So, I'm not an airplane owner yet but I like to dream and figure things out before I have the resources to do so, I know it's a weakness I have.

Anyway I was thinking about airplane owners insurance and I was trying to find what is required? I really could not find anything. Then I thought, well the FAA doesn't ask for your insurance on a ramp check do they? So is insurance just their to protect your very expensive investment or if you hint something else that is expensive or am I missing something altogether?

If there is a requirement to be insured, it's not mandated by the FAA or any federal agency. It would be some locality like your airport.

Usually it's the bank who requires hull insurance if you're financing the aircraft. Liability insurance is just a good idea in general because of the potential to hurt a passenger, or wreck shop as you ground loop into the ramp full of transient Cirrus and Malibu.

In theory, at least, you're required to have liability insurance to cross over into Canada, but I've never known anyone to have to prove it. If you had an accident, though......

As Zane says, liability insurance is to protect you civilly if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident where someone is hurt or you damage something else. Hull coverage, on the other hand, indemnifies YOU against anything bad that might happen to your airplane.

MTV

As far as I know, most airports would require liability insurance on airplanes that are based there and tied down or hangered. At Bishop they want the county named as an additional insured.

Another thing which I discovered is that in addition to liability coverage, you can have hull insurance without having collision insurance. That brings the price down quite a bit from full coverage. It covers my airplane when it is not in motion (i.e., hail damage, theft, someone taxis into it) but not when it is being flown. Yet another reason to fly safely!

As mentioned, you need liability insurance when flying in Canada. My liability insurance covers me in any plane (under 8,000 lb.) I might fly. I pay about $940 for the May to December period and it covers three passenger seats and property damage I might cause. Considering that my motorcycle liability only insurance costs about $650 per year (6 month riding season) the pilot liability insurance seems like a good deal. Transport Canada has charged some pilots without insurance. Not sure what they do with forgein flyers though.