Any reason not to contact my insurance company?

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Flieger

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Flieger
For not-in-motion hull damage that was caused by another party who accepts responsibility, is there any reason not to contact my insurance company, and probably turn this all over to them?

I generally do everything possible to avoid dealing with insurance companies. I've read of insurance companies (not aviation) even raising rates after a customer discussed the possibility of putting a claim in, but didn't make the claim.

I've been trying to take care of this on my own and have the other party pay for the repairs, but it's been slow and difficult to work with the resources at my current home airport. I'm finally at the point where I just want someone else to take ownership of this - but I'd rather not have my rates go up. I also wonder how quick the insurance company could turn this around, not that I can see the end of this at the moment.

Does anyone have direct knowledge or experience with this sort of incident? Thanks in advance...
 
Don’t do it if you don’t have to.


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How much damage are we talking about?
 
Have the shop you are going to use give an estimate. Then after you pick yourself off the floor from seeing the cost, have have the responsible party write to a check.

Aircraft insurance doesn’t get twisted about not in motion hangar rash type boo boos. You will have to cover the deductible if you turn it in.

Was the offending party an FBO?
 
My plane has been damaged by other parties/weather. A porta potty broke loose in a wind storm and damaged a wing tip. The company that owned the porta potty payed for the repair. The second time a grader plowing snow caught the rear tiedown rope. It buckled some of the rear fuselage skin. The skin repair took 4 months to complete. The airport payed for that repair.

In both cases I payed for the repairs and was reimbursed. The wing tip repair was about $1,500 and the skin repair was $13,000. I did 90% of the work on both repairs and charged $40/hr for my labor. I also charged a 5% mark up on the parts, and $400/month for hangar rental.
 
I had some FBO doo doo heads dive-toss a Snap-on special on my wing from the mezzanine of a community hangar. Punched a 8 inch hole on my skin, dented aileron and the outboard section of the rear spar (lucky that thing comes in two pieces, otherwise i'd have been in for even more major wing surgery). Got lucky that it didn't hit a rib so the reskin job was simple and limited in footprint. Yai for simple PA-28 cheapskate (heavily modular, dirty non-flush riveted) construction methods. One man's trash is another man's treasure type of thing.

At any rate, the FBO insurance took care of the bill, I controlled the repair side of things. I agreed to let my local AP handle it since they had the facilities in situ, and the FBO was also the local FBO and my aircraft storage provider at the time. I promptly moved out of the FBO's community hangar arrangement for the obvious reasons, but the logistics of their insurance covering the repairs were not a problem. They were very responsive. My insurance never heard a word of it.
 
I think a lot depends on who the other party is and their financial resources. Lots of people claim they will pay to fix the damage they cause. However, the repair may not be to your standards of quality and safety because he got his cousin Winne to do the work. Or he picked a low priced shop that doesn’t stand behind their work. Lots of variables at play here. Me, I would probably report it because I want to be in as much control as possible over how it gets fixed and who does the work. Yes - I am a control freak, type A+ personality. Just ask my kids.
 
I have reported these kinds of incidents to my insurance. The answer I always get from them is let us know if the liable party’s insurance or they do not take care of it for you.

But I always wanted my insurance to be aware of it as soon as the incident occurred so if they did need to get involved later they can’t claim I waited to long to inform them of the incident. I have never had to get them involved as the the other party’s insurance or the party themselves have always taken care of the issue to my satisfaction.

If they do need to get involved, they will likely take care of the repair and then decide if it is reasonable to go after the liable party to be reimbursed.

Brian
 
brcase above has the correct answer…and I retired the second time from the insurance business…
 
brcase said:
I have reported these kinds of incidents to my insurance. The answer I always get from them is let us know if the liable party’s insurance or they do not take care of it for you.

But I always wanted my insurance to be aware of it as soon as the incident occurred so if they did need to get involved later they can’t claim I waited to long to inform them of the incident. I have never had to get them involved as the the other party’s insurance or the party themselves have always taken care of the issue to my satisfaction.

If they do need to get involved, they will likely take care of the repair and then decide if it is reasonable to go after the liable party to be reimbursed.

Brian
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Thanks Brian. So there haven't been any negative consequences from informing your insurance company?
 
Some insurance policies (or perhaps most?) have a requirement that you MUST report any physical damage to the aircraft even if it is not covered a loss or if another party is paying for the damage. Read you policy to be sure it doesn't have such a requirement. You don't want to jeopardize future coverage by failure to comply with the policy.
You might want to involve your insurance company even if another party is paying. If there are issues with the claim your insurance can help you if they are involved from day one. By trying to handle it on your own, if things go badly your insurance company will have a harder time helping you - they might even be able to decline to assist you if you have violated the policy provisions in the process.
While there are exceptions, most insurance adjusters and underwriters are good people and want to work with you. You're paying their salaries with your premiums. By getting them involved from the start you establish trust with your insurance company rather than giving them the impression that you're trying to hide something (even if you aren't).
 
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