Understanding the Fundamentals of Aircraft Insurance: What’s the Deal With Airplane Insurance?

When thinking about the freedom of flight, it’s easy to forget about the reality around you. This blog is here to help you ground yourself for a moment and understand why aviation insurance is essential for pilots’ peace of mind and long-term financial security. Aircraft insurance is designed to protect aircraft pilots from financial burdens from potential accidents, damage, theft, liability claims, and most other unforeseen occurrences. It provides a safety net that protects the pilot from large payments to repair the situation. Let’s break it down…

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Get On Board: What’s Covered in Aviator’s Insurance?

Aviation insurance can be broadly categorized into two primary types: Hull Insurance and Liability Insurance:

• Liability insurance will cover pilots’ expenses in the event they are held legally responsible for causing bodily injury or property damage with their aircraft to a third party. 
• Hull insurance covers most kinds of physical damage in the event of an accident. It provides financial support for repairs or replacements in the event of damage or loss caused by accidents. 

• Skywatch offers three different kinds of coverage to provide maximum flexibility: “Full Coverage (Flight + Ground)”, “Ground Not in Flight,” and “Ground Not in Motion.”

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Liabili-who?

Also known as third party liability, Liability Insurance helps ease the financial responsibility that comes after getting into an accident. All pilots are legally required to be covered by Liability Insurance in order to fly. In the event of an accident causing third-party damages and injury, pilots can receive financial aid in paying for repairs and legal services. Coverage does not help with damage to the aircraft itself, that support is covered in Hull Insurance.

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What the hull??

“Hull Insurance” refers to coverage for most damages caused in an accident. The main focus of Hull Insurance is to help ease the cost of maintaining the integrity of the plane’s body and equipment. This includes aid for replacements and repairs after repeated use or accidents, ensuring that the financial burden of aircraft damage and repairs doesn't rest solely on the owner. 

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Now you get it!

This blog is a bird’s eye view meant to lay the foundations of your understanding of aircraft insurance. Liability and Hull Insurance are used in different cases to save pilots & businesses the financial burden of paying for damages and legal fees. These are handled on a case-by-case basis, so limitations apply. Now that you’re familiar with the basics, take a look for yourself, get a quote from Skywatch in a matter of minutes, and fly with peace of mind!