insurance catch

[SNX1508]

I obtained quotes from both Avemco & First Flight Insurance Group in 2016. At that time Avemco required 10 hours training by a CFI in make & model. CFI was also required to be current in make & model. Here are the details:

Avemco (as quoted June 2016)
Liability ($629/YR)
Each Person $100,000
Property Damage $1,000,000
Each Accident $1,000,000
Aircraft Damage (including In Flight) ($2329/YR)
$30,000 Insured Value
$1,000 In Flight Deductible
$1,000 Not In Flight Deductible
Medical Expenses (Included)
$3,000 Each Occupant
Certifications Required
Prior to solo in insured aircraft, not less than 10 hours dual instruction in the insured aircraft or one of the same make & model. They must also obtain written approval from that Certified Flight Instructor who is current in make and model.

*****************************************
First Flight Insurance Group, Inc. (as quoted in December 2017 & renewed for 2018)
3rd Party Liability ($496.46/YR)
LIMITS OF LIABILITY SCHEDULE OF DEDUCTIBLES
Bodily Injury Per Person Per Accident $100,000 No Deductible
Property Damage Per Accident $250,000
Bodily Injury & Property Damage Combined Per Accident $1,000,000
Bodily Injury & Property Damage Aggregate $1,000,000
Medical Payments Per Person $1,000
Annual Defense Costs $100,000
My Certifications
When I initially obtained a quote from First Flight Insurance Group, Inc. in 2016, I had the following training & endorsements by a CFI, sufficient to obtain the above coverage from First Flight (but NOT sufficient to obtain coverage from Avemco):
-20 hours in a Czech Sport Cruiser (tri-gear)
-30 hours in a Citabria (tailwheel)
Sport Pilot certificate, with PPC endorsement, SEL endorsement, tailwheel endorsement

I have had the same policy for my Powered Parachute since 2007, annual premium is $436.72

[builderflyer]

Has anyone else received a liability insurance premium increase with an upcoming renewal. My broker is Falcon and the underwriter is Global and I was shocked to see a 53% rise in premium for my Sonex TD. Speaking with Falcon, I only heard "that's just the way it is". I also own a Cessna 150 and there is no increase in liability premium on that aircraft. What's going on?........Falcon couldn't tell me.

Art,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Sonex taildragger #95,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jabiru 3300 #261

[WaiexN143NM]

Hi art, all,
Well, if you see all the accidents listed on kathryns report everyday its appalling. the cost of rescue response, medical costs, aircraft retrival, aircraft hull, infastructure repair if it damaged anything. it all adds up. seems to be all GA insurance has gone up dramatically. i think we have 500+ now sonexs flying. vans is over 5000+. You see many accidents with vans products. It goes back to the basics. Are you physically fit to fly? mentally fit to fly today? is your airplane in good working order? respecting the weather, winds. fuel situation, leave youself plenty to divert to an alternate. be on a stable approach. if things arent going well on final, go around and set up for a better approach. is your airplane tied down doing high engine run ups? ive seen alot of accidents lately with airplanes into hangars. be careful out there. tommorrow may be a better day to fly, weather , winds, conditions, or yourself.

WaiexN143NM
Michael

[LarryEWaiex121]

Hi all!,

My insurance comes due in Sept for my Waiex/TD. I've been insured now by Falcon for seven years and the premium has wandered from a high of $1095 to a low of $875 last year. This last Sept. they came in at $900. Same coverages as mentioned above I believe. $40,000 Hull coverage, zero deductible moving or not.
I have 656 hrs of Sonex time and about 1850 total hours in taildraggers combined. I mention this purely to set the stage for comparisons of cost based on time in type and overall experience level. Naturally, if you have very little time the cost is going to increase accordingly.
The folks at Falcon told me there would be no more discounts, based on experience. I guess after you get a couple hundred hours or so many years of not bending things up, you essentially max out.
They intimated at the time of renewal that surprises may be in the immediate future. I asked the reason,(feeling I already knew the answer) and the response was simply, "look around at how many accidents there are on these small planes". They indicated by next renewal there may be some financial heartburn in "our" futures? It depends on what the underwriters think the exposure is and has been? Personally, I believe the accident rate has been too high. I wish I had the magic answers but I know two areas that can be fixed. Fuel and loss of control. Especially loss of control on the ground.
I've said it before and I'll repeat myself here. There should be ZERO tolerance for shetchy designed fuel systems. Personally as much as I hate rules and regs, I wish there would be mandatory compliance with approved fuel delivery design from tank to engine. No cobbled up crap someone dreamed up because they felt they know better than all the expert advice from the factory and design team. I say this simply because of the fact, both the pilot and plane are an unknown commodity on that first flight.
How many folks have we had crash or have incident when the plane quite for unknown reasons? Yet, on examination, the core of the engine had no faults.
The other matter of uncontrolled flight into hard stuff like the ground or houses. Training, training and a certain amount of luck. Sometimes there just are no good options.
I do my best to remind myself that no matter how much pride I have in my ride; the plane has to be viewed as a consumable if the crap really hits the fan. You can't build another plane if you don't survive the first one letting you down. Kind of grim thinking but its about time the Sonex community looked seriously about what's causing the "stirrings" in the insurance world, or it's going to really hurt big time in the wallet.

Larry
Waiex121YX, Camit 3300, Skyview, 656 hrs.

[SNX1508]

First Flight Insurance Group renewal for Sonex insurance in 2019, 3rd party liability only.....

Class 3 – Ultralight
& “N” Number Aircraft Max. Takeoff Weight 993 – 1,320 Lbs. $496.46 Per Aircraft

[Onex107]

I've been forced to go to "liability only" this year also ( "$540). Priced out of the game. I've been insured through AOPA for 20 plus years on a C-150 for $500 but when I changed to the Onex the premium more than doubled. The reason I was given last year, it was due to my age (86). The reason given this year ( by an uninformed agent) it was due to ( experimental airplanes have bad engines, not like the certified airplanes). The funny thing is AVEMCO will give a discount for a single place plane, AOPA will not, they insure my passengers. I believe they think I have a side car.

[jowens]

Super sorry to receive a letter today from USUA that first flight insurance lost their underwritter and no new policies or renewals will be accepted. Existing policy's will continue until their agreed to expiration date. For me, this is a 'I don't know how good I had it until it's gone' moments. 52 hours of sonex tailwheel PIC time so I'll see what options are available. Thankfully I have until July. USUA is hoping to find a new underwritter so there is still hope.

[radfordc]

My First Flight policy expires at the end of this month. I renewed with AVEMCO at the same premium cost as First Flight. Not a Sonex.... experimental Fokker Eindecker replica.

[Timwaiex0146]

Hi all, waiex 146yx is ready to fly and we’ve hit a wall with insurance too. Just liability is over $1000 and hull will bring it up to $4000 . A friend who is a corporate pilot and CFI with 16 k hours and several thousands in Rv’s has offered to do the first flight , also has done several first flights , but the insurance wants him to have 2 hours with a CFi and three solo . Also I will need the same and my partner will need 5 hrs Dual and 5 solo. Needless to say , this is not good news and bodes I’ll for home builders. Tim

[Timwaiex0146]

Good news ! The insurance has agreed that our test pilot has enough experience to fly our waiex !