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.

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.

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”.

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.

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!

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.

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.