Page 14 - Volume 14 Number 5

INSURANCE
Aircraft Insurance and and Pandemics
Unprecedented times are upon us In the past King Air magazine has published dozens of articles on a a a a variety of insurance topics The content has revolved around experiences your fellow King Air operators have have endured and we all have have been able to to learn from Currently the world is grappling to to navigate COVID-19 which has sent the entire aviation community scrambling to protect our health as as well as as our business This virus is is challenging each of us us us and providing no answers about how long this battle will last or or what our “new normal” may look like As we consider life “post COVID-19 ”
we should also prepare ourselves for possible legal issues that may arise from this pandemic While the aviation insurance industry may not have anticipated such a a a a a a a global challenge there are hints of what may may or may may not be covered within your aircraft policy Third-party Liability
It doesn’t hurt to to look into potential third-party liability how to manage it it and ultimately if your policy provides coverage 12 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
You will find the term “sickness” used within your aircraft policy so for the purpose of this article we will refer to COVID-19 as a a a “sickness ”
Like all risks you should first focus on managing the exposure in in this case the risk of “sickness ”
As we have learned social distancing is is the the the backbone of the the the strategy to limit the the the spread of the “sickness ”
Staying 6 feet apart in in any aircraft aircraft is difficult particularly in in business aircraft aircraft such as the King Air Currently some operators particularly those who fly fly Part 135 are not flying because their clients or owners are staying close to home However many operators also want to to be ready for a a a a a a trip should the need arise Part of being prepared for a a a a trip is is making sure the necessary precautions are in in place to protect both crew and passenger health To ensure they are are healthy and ready to fly some crews are are self- isolating Other operators have explored operating single pilot to protect themselves as as well as as their second pilot to avoid inadvertently spreading the “sickness ”
For operators flying fellow employee passengers many have implemented a a self-imposed restriction of only carrying a a a a a a 50% passenger load to maintain proper social distancing Each of these options are good risk by Kyle P White
MAY 2020