Sad Story

[titanhank]

Originally Posted by Pilot135pd

HOLD IT, not so fast, you would still be flying without insurance for you !!

Say for example that you insure it in your Uncle Charlie's name and you fly it under the Open Pilot waiver. Sounds good up to now but then YOU have an accident. Oh Oh, now your Uncle Charlie is covered and will get paid completely BUT YOU could be sued to recover everything they paid Uncle Charlie PLUS their expenses !!!

The only people really covered are named pilots so the Open Pilot waiver is only to cover the insured interest not the additional pilot flying it. This is called

Subrogation :
A term describing a legal right held by most insurance carriers to legally pursue a third party that caused an insurance loss to the insured. This is done in order to recover the amount of the claim paid by the insurance carrier to the insured for the loss


That's why they came up with Renter's Insurance, same principal for anyone renting even though flight schools have their own insurance.

And before anyone says then rent it from the named pilot, most insurance doesn't let the named pilot rent it without paying an out the wazoo high premium.

I'm not an insurance expert but have owned all kinds of aircraft for decades and have seen how this has developed. Way back it wasn't like that but now it's the norm not the exception.

I definitely would not file a claim unless it was by a widow, but most airports require proof of insurance to rent a hangar. This will satisfy this requirement. If you are flying from a private field, go without insurance for the year until all this mess resets. I would not sell something i built with my own hands because of an insurance company. My plane is paid for with no leins, if you have a loan on the plane, then this may not be an option. If you wreck it, the bank gets paid and the insurance company would come after you for damages.

[Darren Kerns]

Scott
I am so sorry to hear about your situation.

My wife and I really enjoyed talking to you and your wife at our Fish Fry Fly-in.

I really liked your RV8.

I want to wish you best. Hopefully, everything will work out.

I know Traci and I would love to see you again in September.

Good Luck
Darren & Traci Kerns
RV7 N599DT

[MCA]

Sorry to hear about your partnership challenges, but some really great information came out of this thread. Best wishes to getting it all back in order!

[lr172]

Originally Posted by titanhank

If you are flying from a private field, go without insurance for the year until all this mess resets.

While I am all for self-insuraning my own planes damage, I am not comfortable with liability. I even have concerns that the $1M of liability coverage could be inadequate in some circumstances. This is a pretty bold recommendation. Someone could wind up with all of their assets, other than their home, lost in a judgement.

I also question whether or not someone meeting the open pilot clause is afforded liability coverage under the owner's policy. I always assumed they did, but now I am questioning that. Maybe Gallagher can answer that.

Larry

[BobTurner]

Originally Posted by lr172

I also question whether or not someone meeting the open pilot clause is afforded liability coverage under the owner's policy. I always assumed they did, but now I am questioning that. Maybe Gallagher can answer that.

Larry

In fact I asked Gallagher that very question some time ago. The answer was ?no?, the open-pilot pilot had no coverage, while the owner did. But as a practical manner, the owner was also named in a lawsuit virtually 100% of the time (plantiff?s attorneys always follow the money), so the insurance company would pay out, up to its limit, any judgement. So the question is, would the insurance company turn around and sue the pilot flying, to recover its losses? The answer was, ?In most cases, no. The cost of bringing legal action, or the limited assets of the pilot flying, generally made ?no? the best business decision. However, the insurance company did have the right to sue, if they chose to do so.?

[EXTAAFLY]

Originally Posted by Tommy123

The morale of this story is airline pilots are not very good at stick and rudder. No offense but it’s true. Managing a B-777 is not the same as hand flying a airplane.
I have a neighbor that drives the B-777 and he agrees with me.

I bet you're one of the cool dudes that walk around the terminals with John Wayne swagger. Wearing a totally cool AOPA hat. Then. . .

When you get on the jet, you poke your head in the cockpit and say,

"Hey Skipper, if you need any help up here, I'll be in 32B."

Then, smack your teeth, give a disrespectful 2 finger salute pointing to your super cool pilot hat and wink as you strut back to your seat.

We always sit there and talk about how great it is for a guy like you to be here. . . NOT.

[Pilot135pd]

Originally Posted by dfwtrash

How about this idea, sell the plane to a new ( owner ) partner. Then have him put insurance on the plane with open pilot policy? I have a open pilot policy on my planes. Anyone with 500 total time, and time in type can fly it.

That insurance only covers you not the pilot flying your plane. Please read comment #32 in this thread.

[Pilot135pd]

Originally Posted by BobTurner

...So the question is, would the insurance company turn around and sue the pilot flying, to recover its losses? The answer was, “In most cases, no. The cost of bringing legal action, or the limited assets of the pilot flying, generally made ‘no’ the best business decision. However, the insurance company did have the right to sue, if they chose to do so.”

That reply would be ok if the pilot flying was a newbie but from what I’ve seen pilots who fly RVs and can qualify for open pilot coverage have a little deeper pockets so if the insurance sees that the pilot flying has assets then you can bet your ASSetts you’ll get sued to recover what they paid out.

[Kyle Boatright]

Originally Posted by EXTAAFLY

I bet you're one of the cool dudes that walk around the terminals with John Wayne swagger. Wearing a totally cool AOPA hat. Then. . .

When you get on the jet, you poke your head in the cockpit and say,

"Hey Skipper, if you need any help up here, I'll be in 32B."

AOPA hat? The pilot watch is the giveaway.

And I always get a window seat so I have situation awareness, just in case both crew members ate the fish. ;-)

[Maxrate]

Originally Posted by jrs14855

The late great Leo Laudenslager was an airline pilot. For those who just woke up from a 50 year nap Leo was World Aerobatic Champion in 1980. US National Aerobatic Champion 7 times.
Some of the worst and some of the best aerobatic "students" (I prefer the term trainees) that I ever flew with were airline pilots.
It is just not a good idea to categorize.

As was Debby Rihn Harvey. Stories like this are why I personally have stuck with the quote. ? the only ship that won?t sail is a partnership ?. YMMV.