When a student rents a school aircraft, two numbers decide how well the school is protected: the hull limit and the liability limit. Setting them too low leaves gaps. Setting them without understanding the options can push students toward coverage they do not need. Here is how SkyWatch limits work.
Hull: liability for damage to the non-owned aircraft
This coverage applies to damage to the aircraft the pilot is renting. SkyWatch offers hull limits from $5K up to $200K on monthly and annual policies. Short-term plans have a maximum hull limit of $75K.
That cap matters for planning. If a school's aircraft is worth more than $75K and the school requires hull coverage near that value, a daily or weekly policy may not reach it. A monthly or annual policy is the better fit.
Liability
Liability covers injury or damage to others. Limits range from:
- Lower end: $250K per accident and $25K per passenger
- Upper end: $1M per accident and $200K per passenger
Schools that fly with passengers, or whose students fly cross-country, often set their requirement toward the upper end.
Matching limits to your fleet
- Entry trainers: a lower hull limit may satisfy the school's requirement, and short-term plans can work.
- Higher-value or complex aircraft: look at monthly or annual policies with higher hull limits.
- Mixed fleets: consider a tiered requirement by aircraft, not one number for everything.
Tips for writing your requirements
- Write the hull minimum as a dollar amount tied to each aircraft type.
- State the liability minimum per accident and per passenger.
- Tell students how to prove coverage, for example with a certificate of insurance (COI).
- Review the numbers each year as aircraft values change.
Make it automatic
SkyWatch can customize a flight school portal around your minimum thresholds and add your offices as cc on each COI, so you see every policy without chasing paperwork.
Ready to see how this works for your school? Talk to the SkyWatch aviation team about custom flight school portals, or get a quote at SkyWatch Aircraft Renter's Insurance.
