I obtained an interesting perspective on hull insurance the other day when I had a chat with a pilot who'd landed in the trees. He had recently cancelled his hull insurance right after he stopped racing. He figured that his risk outside of competition was much lower and that the insurance premium was 'too dam high'.

So he landed in the trees just short of an airport runway. (He pointed out the tree, it also survived.) The day was very gusty and rotary and it took 45 tense minutes for the fire department to extricate him from the glider swaying precariously in a broken tree.

He could afford to buy a new glider (or repair the old one) but he decided he 'did not want to spend the money' and he did not want to drill holes in the sky with club ships. So the wreck of his glider has been sitting in a trailer in his hangar for ~15 years.

I learned that the lack of insurance contributed to his decision to quit soaring, a rather high intangible cost.

So I conclude that besides the hull replacement, my insurance premium also insures my continued participation in the sport after the rather bad experience of wrecking a glider.