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Seth J. Legatowicz |
| Pilot Insurance Center
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| About the Author ... |
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Seth Legatowicz is a Senior Associate of the Pilot Insurance Center and
graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor's Degree in
Economics. Before joining the Pilot Insurance
Center, he worked as a Financial Consultant with Merrill Lynch where he
specialized in retirement planning through insurance, annuities, and
investments. His strong background of financial planning assists his clients in
achieving their goals and meeting their insurance needs.
The Pilot Insurance Center provides pilots with the best life insurance
coverage at the lowest rates and is the life insurance agency of choice among
many AVweb staff members. The trained insurance professionals at PIC are also
all fellow pilots who understand aviation as well as life insurance. Pilots may
request a no-obligation online quote at the PIC
web site, or can telephone PIC toll-free
at 1-800-380-8376, 9am to 5pm Central Standard time.
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At the insurance agency where I work, we talk with hundreds of
fellow pilots every week about aviation and insurance. I am amazed at the number of pilots
that do not know whether or not their life insurance covers them if they die in a general
aviation accident. Do you?
For example, many employers provide group term life insurance coverage as an employee
benefit. Unfortunately, it seems as if employees seldom read the fine print in these
policies. In my experience, the majority of employer-provided plans exclude general
aviation in death claims.
Make sure that you are covered
You need to review your current policy or call your agent to find out if you are
covered while flying. If your policy has an "Aviation Exclusion Rider" or other
aviation-oriented restrictions, you should seriously consider obtaining coverage that will
provide for your family in all circumstances of death. If you do not have any coverage at
all, you need to evaluate if your family will be financially stable without you.
Even if you do have coverage with no aviation exclusions, you may be paying too
much for your policy. Although many life insurance policies penalize those of us who fly
general aviation aircraft, there are now insurance companies that actually offer preferred
rates to pilots!
Why do insurance companies have aviation exclusions?
Most underwriters consider aviation activities to be an added risk to the other
possible risks that could result in a claim. They also tend to group all types of aviation
together in determining risk. Thus, the well-trained and experienced instrument-rated
pilot flying a certificated airplane may end up being treated the same as an airshow pilot
flying an experimental aircraft while performing low-level aerobatics.
But wait… Aren't pilots healthier and more safety-conscious
than the general public?
We certainly think so, but until recently insurance companies have not taken this into
consideration. Most insurance companies do not give credit to pilots for having regular
medical exams, which can catch life-threatening problems early. Ironically, better rates
often go to the vast population of non-pilot insureds, many of whom never visit a doctor
unless serious symptoms develop.
On average, pilots are also better educated and have a higher income than the
non-pilots. Both are positive life expectancy factors, yet pilots often do not benefit
from these facts when it comes to life insurance.
Are there companies that focus on the life insurance needs of
pilots?
Yes, there are! There are now several insurance agencies — including the one I work
for (Pilot Insurance Center in Dallas) — that specialize
in providing pilots with the best life insurance coverage at the lowest rates. My agency
is staffed by pilots with over five decades of aviation experience.
Life insurance rates in general have come down sharply in just the last couple of
years. In addition, an increasing number of insurance companies are beginning to realize
that most pilots are actually excellent insurance risks. So if you haven't shopped for
comparative quotes lately, there's a high likelihood that you're paying too much in
premiums, and a real possibility that you won't be covered if you die in a general
aviation accident.
Make sure that you choose a company that understands aviation
Such companies can differentiate themselves from the competition in many ways. Choose
companies that are aviation-knowledgeable to ensure the quote you receive is accurate by
basing your rate on normal underwriting procedures and taking into account the type of
flying that you do. This way, you can eliminate those ghastly rate hike surprises at the
end of an underwriting process. We frequently hear stories from pilots who jumped through
hoops to get an attractive rate they were quoted, only to wind up being offered a policy
at twice the initially-quoted rate after their flying activities were factored in by the
underwriter.
Work with an aviation-oriented insurance agent who has a close
relationship with the insurance underwriters
This helps ensure favorable consideration for pilots, and can help minimize the
turnaround time and surprises between the time you make application and the time your
policy is issued. Just as it's usually a real plus for your Aviation Medical Examiner to
be a pilot, it also can be extraordinarily helpful if your insurance agent is a pilot,
too.
Whatever you do, please review your current policy or consult your agent to ensure that
you are not flying without coverage. Remember that you are not buying the coverage for you
but for the ones you leave behind.
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