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You're Ready to Take Flight.

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Here's Your Flight Plan

Follow these three simple steps to get better results when buying aircraft insurance.

01
Complete Your Application

A quick and simple online application that will take less than five minutes to complete.

02
Schedule Your  Consultation

Choose a convenient time for a twenty-minute conversation with our aviation experts.

03
Receive Your Underwriting Report

A detailed marketing strategy tailored to address the unique risks associated with your submission.

Why work with us?

We specialize in helping private aircraft owners find the best insurance results they deserve by developing tailored buying strategies designed to ease an insurance company's perception of risk.

Real Experience

We are pilots with a strong network of underwriters ready to source the best aircraft insurance solutions for you.

Invest More Time

We take more time to understand the realities of what your risk exposures truly represent to insurance companies.

Better Results

We are not tied to commissions. We would rather do what's right than follow the industry status quo.

Hear what our customers are saying

A Refreshing Change

The word "visionary" are often overused, but is accurate. DF Steer is not afraid of the status quo or of thinking big about how to make things better, how to do things differently, how to help. I wish there were more brokers like DF Steer.

DOMINIC ORSLER // PHD

Creative Thinkers

We've engaged DF Steer to explore options for insurance. They provide some of the highest level advice we've received. Their out of the box thinking and ability to reach out to a wide network to find unique solutions confirms their integrity.

DARRYL STANIER // President & CEO

Great Negotiators

DF Steer finds ways of servicing customers and bringing new and better experiences for these customers both int he way they interact with their business, while building value propositions that work for both their clients and underwriters.

Chris Steeves //  CFO

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best way to shop for aircraft insurance?

Going to several brokers to compare multiple quotes will rarely deliver the results you deserve. That’s because insurance companies will only deal with the first broker who approaches them with your application.

Why?

Aviation insurance rates are unregulated with no published rating tables. Evaluating aviation risk is often subjective, so if multiple brokers approached the same insurance company, that underwriter would select against themselves.

It’s best to choose one broker to canvas all aviation underwriters to negotiate as many quotes on your behalf.

How do I choose the right broker?

With perhaps only a few insurance companies available to quote insurance for your aircraft, it’s important you choose your broker wisely.

We recommend choosing a broker with a proven background in the aviation industry, who has the knowledge as a pilot to anticipate the specific risks associated with your aircraft.

While some brokers may only have access to a few aviation insurance companies, we recommend choosing a broker who specializes in aviation insurance, as they will have full access to ALL Canadian licensed aviation insurance companies.

That said, not all brokers specializing in aviation insurance are created equal.  We recommend interviewing several aviation brokers to get a sense of their time investment in representing you properly.

When should I apply for aircraft insurance?

Depending on the insurance company, insurance quotes are only valid between thirty (30) and sixty (60) days.

We recommend starting conversations ninety (90) days prior to requiring insurance to develop a proper buying strategy that will deliver the best results you deserve. Starting early will allow your broker to assemble the best quality data to prepare for submitting your information to insurance companies; sixty (60) days prior to your expected policy inception date.

This will allow your broker ample to time to canvas all available insurance companies who may be interested to quote your business and negotiate the best results you deserve.

The most valuable commodity to any negotiation is “TIME”.

How many Canadian underwriters insure private aircraft?

Currently, there’s about ten (10) insurance companies writing aviation insurance, and among those companies there’s perhaps only five (5) insurance companies with an appetite to write private aircraft owners.

Depending on your risk profile, there may only be two (2) or three (3) underwriters with an appetite to insure your aircraft.

With only a few insurance companies writing aviation risks, our best advice is to choose your broker wisely as you’ll only get one chance to make a good first impression within an underwriter.

What value should I insure my aircraft?

When selecting an amount for hull coverage, it is important that you make it equal to the fair market value of your aircraft.

The insurance company considers any damage equal to or greater than the coverage limit to be a total loss and will take your aircraft as salvage.

What does this mean to you? 

Let’s say you have a $75,000 aircraft which you insure for only $25,000. You sustain damage to the aircraft, amounting to $30,000.

The insurance company will give you a cheque for only $25,000 and take your aircraft - all of it - as salvage!

What hull rates should I expect?

Having already qualified as a pilot for insurance, that means you have a lot of valuable experience on the aircraft you would like to insure, and we believe with a proper marketing strategy you should be promoted as a desirable pilot for insurance companies.

Depending on the value of your aircraft, budget hull rates to range anywhere from 2% to 3% of the value of the aircraft you wish to insure.

What liability limits should I purchase?

At minimum, we recommend purchasing a $2M liability limit; however, as an experienced pilot, we suggest you explore options up to as high as $20M. The additional premium for these higher limits may not be as expensive as you think.

Ready to Take Flight?

Let's develop a buying strategy that will deliver the best results you deserve.

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