Statistics would show that pilots as a group are healthier, more affluent, and better educated than the overall public. These are all positive risk factors when considering an applicant for life insurance. Surprisingly, however many life insurance companies consider the risk of general aviation activities a higher risk and the positive factors are very often outweighed. This can also be true for certain other lifestyle risk categories such as sky diving, scuba, rock climbing or racing.
Flying can dramatically affect your ability to gain affordable insurance. Applying for life insurance as a pilot can often lead to a very trying experience. Each Life Insurance underwriter has their own guidelines for aviation activities, and most are quite detailed. Knowing which companies are the most favorable to a pilot’s individual experience, training, planes flown, flight hours, ratings as well combining these factors with health considerations is where having an aviation experienced life insurance agent is critical to finding the best coverage at the best price for a pilot.
1 – Work with an aviation experienced insurance agent
An agent that understands the type of flying and the aircraft you fly will provide you with a much more positive life insurance experience than your typical agent that is inexperienced with aviation. Your initial quote will be more accurate, you will apply with the correct company the first time and your underwriting process with likely go much smoother. It is particularly important to work with an aviation experienced life insurance agent to ensure that your application will be completed correctly and precisely for the best aviation underwriting results.
Because insurance is nothing more than a promise, and a promise is only as good as the company that makes it, The Pilot Insurance Center will only provide quotes from companies that have an A.M. Best Rating of “A” or better. Of the over 1,800 life insurance companies in the US, only a few hundred earn this high financial rating. We will also provide you with the ratings from Duff & Phelps, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Weiss Research for each company we recommend.
2 – Understand the aviation underwriting guidelines before proceeding
If you are close to a new rating, a milestone in total time flown, completion of additional training or are transitioning to a new aircraft there could be better options close at hand that your experienced aviation agent can explain. It may be very advantageous to wait before applying for longer coverage. A short-term solution may be called for. Student pilots, certain activities of commercial pilots and flight instructors also may have special considerations in underwriting that need to be carefully considered to achieve the best pricing.
3 – Complete the insurance aviation supplement form correctly
Pilot will be given an additional form to complete on a life insurance application. This form, the Aviation Supplement, is very often competed incorrectly – especially if not working with the wrong agent for aviation. The way you state your aviation information can be misinterpreted by the insurance underwriter and affect your premium rate offer. At Pilot Insurance Center we work with underwriters that understand aviation – often pilots themselves. The life underwriting community trusts Pilot Insurance Center that the aviation information will be accurate and understandable.