"misha" wrote in message
...

I guess that tells you all you need to know about what the insurance
-it saves you money,
-it gives you good night sleep
-it is what everybody does?

I suspect most pilots have a loan against their airplane. Most (all?,
almost all?) airplane lenders require full insurance, so the decision tree
ends there for most pilots.

I have analyzed the situation myself and decided on the same thing for my
P210 -- liability and not-in-motion hull only.

Realize the "true" value of your potential worst-case insurance payout is
not the declared hull value but rather:

Declared Hull value minus (Premium + Deductible + Expected Salvage Value).
Consider that in most airplane accidents in which you walk away it is
probable that the salvage value would be at least half the declared hull
value, and then it becomes apparent that in-motion hull insurance often has
only marginal value.

In my case for commercial hull insurance last year the underwriter quoted 6%
of the hull value with a deductible of 3% of hull value. If we assume
salvage value would typically be 50% of the hull value, then I would pay a
6% annual premium for a policy which would have an expected maximum payout
of 100% - (6% + 3% + 50%), which means a 6% annual premium for an expected
maximum payout of 41%. Those odds sound more like gambling to me than
insurance -- at those odds, I thought the money was better invested in an
engine overhaul and other meticulous maintenance. Your numbers may vary,
but the idea stays the same.


--
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com