Page 18 - Jan 24

INSURANCE
Who is Covered?
by Kyle White
Many aircraft owners are entrepreneurial by nature, looking for new opportunities, ideas and efficient ways to deploy capital and maximize their return. This mindset creates new and more affordable ways to fly the open sky without having 150 strangers sitting next to you.
A common avenue to making aircraft ownership more affordable is to be in a partnership with one or more people. This is not a new concept, but the structure of partnerships have evolved. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is paying particular attention to non-FAA Part 135 flights that are carrying passengers who are not part owners of the aircraft. If this is applicable to you, regulatory compliance should be high on your checklist. It is important to consider how the insurance is structured, taking into account whether you own the airplane in whole, in part or are merely “borrowing it.” All of these variables determine who is covered under the insurance policy.
16 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
In most cases, the “off the shelf” solution for an aircraft insurance policy is to be in the name of the person or entity shown on the FAA registry. However, to appropriately structure the policy specific to the airplane’s use, you must consider who has an insurable interest. If metal is bent or bones are broken and the policy is triggered, you want to know how the policy will respond. How it responds and on who’s behalf, should be defined within your specific, and hopefully customized, King Air insurance policy.
We have all seen the term “Named Insured” on our insurance policy. This is usually the registered owner of the aircraft, but it could be the operating entity or both.
JANUARY 2024