Peter wrote :
Last year at Friedrichshafen, I asked every insurer enhibiting there if they would cover my plane (N-reg, UK based) and none would.
That's because they know your crash record. ;o)
(I can be mean, can't I ?)
Sorry for this useless post. Just couldn't resist.
They probably didn't like the fact I wasn't wearing a tie like they were...
You voluntarily wear a tie? Can't stand the things. I don't know why anyone would wear one unless forced to do so!
No tie... I do have a suit but haven't worn it for at least 10 years. It smells a bit now....
I was making a joke out of the insurance stands at exhibitions clearly having the most money to spend. Some of them have loads of champagne bottles around - almost as much as the bizjet salesmen.
The rest of light GA looks as poor as a rat in a Baghdad sewer.
a) From those owners who have already bought aircraft insurance from a broker based in another country, what were the countries involved and were the policy documents issued in your language or the language of the broker’s country?
N/A
b) For owners who have not bought across borders, would they be prepared to do so if the premium was competitive enough, and if not, what would be their concerns?
Yes, though I would want to do some serious due diligence on their customer service, because an insurer who pays out only if sued is no good, especially given that legal action in another country is virtually impossible.
I suspect the broker would be in the UK (for example) even if the insurer is in say Germany. But you can't sue the broker to get the money.
In reality I think that if you offered a lower premium than most, you would get a lot of business because most people in light GA just go for the lowest premium. And given the difficulty of doing due diligence (almost nobody openly posts about their claim experiences and, when they do, they never post vital details which might enable someone to judge whether the insurer has perhaps good grounds for a slow or reduced payout) one can't blame them.
c) For owners who are not UK resident and do not speak English, would they be prepared to buy aircraft insurance from a foreign provider and would it be a problem if the site and documents were in English?
N/A
Kosovo and Bosnia excluded by insurance
This interests me because I’d like to pop down to Sarajevo one day (I know there is no avgas there, and would do it most likely from Brac or elsewhere in Croatia).
But my insurance (Haywards) has always excluded Kosovo and Bosnia, except for that overflights of Bosnia are allowed on an “international air corridor”. Actually the wording is a bit curious, in that it allows overflight of any excluded territory, Algeria and Bosnia, but Kosovo is in the list of excluded territories…
Are there really security problems down there?
You may want to check with your insurer if these restrictions (obviously dating back to the 1990’s Balkan wars) still apply. Bosnian airspace was closed until some years ago. I crossed Bosnia on a VFR flight plan from LYTV to LHSM in 2011, no issues.
The upper airspace of Kosovo was opened for civilian traffic only this months Link. AFAIK one used to require a special permission for flights in the lower airspace. Don’t know if this still applies.
I think all policies have this, and that it’s a throwback to the Balkin’s conflict. Probably just nobody asked them to remove it.
I suspect if you asked, it would be removed at no cost.
Colm
Not excluded in mine.
Mine states: United Kingdom, Europe, North Africa, North of Thirty Degrees North, West of Thirty Degrees East, the Canary Islands and Transit airspace thereto.
