out of short grass strips? So what happens when you wreck landing on the snow with skis. or lands and wreck on the beach somewhere. Are you covered?

[Av8r3400 1179]

Read the fine print in your policy.  

 

These are some of the reasons I went with the insurance I did.  Grass and off airport operations are not emendate reasons to deny coverage.

[allonsye 85]

I'm with Avemco because at the time they were the only people I could find that would insure me without having dual instruction in an Avid by a CFI with at least 50 hrs in one. Suppose I should shop around. I pay a little over $1K a year and have $20K moving hull.

That might not actually be too bad Joey considering the amount of hull insurance.  My thinking is to self insure hull.  I am in the same boat as you. Only 150 hrs of tail dragger time but none in Avid or experimental.  If I could get in the $450 range for premium, I'll be able to operate within my tight budget.

 

Speaking of tight budgets, I would be an interesting thread to gauge what folks hourly operating expenses are coming out to -- a challenging task given the amortization of maint, fuel, insurance and quartering vs hours flown.  But to see it compared to other types of flying would be interesting to me.

[Bandit 286]

Insurance  $640

Hanger rent $840

Misc   $200

No loan interest.

                 Total $1680 per year.

Fuel 5 gallons an hour at $2.39 per gallon, $12 an hour.

Oil maybe $3 an hour.

Fuel and oil around $15 an hour.

I fly my Avid around 65 hours a year. 65 into $1680 is $26 an hour. $26 plus $15 is $41 an hour to fly my stripped down 503 powered Avid.

[allonsye 85]

Thanks Bandit.  About what I was guesstimating in anticipation of actual ops expenses for my 582.  Ethanol free 93 is around 3.20 a gal in these parts however.

 

BTW, re: my quest for insurance quotes -- I contacted the Bill White Insurance Co.  The replied back that they didn't insure "RC" airplanes

 

Given the fact I've no Avid time (just Tcraft tail dragger time), my options appear to be limited.  I contacted AOPA and they're requesting a quote from AIG for me.  Given 951ST is experimental, I'll be required to have a current 3rd class be for they'll bind me.

[Av8r3400 1179]

http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-membership/eaa-aircraft-insurance-plans/aircraft-insurance

[allonsye 85]

http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-membership/eaa-aircraft-insurance-plans/aircraft-insurance

I should have looked to EAA in the first place.  I'll call them later today.  Thanks.

[Geoffrey Thorpe 31]

I got insurance for my Merlin GT from the Forest Agency http://www.forestagency.com/coverage/general-aviation-insurance/#/- no hassles.

[Guest]

I have always chosen to self insure the hull and insure for liability and property damage and medical, since I sometimes fly young eagles. When I wrecked my Magnum, I sure wished for a while that I had covered the hull though!

 

However I have no regrets as it was a calculated risk based decision to do what I did. I will continue to self insure the hull.

 

Chris

[Bandit 286]

All I have is fire,wind, hail ect on the hull. Only the minimum liability to be legal. I did figure wrong on the hourly rate to fly my Avid. I figured regular gas, which should have been 93 octane. So it would make it around $45 an hour to fly by putting 65 hrs a year on it.

[Bandit 286]

Crap! Overhaul expense another $12 an hour. Now $57 dollars a hour.

[akflyer 1427]

Had anyone used the Ladd insurance agency?  I am hearing good things about these guys from the folks on Supercub.org  I asked for a quote from them yesterday, will see if they get back to me tomorrow.

 

I sure hate to break my flying down into an hourly rate, the only thing more expensive per hour than my airplane habit is my wife, snowmachine, boat, UTV etc.. I have a rough idea of what it costs me to have fun but I really don't want to know the bottom line as that tends to ruin the fun for me when I really tweak on the cost of having said fun. 

 

[1avidflyer 1983]

 the only thing more expensive per hour than my airplane habit is my wife, snowmachine, boat, UTV etc..  

 

Leni,  are you saying that the airplane/s cost equals the cost of the wife., snowmobile, boat, UTV, ect?  I would say you are getting by cheap! LOL  Jim Chuk

 

[Av8r3400 1179]

"If you have to ask, you can't afford it."  --unknown

[akflyer 1427]

I think my airplane habit is marginally cheaper than all the rest combined.