Check your insurance!

[SpeedbirdXK8]

Did you know that the minimum liability requirement per EC785 is set in SDRs and converted to GBP in accordance with the prevailing exchange rate per the IMF website. The exchange has increased during the past few months for example a PA28-181 is required to have a minimum of SDR 3,300,000 for non-commercial and SDR 3,753,000 for commercial use. In Nov 07 the GBP equivalent was GBP 2,550,900 and April 08 GBP 2,742,300 i.e. GBP 191,400 increase for non-commercial. For commercial it has gone from GBP 2,901,069 to GBP 3,118,743 i.e. GBP 217,674 increase. If you operate under the commercial cat i.e. a flying school etc and you have a liability limit of GBP 3m then you are in breach of EC785. The CAA website clearly states that is the reasonability of the operator to ensure that you have adequate cover. Check your policy and the CAA website on a regular basis. Ask your insurance broker for the cost to increase the liability limit, make sure you are legal.

[LateFinals]

Thanks for a good reminder. Many people will be underinsured and will need to up coverage because of this.

I have recently found out the hard way that most pilots when renting an aircraft are totally unaware that they are responsible for confirming what the insurance requirements are when hiring an aircraft - club or private.

Most pilots assume that when they hand over dosh to an owner / club to fly their aircraft the owner/club has the insurance sorted. It is up to the hiring pilot to ascertain that the aircraft is insured and to know the requirements, ie currency in terms of hours on type, hours in last 3o days etc.

Many pilots renting are naive or embarassed to ask mates, the clubs that trained them etc about these details but under air law its the responsibility of the hiring pilot to check these details.. Beware and don't be embarassed to ask to see certificatedsand policy requirments etc.

LateFinals

[west lakes]

Possibly puts this in a bit more context

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=322777

[foxmoth]

For the ignorant amongst us I will ask - what the heck are SDRs? Saudi Riyals?

[BroomstickPilot]

And what's EC785?

Broomstick.

[Jodelman]

And what's EC785?

Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on Insurance Requirements for Air Carriers and Aircraft Operations.

what the heck are SDRs?

Special Drawing Right as defined by the IMF.

[SpeedbirdXK8]

Jodelman: two out of two: top of the class.

My broker has been in touch already and has confirmed coverage is OK.

In the event of a claim and it transpires the coverage is in breach of EC785 then insurers could deny coverage on the basis of being in breach of the ANO.

PIC is responsible for all aspects of the flight for which he is in command that includes checking all relevant paperwork.

[hooligan88b]

I've just bought an AA5 and fortunately CAA aircraft registrations picked this up - although they specified a limit of £1,872,243 for club use (the underwriter had made the mistake). Should I be worried this is somewhat less than the figure mentioned above for a PA28? Where can I find the SDR figure for my aircraft?

[SpeedbirdXK8]

Hooligan88b: you can find the minimum legal requirement on the CAA website www.caa.co.uk (http://www.caa.co.uk) and click on the link for G-INFO database (right hand side of the home page). Enter the registration, submit and it should bring up the details of the aircraft. At the bottom of the page highligted in blue it says minimum insurance requirements, click on this and it will tell you. Bear in mind this is the minimum. Ok - for a AA5 with MTOM 1089 kg the minimum for non-commercial is £2,742,300 and commercial £3,118,743 and war or terrorism £2,493,000. Any reputable insurance company & broker will round up to to £3m, £3.5m and £2.5m for each respectivily. If your MTOM is 998kg then you need £2.5m to be on the safe side for commercial use. Who is your insurance company?

[hooligan88b]

Thanks for that, Speedbird, I didn't think it would be that simple to find the SDR (if only finding ADs was as easy!). According to that I should be covered for £2m for commercial use. I'm using Giles Insurance Brokers.