Pilots face many of the same risks as drivers of automobiles. There is the risk of damage to the plane and injury to the passengers. Insurance can help mitigate these risks and protect pilots from financial ruin if a disaster should happen.

What Pilot Insurance Is

Pilots who fly for a living are usually covered by their employer's policy. However, independent contractors and people who fly as a hobby need to purchase their own insurance. Pilot insurance provides liability protection for any injuries or property damage you may cause to another party while operating your plane. An insurance professional can review the conditions and coverages of various policies, such as nonforfeiture.

Student Pilots

Student pilots usually fly someone else's plane, so they need a non-owners or renters liability policy. These policies protect students if they cause injuries or property damage while taking lessons. It is a good idea to have this coverage even when the flight school has an insurance policy, because the school's policy may have a subrogation clause that allows the insurance company to seek reimbursement from the student pilot. Additionally, the aircraft owner may try to collect the deductible and loss of use costs.

Students may also have a difficult time renting aircraft without insurance because many fixed-base operators require students to have an insurance policy to rent their planes. Being a named pilot on an owner's policy may not be enough to protect a student pilot, because in many cases that protects the owner of the aircraft, not the student pilot. Additionally, even if a student is covered by the flight school's policy, the limits of the policy may not be high enough to cover a serious accident.

Pilot Instructors

The owner's policy may not cover pilot instructors while they are doing checkrides. Pilot instructors need their own insurance to ensure they are protected.

Professional Pilots

If you are a professional pilot who flies non-owned aircraft to increase your hours, you need pilot liability insurance to make sure you are covered if you cause any injuries while flying. This insurance may also be a good choice for independent contractors who don't work for a specific airline.

Aircraft Schools

Aircraft schools need commercial general liability, property, premises and other insurance to protect themselves in case students are injured while flying or the school is found to be liable for injuries or damage caused by students. Aircraft schools also need other types of business insurance, such as workers' compensation.

What Pilot Insurance Covers

Pilot insurance does not provide coverage for the owners of aircraft. Instead, it provides liability protection for people who fly other people's planes. The policies pay for damages to third parties caused by the pilot's negligence.

If you cause damage to someone else's plane, such as a collision while taxiing down the runway, pilot insurance may cover the damage to the other plane. If a student pilot damages a plane owned by the instructor, then the student's non-owner liability policy may cover damage to the owner's plane. If a hobby flyer crashes a plane owned by the pilot and injures or kills a passenger, an aircraft liability policy may pay for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, funeral expenses and other damages suffered by the passenger or the passenger's family.

Types of Aircraft That Can Be Covered

Many types of aircraft may be covered by pilot insurance. Examples include helicopters, experimental aircraft, light sport aircraft, ultralights, kit planes and vintage and antique planes.

Life Insurance

Because flying is a risky activity, some insurance companies charge higher prices for life insurance for pilots or exclude them from the death benefit if they die while flying. However, not all insurance companies charge higher rates for pilots, so it may pay to shop around.

Pilot insurance provides pilots who fly planes they do not own with financial protection if they cause an accident that damages property or injures another person. Most pilots who fly other people's planes can benefit from obtaining pilot insurance.