GA bias in "general" insurance?

Judah writes:

Do you mean Commercial GA Pilots fly more hours than Airline Pilots?

Any commercial pilot flies more hours than the vast majority of
private pilots; after all, it's her job.

Obesity? Obesity holds a much higher risk than flying, even according to the
insurance underwriters.

Yes, but flight simulators don't make you obese.

In fact, and just incidentally, I find that I eat less when flying a
simulator than when doing other activities at home. The time flies
by.

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In article ,
says...


I'll say again, I've never seen a GA exclusion on any insurance that I
have. Group life and AD&D insurance through work even covers me if I am
instructing. Just for kicks, I looked into extra life insurance with
USAA a while back, and they don't have an exclusion either. It seems
that you're looking in the wrong places.

I wasn't looking at all - just received this ad in the mail, and because
they spent about half the document finding different ways of saying they
wouldn't have anything to do with private aviation, I figured they must not
be the only ones. I was surprised they went on and on about this
one particular thing. We all do things that are potentially dangerous - I
think my chances of being disabled are much greater in my car, for two
reasons. First, though I admit the type of flying I do is more dangerous by
any reasonable measure than the type of driving I do, I spend many more
hours in the car. Secondly, sorry to say, if I should be foolish or
unfortunate enough to have a serious accident in an airplane, my chances of
being killed are probably as high as my chances of disability, which is not
the case in the car(1). This particular insurance only pays to the injured
party (not to a third party) in the case of disability. If you die, they
have no obligation. Therefore, I believe this particular underwriter
suffers from an unfair, anti-GA bias.

GF

(1) (I don't have any proof of this, and would be interested in hearing if
others - with knowledge of the subject, that is - believe this is true)

I think one big part of it is that, in general aviation, you cannot
simply jump into the plane and fly whenever you wish ... not if you
want to be safe, at least. If the weather is unsuitable, or if
there's any problem with the aircraft, you have to wait. But some
people don't like to wait.

Well put. In fact, with that paragraph I believe you have summed up
the reason for the majority of GA crashes.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 22:53:42 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote:

GA is a rich man's hobby, and some wealthy people depend on GA for
personal transportation.

I beg to differ. Yes, you can spend a LOT of money at the upper end
(and yes, even the middle) of the GA spectrum, but you can also buy a
good used plane for less than the price of the average new car... and
a lot less than "average" guys spend on boats. Airplanes hold their
value far better, too.

Is this perceived high cost of aviation what keeps you in your
basement playing sims?

-Dana
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On Sun, 22 Oct 2006 01:54:43 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote:

And in so doing they skewed the safety statistics for general
aviation. People like Cory Lidle, John Denver, and John F. Kennedy,
Jr., are still doing that today.

Lidle and Kennedy are classic cases of inexperienced pilots goofing in
their new planes. John Denver was a very experienced pilot who goofed
flying an unfamiliar aircraft.

-Dana
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Dana M. Hague d(dash)m(dash)hague(at)comcast(dot)net writes:

I beg to differ. Yes, you can spend a LOT of money at the upper end
(and yes, even the middle) of the GA spectrum, but you can also buy a
good used plane for less than the price of the average new car... and
a lot less than "average" guys spend on boats. Airplanes hold their
value far better, too.

What kind of airplane can you get for $10,000?

Is this perceived high cost of aviation what keeps you in your
basement playing sims?

It is one of several reasons, yes. The simulator only costs about
$40.

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Dana,

John Denver was a very experienced pilot who goofed
flying an unfamiliar aircraft.


John Denver was not a certificated pilot at the time of his crash,
IIRC. Let alone an experienced one.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

"Thomas Borchert" wrote in message
...
John Denver was a very experienced pilot who goofed
flying an unfamiliar aircraft.

John Denver was not a certificated pilot at the time of his crash,
IIRC. Let alone an experienced one.

You recall incorrectly. From the NTSB report, Denver had nearly 3000 hours
of flight time at the time of his fatal accident, holding a Private Pilot
certificate with airplane ratings for single- and multi-engine land,
single-engine sea, and gliders, as well as a Lear Jet type rating and an
instrument airplane rating.

I'm not sure what you consider "a certificated pilot" or "an experienced
one", but I'd say by most standards he was both.

Pete

Peter,

You recall incorrectly. From the NTSB report,

I recall half-correctly. The FAA had revoked his medical and asked him to send
in his certificate because of alcohol abuse. Whether any of the two letters
the FAA sent to that effect reached him is unclear (but I have an idea about
how it might have been handled). But, as it says in the NTSB report: "The
letter informs the pilot that based on the above information, he did not meet
the medical standards prescribed in Part 67 of the Federal Aviation
Regulations, and a determination was made that he was not qualified for any
class of medical certificate at that time."

I would thus modify my statement to say that he was not legal to fly as a
pilot in command at the time of the flight. A pilot needs a certificate AND a
medical for that.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

You can get a decent Taylorcraft for 10 to 15 thousand. Ercoupes are also in
that price range. There are also many quality homebuilts in that price
range.

I paid $17,500 for a 4 seat Tripacer.

mike

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Dana M. Hague d(dash)m(dash)hague(at)comcast(dot)net writes:

I beg to differ. Yes, you can spend a LOT of money at the upper end
(and yes, even the middle) of the GA spectrum, but you can also buy a
good used plane for less than the price of the average new car... and
a lot less than "average" guys spend on boats. Airplanes hold their
value far better, too.

What kind of airplane can you get for $10,000?

Is this perceived high cost of aviation what keeps you in your
basement playing sims?

It is one of several reasons, yes. The simulator only costs about
$40.

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