robw56 wrote:I pay $800 a year for 50k hull coverage on my 170 with $0 deductible. It would take 62.5 years before I paid that in insurance. It seems like it's worth it for me.

Insurance is the biggest waste of money in the world...until you need it. Then it's a godsend. I've always carried full insurance (liability & hull) on my airplanes. When I got the 180 last fall, Bill White covered me for $65K hull for $1143, pretty reasonable I thought considering that while I had plenty of tailwheel Cessna time, I only had a grand total of one hour of C180 time. I'm hoping the price'll come down a bit this year as I'll be over the hopefully magic 100 hours, might use any decrease to bump the coverage up to $70K or so.

mpm wrote:I've always had it on my 55' 180. Hard not to add up the 17 years of premiums and not think about the $$ spent. Then, some &@?#%bag at the other end of my hangar row decides to be careless with an electrical power strip and bam, nicest C180 I've ever seen is reduced to a few puddles of aluminum. The hull insurance eased the pain a bit. Without it, I might have gone postal.

Sorry to hear about your 180 burning up in that hangar fore at Camas. I saw the photos of the aftermath--what a bummer! In fact, I emailed that photo to all the people in my hangar building as a reminder to not leave heaters & electrical stuff running when they're not there. Did you get yourself another 180 to replace it?

Some things to keep in mind,

Don't under insure on hull value

182's are much cheaper to insure than a 180 so be honest with yourself when defining your mission. Yes, the 180 has that TW cool factor but you will pay for it in purchase price as well as insurance.

Always get a quote from Avemco as well as from your broker, Avemco may or may not be higher/lower but it will give you an idea and option in the insurance market. Avemco underwrites their own policies, your broker shops the market but usually if ever gets a quote from Avemco. Avemco is direct.

We all pay for others stupid stunts when they result in a claim. Most are true accidents but there are the claims caused by people doing stupid stuff which only drives up the cost for the rest of us.

Speaking of stupid stuff.... Don't post stupid stuff on the internet, the insurance underwriters can view all this stuff and quote accordingly!

Read your policy!

Some policy's only cover a small amount for hail damage, look into this and try to have this addressed.

Stay legal, log your flight time, make sure all your mods are legal and the paper work is up to snuff.

Once again, don't undervalue your hull coverage!

Those are just a few thoughts I had on the subject.

Kurt

I can't imagine not having insurance, all things considered. Interesting to hear other's opinions, and insurance rates.

I completely agree with G44 on cheaper insurance for 182's.

For my 66 182, 1,000,000 liability and $51,000 hull, $250 deductible, my insurance is $658 per year. I don't have a ton of logged time either. Just over 600 hrs tt with about 300 in 182's. This is a hangared rate, which I know saves some money over having it tied up outside. This is Gobal Aerospace through Pik*West Insurance Agency.

I considered purchasing a 180, and I definitely love them, but I just couldn't justify the higher purchase price, and insurance, for MY particular missions.

There is a reason some religions don't use insurance and view it as a forum of gambling, it is.

The insurance companies are profitable because they bring in more then they pay out.



This first year with my 185 amphib I have insurance,

The 3rd year with my Stinson I decided to drop it.

You really have to just run a risk assessment on yourself, where you keep the plane and the plane.


Sometimes insurance is a good investment, sometimes it's not.

Hull insurance is a personal choice- if you can afford to take the hit in case of a mishap, go without. But IMHO anyone who has any assets definitely needs liability insurance. If you ever have a mishap where someone is hurt or god forbid killed, you will quite likely be taken to the cleaners if you don't have it-- maybe even if you do. But at least that liability coverage gives you some buffer.

I'll be re-insuring with Avemco....when the Pacer restoration is completed. Had $25k hull insurance....right gear leg failed......totaled. The hull insurance.....covered the firewall FWD.
Wonder if the value of the hull insurance should be what think its worth?

Full coverage insurance, like avgas and oil, is relatively cheap for us poor folk. If you can't write yourself a check on the spot for a direct replacement of what you're flying, you're hosing yourself if not covered.

A friend rolled up his C185 a while ago on a really stupid landing mishap. He's had the airplane for 30+ years.

No insurance.

His flying days are over unless he gets a C150 on what he sells the C185 for salvage.

Just the cost of doing business.

Gump

That is true. When I first insured my (first) plane I was surprised at how inexpensive insurance was vs. our automobiles... those actuarial scientists must know something. I figure I could technically afford to lose my plane, but if that ever happened I wouldn't be flying again anytime soon. For what insurance costs I'd rather take the gamble that if I should lose my plane I could fly again some day, and the liability coverage is icing on the cake considering the unknown. With a shared T-hangar building it could be no fault of your own and you could still be out an airplane.

I'm surprised how many would go without hull insurance here! I've always thought that airplane insurance was relatively cheap. One good mishap pays for it for the next 25-30 years! I pay $2100 a year for 210k hull with 1 mil. liability on my Scout. My Porsche SUV costs me $1600 a year and it is only worth 75k! Seems cheap to me. I've seen too many people that have freak accidents in planes and they are never cheap to fix. I could self insure, but it just doesn't make sense to me.

joejenie wrote:...I've seen too many people that have freak accidents in planes and they are never cheap to fix. I could self insure, but it just doesn't make sense to me.

I know a guy who owned three airplanes, we were talking about insurance and he said he didn't have any-- couldn't afford to insure all three. I suggested that he just could just insure the one he flies the most- a supercub. Nah.....a couple weeks later he upended it on a gravel bar. Got the wreckage back to his hangar & there it sat. A year later he balled up his 180. Down to one airplane now (which probably isn't insured either, he's a slow learner), with no progress made toward fixing the two wrecked ones -- what used to be probably $160K or so worth of airplanes, just sitting there in his hangar.

I am ahead on this one. Insurance has paid out more than I have paid in by far. 7 years 1000hrs.