Instrument rating??

"Mark Astley" wrote
Just to give you a data point...

I guess I fall into the low time pilot category at about 250 hours TT.

You do. When you're that low time, a lot of things make a difference
that will be irrelevant at 500+ hours.

My
insurance bill was about $90 lower this year possibly as a result of
attaining the instrument rating. Of course, this may be a break due to TT
rather than an IA, except that I don't think you get a break because of TT
until at least 300 hours.

First off, this varies by insurer but there isn't a single insurer I
know of that treats a 100 hour pilot the same as a 250 hour pilot when
it comes to flying a simple airplane. So don't be so quick to
discount total time - in general, both total time and time in the past
year are more important than ratings.

More to the point, though, continuing training (in whatever form, as
long as it is in your airplane) is attractive to a lot of insurers.
It shows that you are flying regularly, are training regularly, and
are disciplined about your flying. A rating (any rating) acquired in
the past year is generally worth something as long as your rates have
not bottomed out (and yours, at 250 hours, have not).

Still, I didn't get the IA for the insurance. I did it to increase the
usability of my plane. Here in NJ we get a lot of hazy summers and the
occasional scuddy days in fall/spring (ceiling around 2k).

Do you really believe that ceilings of 2000 AGL and visibilities of
3-5 miles require an instrument rating in a Cherokee?

Michael