On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 19:55:59 GMT, Newps wrote:

This suggests that a few years ago the payback in reduced insurance premiums
was around 4 years. In the current insurance situation, it is therefore
quite believable that payback could be quicker.

What current situation? The insurance on my 182 keeps getting cheaper.
I called my broker and asked him what the difference was between an
instrument and non instrument rated pilot with my 900 hours in my plane.
No difference. Not only did the premium go down $170 this year, I
changed from USAIG to Global, they rasied the hull value from $65K to
$70K without me asking them to do it. My insurance has gone down in
each of the six years I have insured it for. If this insurance
situation gets much worse I may have to buy another plane.

I think Richard was right, the 182 is a rare circumstance. We're
lucky.

The guys who own the next step up, the 210 series, or a twin or
retractable, are going to have faced substantial increases over the
past few years. And even asking what the rates are for commercial
usage are likely to induce high expenses (medical ones, that is!).

OTOH, there are exceptions. I looked at an RV-6 and the insurance
rate was slightly less than for my 182. However, that quote wasn't as
good as it first seems when you consider the lower hull value on the
experimental, and the fact that it included sublimits (something my
current policy does not have).

--Ron