Umbrella insurance for pilots?

[SeattleFlyer]

I was reading my umbrella insurance policy recently, and I saw that
they don't cover any liabilities related to my use or owning of
aircraft. Needless to say I would rather give my money to a company
that didn't have this exclusion. Does anyone have an umrella policy
that covers flying, if so can you share the name of the company?

Please send responses to (remove the
Xs first please)

thanks for sharing your experiences. I have found that not all agents
are very knowledgable. I specifically asked my current agent if flying
was covered, and they said all non commercial activities were covered.
However when I got the policy in writing it said something very
different.

[Rolf Blom]

On 2004-04-20 07:35, SeattleFlyer wrote:
> I was reading my umbrella insurance policy recently, and I saw that
> they don't cover any liabilities related to my use or owning of
> aircraft. Needless to say I would rather give my money to a company
> that didn't have this exclusion. Does anyone have an umrella policy
> that covers flying, if so can you share the name of the company?
>
> Please send responses to (remove the
> Xs first please)
>
> thanks for sharing your experiences. I have found that not all agents
> are very knowledgable. I specifically asked my current agent if flying
> was covered, and they said all non commercial activities were covered.
> However when I got the policy in writing it said something very
> different.

I'd think only Mary Poppins would be qualified to answer this.

/Rolf
(ducking for cover)

[C J Campbell]

"Rolf Blom" > wrote in message
...
> On 2004-04-20 07:35, SeattleFlyer wrote:
> > I was reading my umbrella insurance policy recently, and I saw that
> > they don't cover any liabilities related to my use or owning of
> > aircraft. Needless to say I would rather give my money to a company
> > that didn't have this exclusion. Does anyone have an umrella policy
> > that covers flying, if so can you share the name of the company?
> >
> > Please send responses to (remove the
> > Xs first please)
> >
> > thanks for sharing your experiences. I have found that not all agents
> > are very knowledgable. I specifically asked my current agent if flying
> > was covered, and they said all non commercial activities were covered.
> > However when I got the policy in writing it said something very
> > different.
>
> I'd think only Mary Poppins would be qualified to answer this.
>
> /Rolf
> (ducking for cover)

You had better duck! (throwing rocks)

[G.R. Patterson III]

SeattleFlyer wrote:
>
> I specifically asked my current agent if flying
> was covered, and they said all non commercial activities were covered.

The typical wording of the clause is that flying as a "member of the crew" is not
covered. Some agents will misunderstand this to mean that it only applies to
commercial applications. Most other agents won't have even that much of a clue.

AOPA has pilot insurance - don't remember the company. There are others. If you're in
New Jersey, I can refer you to an excellent agent who will get you what you need.

George Patterson
This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band to
play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come home
a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

[SeattleFlyer]

come on this is a serious quesiton. Doesn't anyone have umbrella
insurance? The renters insurance on the AOPA page has pretty low per
person limits. It really isn't hard to picture getting sued for more
than that.



"C J Campbell" > wrote in message >...
> "Rolf Blom" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On 2004-04-20 07:35, SeattleFlyer wrote:
> > > I was reading my umbrella insurance policy recently, and I saw that
> > > they don't cover any liabilities related to my use or owning of
> > > aircraft. Needless to say I would rather give my money to a company
> > > that didn't have this exclusion. Does anyone have an umrella policy
> > > that covers flying, if so can you share the name of the company?
> > >
> > > Please send responses to (remove the
> > > Xs first please)
> > >
> > > thanks for sharing your experiences. I have found that not all agents
> > > are very knowledgable. I specifically asked my current agent if flying
> > > was covered, and they said all non commercial activities were covered.
> > > However when I got the policy in writing it said something very
> > > different.
> >
> > I'd think only Mary Poppins would be qualified to answer this.
> >
> > /Rolf
> > (ducking for cover)
>
> You had better duck! (throwing rocks)

[Richard Kaplan]

"SeattleFlyer" > wrote in message
om...

> come on this is a serious quesiton. Doesn't anyone have umbrella
> insurance? The renters insurance on the AOPA page has pretty low per
> person limits. It really isn't hard to picture getting sued for more
> than that.

I once heard that Allstate's umbrella policy covers non-commercial aviation,
but when I researched it I learned that varies by state.

Beyond that I have never heard of a general umbrella policy which covers
aviation.

The only realistic options against large verdicts seem to be life insurance,
asset protection plans, and self-insurance.

As a practical matter though, absent intentional malice it is rare for tort
cases to settle for less than liability insurance policy limits.



--------------------
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com

[C J Campbell]

"SeattleFlyer" > wrote in message
om...
> I was reading my umbrella insurance policy recently, and I saw that
> they don't cover any liabilities related to my use or owning of
> aircraft. Needless to say I would rather give my money to a company
> that didn't have this exclusion. Does anyone have an umrella policy
> that covers flying, if so can you share the name of the company?
>
> Please send responses to (remove the
> Xs first please)
>
> thanks for sharing your experiences. I have found that not all agents
> are very knowledgable. I specifically asked my current agent if flying
> was covered, and they said all non commercial activities were covered.
> However when I got the policy in writing it said something very
> different.

To give a serious answer: umbrella insurance just doesn't cover all that
much. It is intended to supplement your auto and dwelling policies. Perhaps
there are some aviation insurance companies that offer umbrella insurance
that supplements your aviation policy as well, but it might be just as cheap
to buy additional aviation liability insurance.

[Rick Durden]

The only umbrella policy I have found can only be purchased if you
already have a $1 million smooth (no sublimits) underlying policy. It
is through Allstate.

The problem is that most companies push the nearly worthless $100,000
per person sublimit policies and there is no umbrella or supplemental
insurance that you can purchase that will sit on top of those policies
to give higher limits or excess insurance.

So, get a policy without sublimits, even though that may be difficult
or expensive and get the highest limits you can buy. (Be careful,
agents seem to be spring-loaded to sell sublimit policies, even when
you make it clear you want smooth coverage, so insist.) Then see if
Allstate writes its umbrella policy in your state and buy it as excess
coverage.

All the best,
Rick

(SeattleFlyer) wrote in message >...
> I was reading my umbrella insurance policy recently, and I saw that
> they don't cover any liabilities related to my use or owning of
> aircraft. Needless to say I would rather give my money to a company
> that didn't have this exclusion. Does anyone have an umrella policy
> that covers flying, if so can you share the name of the company?
>
> Please send responses to (remove the
> Xs first please)
>
> thanks for sharing your experiences. I have found that not all agents
> are very knowledgable. I specifically asked my current agent if flying
> was covered, and they said all non commercial activities were covered.
> However when I got the policy in writing it said something very
> different.

[ajohnson]

(SeattleFlyer) wrote in message >...
> I was reading my umbrella insurance policy recently, and I saw that
> they don't cover any liabilities related to my use or owning of
> aircraft. Needless to say I would rather give my money to a company
> that didn't have this exclusion. Does anyone have an umrella policy
> that covers flying, if so can you share the name of the company?
>
> Please send responses to (remove the
> Xs first please)
>
> thanks for sharing your experiences. I have found that not all agents
> are very knowledgable. I specifically asked my current agent if flying
> was covered, and they said all non commercial activities were covered.
> However when I got the policy in writing it said something very
> different.

I'm not very clear on what you mean by umbrella policy, but I do have
a life insurance (AD&D) policy with Minnesota Life that does not have
an exclusion for pilots. They are known to be a pilot friendly company,
and run ads for pilot specific life insurance in AOPA as well (although
my policy is not specifically a 'pilot' policy). Check out their web
page at http://www.minnesotamutual.com and see if they offer what you
are looking for.

--
Allen Johnson

[C J Campbell]

"ajohnson" > wrote in message
m...
>
> I'm not very clear on what you mean by umbrella policy, but I do have
> a life insurance (AD&D) policy with Minnesota Life that does not have
> an exclusion for pilots.

An umbrella policy is intended to protect people from liability issues that
exceed their auto and/or homeowners' coverage.