"Richard Kaplan" wrote
So if you have no accident, the insurance company makes 10% and if you do
have an accident they lose 40%. As long as no more than 1/4 of their
insureds have an accident, they win.

I've looked into seaplane training at the local operation that offers
a rating (but no solo) and have a pretty good idea as to what they
teach. I also talked to some seaplane owners, and have some idea of
what is actually required to operate a seaplane safely while getting
some utility out of it. Based on this, I expect that 1-in-4 estimate
is not too terribly far off.

I suspect that after a few hundred hours of accident-free operation,
the rate gets a lot lower.

I know a pilot who very recently bought a Twin Comanche, low time with
neither a multi rating nor an instrument rating. His named instructor
had minimal experience in make and model. The OVERALL premium was
over 3 times higher than what I pay on the same airplane and the hull
coverage was over 6% of the hull value. I think they made their first
claim about 20 hours after the purchase; it wasn't a total loss but
the insurance company won't be making any money on them.

The rates are what they are for a reason.

Michael