SonexBuilders.net

Hello again guys. Well sorry to be such a pain in all these questions but its
the best place to ask. NOw I am getting insurance as a non-owner from eaa
insurance from a good source here on the site..Thanks now my question is the
plane that im going to get is a tail dragger and eaa will not insure me till
after 25 hours i think. Does anyone have any experiance of what i should do im
lost and i cant fly in another plane cause im getting trained in a tri-gear.
PLEASE help...


Danny

Think about why you need insurance in the first place. Two reasons, one is to cover an expensive asset (an airplane) from damage. The other is liability insurance to cover damages you cause to others.
Unlike automotive insurance laws, we are not required to carry insurance to fly our planes.

The question of what you need depends on what you have to lose. I have enough assets that I need to protect them in the event my plane causes someone else damage and I'm sued. Hence the liability insurance. The non-movement insurance is just to cover my plane in the event something bad happens when its in the hangar (fire, theft, tornado). Its pretty cheap.

I got $1M liability insurance only from www.firstflightinsurance.com for my Waiex. I have non-movement hull insurance for the same plane from Falcon. Falcon would not cover me for movement until I had 5 hours in the plane. I wanted coverage from first flight. Its kinda pricey, $450 per year, but it protects my other assets if I do something bad. Of course it doesn't cover hull damage to my plane. I'm on the hook for that. After 5 hours, Falcon will give me hull coverage but its pretty expensive.
Next year, Falcon will cover me for everything and even movement hull coverage.

But if you have few assets (house, cars, retirement accounts, investments), what does liability give you? I guess from an altruistic standpoint, you should be responsible to damages you cause to others. You break it, you buy it. If you don't have insurance, they will have a pretty dry lemon to squeeze juice out of. They will take everything you own and bankrupt you. If you have a lot of stuff, you might really want to consider a liability policy. They still might take everything you own, but the first $1M will come from the insurance company.

BTW, your homeowner's policy will not cover you. I checked.

Hi Danny,

The only recommendation I can provide is to find an aviation insurance agent to fight this battle for you. Mine was able to get me a good rate but as you've found out, getting hull coverage is very challenging until you have at least 10 hours. It's up to you but you may need to consider liability only, or try to find a Sonex owner who can give you some stick time.

Good luck