Short term renters insurance Florida

[plover63]

Hi, Understand Zi now need a separate rental insurance when taking out a 172 in florida during holidays. So I asked avemco for a quote, just came back with a minimum one year offer! the economics work out like this;

Aircraft rental, wet. ca 170 usd per hour. say two hours or 340 usd,
PLUS an insurance at a hefty 1,100 usd.

Total for two hours is close to 1,500 USD :-)

Anyone know what to do about this ? Flight schools must be out of business sooner rather than later.

/Regards

[stevelup]

What level of insurance were you seeking?

Last time I flew in the USA, I took out a year's insurance with AOPA and it was $180.

[Frontal]

I am faced with the same issue, but after some digging on the internet, I cam across the AOPA insurance website which might be of use:

Renter's Insurance - AOPA Insurance Services (http://insurance.aopa.org/Aviation/renters-insurance)

[Cusco]

That's US AOPA: I think you might not get insurance from them.

Most Ins companies that do Renters' Insurance need you to have a US address, though in the past I have just used the FBO's address which seemed to keep them happy.

Whatever happens do not fly without renters' insurance which as a minimum covers the 'deductibles'.

The Hull cover should be covered by the FBO but check......

Cusco

[stevelup]

I used US AOPA without a problem.

All I did was put the address as my name c/o where I was renting from. Did it a week or two before I flew out, and my insurance documents were sat there waiting for me when I arrived.

Obviously, it's polite / sensible to let them know to expect some mail for you!

My cover (at $180) was for the deductible and some personal liability insurance. If I recall correctly, the deductible insurance bit was $99 and the rest was the liability insurance.

One other thing to bear in mind is that almost all standard travel insurance policies exclude GA flying. So make sure your travel insurance is in order or you may end up with an absolutely horrific bill if you injure yourself.

[ChickenHouse]

Are you sure the price is for insurance and not for the small additional checkbox at "naked dancing cabin personnel included" ?

[7of9]

I take out renters insurance for my three week vacation every year, when holidays done, cancel insurance & they refund half.

Aopa insurance I take costs $210.00 for the year, I get back $105.00 refund after the cancellation. Takes them 2 months to refund.

The $210 worked out at £180 with the exchange rate approx.

Been doing this for the last five years with no problem.

I have an address in USA I use as I have American family friends over there.

T:ok:

[dublinpilot]

What exactly are you insuring with these policies?

When I looked at it many years ago, it seem to be for an excess that I'd be liable for in the event of having an accident. (The amount varied between $2K & $5K and the premium obviously varied on that too).

According to my renters their excess (which they call the deductable in the US) was $2K and they'd only pass it on in the case that I did something really stupid.

Not that I'd seek to rely on that, but I was happy to run the risk of a $2k bill if I damaged the aeroplane on the six hours that I was going to be flying it.

Is this all that is being insured with this policies? For most people able to rent an aircraft for a few hours on a US holiday, I wouldn't think that a $2-5K bill was going to ruin them financially, and therefore worth insuring.

[plover63]

Thanks for input all, the quote I got was for liability and hull, i.e. maybe the hull part and also stand-still costss / loss of Revenue would be covered - now I agree that the hull part should be covered by the owner, however if this is not the case you may bet sued. The hull part is the expensive one, like 80% of the cost if covering 100 kUSD for one year. I will check with AOPA again to see if there is a liability only + excess. Thanks also for the tip re Medical cover in my travel policy, this is covered except for advanced flying which I will not do.

[Cusco]

If you look at the small print you may, as well as getting hit for the deductibles, also get hit for a fraction of the hull value not covered by the FBO and also loss of (rental) income for the FBO if the a/c is totalled or down for any length of time. Check it carefully.

When I had an accident, my £120 renters' insurance saved me a bill for $5k for deductibles.

The renters' insurance paid up promptly and without a quibble.

I was very glad I'd spent that £120 (ish) and I'm not convinced that a kindly FBO would hold off on stiffing you for the deductibles these days.....

Cusco

[7of9]

The FBO I fly with insists & sets out what insurance he expects you to take out to cover everything. Hence the $210 I pay. He won't rent you an aircraft otherwise.

T:ok:

[plover63]

Thanks for this - now a Concrete example from earlier today;


Phone up Florida flight school, they offer C172 at 150 USD wet plus Another 60 for instructor per airbore hr. So far so good, now asking for the contract on mail, I can see that there is 100% personal and unrestricted liability for the hull in case of causing any damage to the Aircraft - this will also include loss of income, third party damages etc in case we have an accident. Now, I agree that the 2-300 USD mentioned here for liability is fine, but where can I find an insurer who will sell me only the Insurance for the excess ? I tried two large firms from flying Magazine but have only got the ridiculous quote above. Best

[plover63]

Just to check with the forum here, would you know of any school / FBO who do rentals where you have had experience in the vicinity of Ft Lauderdale / Palm Beach ? I have been a couple of times with SunState but that is a 2 hour drive.