Thoughts on carrying only liability insurance

[travalab]

Does anyone carry only liability insurance? Is that even possible in aviation? My thoughts are, if I walked away from a crash I would be sufficiently satisfied I was alive. Sure it would suck to loose an aircraft, or have to pay out of pocket to fix it. But for me (brand new pilot) the savings would be about 1400 a year, risk over reward, is it worth it to keep cost down?

[Kahuna]

Originally Posted by travalab

Does anyone carry only liability insurance? Is that even possible in aviation? My thoughts are, if I walked away from a crash I would be sufficiently satisfied I was alive. Sure it would suck to loose an aircraft, or have to pay out of pocket to fix it. But for me (brand new pilot) the savings would be about 1400 a year, risk over reward, is it worth it to keep cost down?

Yes of course you can do liability only and many many do.
There are a large number of accidents both in motion, and not in motion, that result in damages and not death, in fact the majority are that a way. Did you see the mangled planes at SnF?

You are welcome to self insure your hull if you like. Totally a personal preference and one that we will have a difficult time helping you with as your risk assessment combined with your ability to absorb loss only you can answer.

[TSwezey]

Do you have great health insurance? Money to live on for six months to a year if you are not retired? A crash or even a non-flying accident can put a serious dent in your life.

[JDRhodes]

Can you afford to lose an $80,000 asset? Saving $1,400 a year, it would take about 17 years to save up for a prop-strike teardown.

$1,400 seems pretty cheap when the tornado sirens are going off.

[Don]

I'll echo the concern about loss of an asset. I consider my RV to be an asset and have justified spending the money I have on it figuring I will likely (not positively) get most of it back when I sell the plane and possible all or a bit more than I put into it. It's hard to say with certainty if I'll win lose or draw when the time to sell comes, but I'm not counting on big gains or losses, either way. In some ways, its like most of my investments (particularly the past few years).<g>

The big difference here is, I can really enjoy my money more in an RV than in watching numbers in an investment account. So, looking at it as an asset, I wouldn't want to lose that 80,000 in any sort of accident. Insurance allows me to enjoy the "asset" and with some protection against loss (and insurance sure isn't a 100% guarantee either).

If I could walk away from an 80k loss without regret, I'd sure consider less insurance.

[N941WR]

You have a lot of options when it comes to aviation insurance. Heck, you don?t even need insurance, depending on where you are hangaring your plane.

There is liability insurance only.

The following typically includes liability but check your policy:

There is ?not in motion?, which covers you as long as you are not moving, including taxiing. This should cover things like the storm Kahuna mentioned.

There is ?no flight? or whatever they call it. That will cover you during taxi but ends when you start the takeoff roll and picks up again when you pull off the runway.

Then there is full coverage.

In my case, I have full coverage. If I wouldn?t have had some type of hull coverage, my plane would never be flying again after the prop strike I had because someone left a trailer in the middle of a taxiway, on the back side of a small hill. While I didn?t damage the airframe at all, everything firewall forward had to be replaced and that cost north of $40K.

[L.Adamson]

Originally Posted by N941WR

In my case, I have full coverage. If I wouldn?t have had some type of hull coverage, my plane would never be flying again after the prop strike I had because someone left a trailer in the middle of a taxiway, on the back side of a small hill. While I didn?t damage the airframe at all, everything firewall forward had to be replaced and that cost north of $40K.

Which, is now, why my plane is just a conversation piece....
Had liability only.... (prop & gear strike)

[Bob Axsom]

Insurance companies do not want to lose money either and they pay out claims accordingly. A couple of examples:

1 - I had an accident where a driver ran into the side of my truck causing damage to all of the panels on that side and fled the scene. The truck was in excellent shape but it was ~20 years old. The insurance company (... Farm) wanted to write it off and give me a check for it's value instead of paying to fix it. I cancelled the claim paid to have it fixed myself eliminated the related insurance and I'm still driving that wonderful truck 5 years later. If you think that the insurance is going to make you whole again after you get some age on your engine and plane I think you are mistaken.

2 - A friend of mine was a partner in an aerobatic Bonanza (N1KY). One of the partners flew it to Mexico and crashed it with a gear up landing I believe - it's been a while. The partners were given some money and the plane was sold for salvage by the insurance company and restored to flight by someone I'm told. My friend couldn't afford to buy the plane and have it restored and I doubt that he owned his share free and clear. He got his share of the payout I'm sure which he would not get without hull insurance. The question I think has to be are you willing to forego the possibility of some payout if you have an accident.

My hull is currently insurred for $60,000, I would be willing to fix it or walk away or sell it for salvage if I had an accident so I don't know why I keep paying the money except my entire bill is on the order of what you say is your hull insurance cost and I'm too lazy to address the problem head on.

Bob Axsom

[DEWATSON]

Bob,

You make good sense to me...............

[Mile High Relic]

Originally Posted by Bob Axsom

Insurance companies do not want to lose money either and they pay out claims accordingly. A couple of examples:

1 - I had an accident where a driver ran into the side of my truck causing damage to all of the panels on that side and fled the scene. The truck was in excellent shape but it was ~20 years old. The insurance company (... Farm) wanted to write it off and give me a check for it's value instead of paying to fix it. I cancelled the claim paid to have it fixed myself eliminated the related insurance and I'm still driving that wonderful truck 5 years later. If you think that the insurance is going to make you whole again after you get some age on your engine and plane I think you are mistaken.

The scenario above is why I dropped collision on my 95 Integra, because the auto insurance company decides the "value" when it is totalled. On my plane though, I decide the value. There is a difference.

In the last few years I'd guess I have paid about $5K in aviation insurance premiums and received about $30K back. Losses do occur. As with all insurance, it is all about your risk tolerance and how much you want to manage that risk. For me, it is a lot easier to discuss annual premiums with my wife than it would have been to explain the 30K loss. Talk about risk!