How much renters insurance to carry?

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hyphen81

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hyphen81
I've searched the forums and found a few other topics related to this, but none specifically answered my question.

I know it varies greatly based upon several factors, but I'm trying to figure out how much insurance I need to carry. I'm covered by a policy from the flight school, but I know that's not really protecting me as much as they'd like me to think. I'm getting along in my training and probably should've picked up insurance sooner, but better late than never right? I'm a student with about 35 total hours, but only 10 hours in the past year.

I'm going to be renting for the foreseeable future and the most expensive rental I'll use will be a late 70's or early 80's 172 with the usual equipment, nothing too fancy. I may join a flying club later, but the aircraft would be roughly the same value.

I'm not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, and I'd like to be able to fly as much as possible, and every penny I spend on insurance digs into that. At the same time, I realize the importance of being covered should something happen.

So what is a reasonable amount of coverage to get? I'm looking at the avemco site and seeing the attached options. I don't want to spend a fortune, but want a reasonable amount of coverage. Any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
 

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My initial thought is that I'd like to be somewhere in the $30 to $40 per month range as far as what I can reasonably afford, but I have no idea if that's enough coverage or not. And I'm guessing I should put more coverage under bodily injury than damage liability?
 
Worry more about if you hit anything on the ground. If for some reason you hit someone's house, covering the cost of the rental plane is going to be the least of your worries. Look into a seperate umbrella policy to cover your assests if possible.
 
I have had to save money on insurance to fly also. I have an AVEMCO policy myself with CFI rider, which costs nothing to add btw.

I am carrying:

Liability:

Bodily injury $25000 per person
Property damage $250,000
Each accident: $250,000

Aircraft damage liability of $5000 for each non-owned aircraft.

I am doing it that way because the deductibles are somewhat lower at my club. I have to hope that this is the most I need to have.

The policy cost $227 a year.

I hope this helps out a little. I am sure there are varying opinions on what is really needed. For those of us that don't fly much it probably makes sense to carry more but then again it does not sense to carry more because of the cost. I would never NOT carry renter's insurance though.

David
 
You will need some kind of non-owned insurance policy to rent most aircraft not part of a flight school, as well as flying other people's planes if you get access to them.

I just picked up an EAA/IAC Non-Owned Policy that covers me for all ground/flight operations including aerobatic competition and it was $680/yr for $1M liability, $100K injury AND $50K coverage for the plane.

Check with AOPA and EAA as the larger groups since they have negotiated decent coverage plans, or you can find a broker and explain your specific needs and let them find a plan that works for you. For rentals, you usually only need enough aircraft coverage to cover the deductible (I remember $5K as a threshold on previous plans).

'Gimp
 
I think the only major concern I had years ago was renting from an FBO that might try to recoup their profits on a lost airplane. That is one thing you can really plan for.

David
 
JB1842 said:
Worry more about if you hit anything on the ground. If for some reason you hit someone's house, covering the cost of the rental plane is going to be the least of your worries. Look into a seperate umbrella policy to cover your assests if possible.
Click to expand...

Does anyone else have and/or recommend an umbrella policy? I have a $1 million life insurance policy, which I've confirmed will be paid out in the event I leave this world in a giant fireball. I'm guessing in the litigious society in which we live, if I crash into someone's house, $1 million isn't going to cover everything. Especially after uncle sam gets his "fair" share.
 
Talk to your flight school and ask what you're liable for in the event of an incident. The FBO I work with only asks for the deductible. A renter did $125K damage to our Cirrus. I think they only asked him to cover $7K. Whether the insurance company can/will go after him I am not sure.
 
LDJones said:
Talk to your flight school and ask what you're liable for in the event of an incident. The FBO I work with only asks for the deductible. A renter did $125K damage to our Cirrus. I think they only asked him to cover $7K. Whether the insurance company can/will go after him I am not sure.
Click to expand...

I think I'm covered to $100,000 but not sure what the deductible is. I'll talk to them about it.

So let me ask you this....you've flown EVERYWHERE...but what do you have against WV, VA, and LA? :)
 
flhrci said:
I have had to save money on insurance to fly also. I have an AVEMCO policy myself with CFI rider, which costs nothing to add btw.

I am carrying:

Liability:

Bodily injury $25000 per person
Property damage $250,000
Each accident: $250,000

Aircraft damage liability of $5000 for each non-owned aircraft.

I am doing it that way because the deductibles are somewhat lower at my club. I have to hope that this is the most I need to have.

The policy cost $227 a year.

I hope this helps out a little. I am sure there are varying opinions on what is really needed. For those of us that don't fly much it probably makes sense to carry more but then again it does not sense to carry more because of the cost. I would never NOT carry renter's insurance though.

David
Click to expand...

So you also have coverage through your flying club?
 
My umbrella policy from State Farm will not cover anything aviation. My wife is a agent for State Farm and aside from a extra policy for life insurance State Farm will not cover anything aviation. My car insurance will cover if I hit a airplane with my car on the ground but again the umbrella policy won't cover anything if I am flying. My airplane owners policy will cover me up to 2 mill liability, if and when you do get a pilot it is very important to read all the fine print in the policy.
 
Luvrv8 said:
My umbrella policy from State Farm will not cover anything aviation. My wife is a agent for State Farm and aside from a extra policy for life insurance State Farm will not cover anything aviation. My car insurance will cover if I hit a airplane with my car on the ground but again the umbrella policy won't cover anything if I am flying. My airplane owners policy will cover me up to 2 mill liability, if and when you do get a pilot it is very important to read all the fine print in the policy.
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My wife works for State Farm, too, but not an agent. I was lucky enough to get my life insurance before getting my certificate, so I was grandfathered in with no rate increase. She was pushing an umbrella policy on me recently, so I'll have to look further into what you said about avaition not being covered under it.
 
hyphen81 said:
So you also have coverage through your flying club?
Click to expand...

The planes are covered like an FBO does. We are supposed to be covered also but I believe it is only in a way that protects the club, not the pilots, like an FBO would do.

David
 
Some argue to carry hull coverage to cover the flight school deductible and make sure the flight schools company will not sub to recover from the renter.

Others say to carry enough hull to cover the entire rental replacement cost. Most 40 yr old aircraft hull value may be between $40-$75K. It's expensive to carry enough renters insurance to cover a modern $250K airplane.

Carry as much liability coverage as can. Most carriers will write a $1M with per person sub limits.

Know your policy, many renters insurance cover pilot error, ran out of gas, lost control on landing, taxied into something, etc. something the pilot can control, but may not cover a mechanical failure that resulted in an off airport landing and damage that the renter could not prevent.
 
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Does anyone who rents a high dollar aircraft (like a cirrus) actually have hull coverage for the entire value?

It seems cost prohibitive.
 
:yeahthat:
momalley said:
I have $100,000/$1,000,000 with $40k hull coverage from Avemco for $558/yr
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:yeahthat:
My hull is a little higher. I'm considering changing from Avemco to AOPA. Avemco does not cover experimentals and AOPA does and also covers gliders.

Many gliders I fly are registered experimental and I'm looking for an RV-4 or -8 to build some time in.
 
Got mine through EAA (Falcon) and it was 680 for 1,000,000 and 100,000 and 50K hull I typically fly a 172M with decent avionics and a fairly new engine. Before you decide on Avemco or EAA or whoever make sure you know the difference between per passenger and per person limits.

The question is what do you have to lose? Personally I don't have a lot as most of my wealth is in my home and my 401K and depending on where you live your house may be untouchable and in most cases unless you are loaded your 401k is as well. Having said that if I hurt someone or something I want to make it as right as I reasonably can.

I also want to have enough to cover the hull so if I am in an emergency situation the last thing on my mind is protecting the plane.
 
I personally chose to use a broker, and it worked out the best. If you can find one that specializes in aviation, he/she will know exactly what you need for your situation, and just handle it.
Then you'll know that you're covered as best you can be, and you don't have to worry that you got the wrong thing. Plus, things change over time, and you'll need your policy to adjust accordingly. The broker will handle all those changes much easier than you can.
 
You need enough hull to cover what you are likely to be stuck with, which could vary from zero to the full value of the plane, depending on the FBO's policy and your rental agreement. Also, you need an appropriate level of liability, which in most cases is considered $100K per seat and $1M single limit, but again, you need to see what coverage (if any) the FBO's policy affords. So, the first thing to do is examine the FBO's policy with someone who knows insurance (an aviation attorney would be best) and see what that attorney says.
 
Does anyone have an insurance policy that is scalable or quickly upgradable? For example, maybe I want a normal pleasure & business policy most of the time, but at specific times, I want to put the aircraft on a commercial policy. Anyone have a policy that does that?
 
That's what I carry.

DFH65 said:
Got mine through EAA (Falcon) and it was 680 for 1,000,000 and 100,000 and 50K hull I typically fly a 172M with decent avionics and a fairly new engine. Before you decide on Avemco or EAA or whoever make sure you know the difference between per passenger and per

I also want to have enough to cover the hull so if I am in an emergency situation the last thing on my mind is protecting the plane.
Click to expand...
 
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