Insurance as a member of a club

[AggieMike88]

Is there any wisdom about obtaining/holding non-owner insurance (hull and/or liability) when a member of a flying club?

A well established club I am checking out does have appropriate insurance. But I was wondering if an additional layer would make sense to protect me, my personal assets and my business assets.

 

[marcoseddi]

Don't think you would need to.

 

[TMetzinger]

Mike,

Really depends on exactly what coverage is extended to you as a member of the club.

In your position as a business owner, I'd think you might have a bit more on the line than many folks. Suggest that talking to your pros (lawyer and insurance agent) would be a good place to start - the question (to me) is how exposed you are if your negligence sets you up for a liability claim while operating the club airplane. I'm not sure you're any more exposed than you are driving your car - you could run over some little kids driving. But you may have more coverage for that liability than you would flying.

Good luck.

 

[X3 Skier]

I carry a small policy from AVEMCO JIC. The club has good insurance but for piece of mind, it was worth the expense to me. I figure even if is not my fault like a ground incident, having some protection might eliminate some headaches.

Cheers

 

[AggieMike88]

Mike,

Really depends on exactly what coverage is extended to you as a member of the club.

In your position as a business owner, I'd think you might have a bit more on the line than many folks. Suggest that talking to your pros (lawyer and insurance agent) would be a good place to start - the question (to me) is how exposed you are if your negligence sets you up for a liability claim while operating the club airplane. I'm not sure you're any more exposed than you are driving your car - you could run over some little kids driving. But you may have more coverage for that liability than you would flying.

Good luck.

Good input, Tim. Thanks!

I'll add coverage questions to my list when I talk with the top person of the club to find out more on what is and isn't covered by their policy.

 

[Lawreston]

Have I not read, somewhere, that "club insurance," often may cover a member's "Deductible," and nothing further? Or am I only partially quoting some aspects of "club insurance?" Read the candidate club's fine print.

HR

 

[SCCutler]

The club in which I once flew (RFC), had each member named insured, which means that the coverage extends to the member and the member is responsible only for applicable deductible. One might consider some umbrella (excess liability) coverage, if concerned about exposure beyond the policy's liability limits.

 

[Alexb2000]

I always paid for the AOPA non-owned aircraft liability policy. It was about ~$200, cheap for an extra level of protection. Perhaps Spike could comment on whether or not this is a good idea for a club member.

 

[JimNtexas]

The words "flying club" are highly overloaded. Some 'clubs' are really just private businesses and provide no coverage for renter pilots. Others are non-profits and have decent coverage for member pilots.

I'm in a flying club in which the members share ownership of the three airplanes, it's really a multi-airplane partnership. We are covered by the club's insurance policy beyond a $2K damage deductible and liability of $250000 per passenger and one million total.

You have to ask yourself if you have enough assets to attract the attention of a plaintiff's lawyer after whatever insurance the club may provide. Keep in mind that the plaintiff's lawyer will put you in the one percent!

I don't consider the liability limits of our club policy to be adequate, so I buy an individual policy that doubles the liability coverage of the club's policy. It's cheap insurance for us rich airplane pilots.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Have I not read, somewhere, that "club insurance," often may cover a member's "Deductible," and nothing further? Or am I only partially quoting some aspects of "club insurance?" Read the candidate club's fine print.

HR

You are "only partially quoting some aspects of 'club insurance?'"

I've read "club" policies of both flavors (and variations).

 

[NoHeat]

Is there any wisdom about obtaining/holding non-owner insurance (hull and/or liability) when a member of a flying club?

I would want to read the club's policy. Find out if members are covered, and what the limits are. I'm a member of a club that has a policy that supposedly protects not just the club, but also its members. But depending on how much assets you need to protect, you might need to supplement it with a personal non-owned policy to have enough protection. Starving students shouldn't bother, but an older person with lots of savings probably should.

 

[weilke]

The retail non-owned policies don't cover you if you have an ownership interest in the aircraft or a lease relationship for more than 30 days. If the club has an equity buy-in, you do hold an ownership interest in the clubs planes. If this is one of those club setups that doesn't own aircraft and is just a conduit to structure the flying of some leasebacks, that does not apply.

 

[MAKG1]

I keep a non-owned policy for the occasional vacation with a rental. There are a lot of FBOs out there with truly substandard insurance. Many of them will subrogate, and a few of them don't exist at all, and quite a few have really high deductibles (like one I ran across at KHRV with a $20K deductible!).

 

[AggieMike88]

The retail non-owned policies don't cover you if you have an ownership interest in the aircraft or a lease relationship for more than 30 days. If the club has an equity buy-in, you do hold an ownership interest in the clubs planes. If this is one of those club setups that doesn't own aircraft and is just a conduit to structure the flying of some leasebacks, that does not apply.

In my situation, the club I plan to join is an equity club. $3000 buy-in, maximum of 16 slots.

 

[weilke]

In my situation, the club I plan to join is an equity club. $3000 buy-in, maximum of 16 slots.

Look very closely at your non-owned policy, if necessary get something from your insurance agent. Each of the non-owned policies I have had excluded aircraft I had an ownership interest in from coverage. Depending on how the club is structured (do you purchase a share of the corporation or is it just a loan that you make to the club), an equity club may cause this to kick in.