Originally Posted by
ShyTorque
I first came across this clause in the late 1980s after my broker changed my insurance company for the cover on my daily commuter car. I was given a series of cover notes rather than policy documents and I had to repeatedly chase the broker to get it sorted. When I finally received the written policy details, which didn't arrive until about five months after taking out the cover, I read the small print only to discover cover was (quote) "null and void when driving in, on, or around any aviation location".
I immediately phoned the broker only for them to try to fob me off and deflect the blame back on me because they claimed they hadn't realised I might need to drive near an airfield.
I then pointed out that my stated occupation was "RAF Officer (Pilot)" and there was a deafening silence. They eventually got clarification that I could in fact drive to work on the station but not "airside". On the station I worked at "airside" was demarked only by a white line adjacent to the hangar car park. Obviously, I didn't use that broker again!
I think the pickup owners policy is similar, IIRC it says anywhere aircraft operate, taxi or park. I think his argument may have to show that he wasn’t aware there were aircraft at the farm and that he was conducting his normal business visiting a farmer he provided agricultural services to. He came to meet me to discuss combining, while chatting an aircraft landed and parked on the opposite side of the yard and shutdown, he returned to his pickup and backed up into the previously clear space now occupied by the aircraft and hit it. I wonder what would happen if he decided to visit East Fortune to see the Concorde that’s parked up there and had an accident, the way his policy is written he would not be covered. Interestingly his insurance wrote to the aircraft owner accepting liability and indemnifying their client, then a month later decided upon rereading their own policy to retract their position and advised their client he was not covered. The insurer is one of the largest agricultural insurers in the UK, I wonder if any of their clients are amongst the 400 odd flying farmers and if so do their clients know they are not covered for this type of claim.