Low Time and Insurance - Cessna P206

(Shawn) wrote in
om:
The selling partner has expressed concern about wasting the
broker's time.

It's the broker's job. Ask if you can talk to the broker yourself.

I obviously am not interested in buying into a plane I won't be
able
to fly. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience on this?

A P206 is quite a lot of airplane for a new pilot. Even if you
waited until after getting your private certificate, you probably
would have a hard time getting affordable insurance (some
underwriters may not even cover you).

Here's some experience I've had. I own a Mooney M20J with two other
pilots. In 1999 when partner #3 bought in, he had about 200 hours
and no instrument rating. Our insurance premium increased by $1,000.
After he got his instrument rating, the premium dropped back down.
We've been trying to get a $1M smooth (no per-person sublimits)
policy, but the cost has been prohibitive (extra $800 I think) until
partner #3 gets 500 hours total time. He'll be there at the next
renewal.

My suggestion would be to get your private *and* instrument done
before buying into the P206. By that time you'll have a lot more
hours and will be easier to insure in that plane. You may have to
rent for a while, or find a simpler plane to buy into. However,
that's just based on my limited experience with insurance companies.
I would discuss this with the broker yourself. Ask him what it would
take to get insured. Also ask about the current liability limits on
the policy, and if those limits would need to change if you were
added.

If you are able to get insured for the P206, talk to the other
partners about how they want to deal with the insurance payment. For
our partnership, we just split it 3 ways even though two of us are
commercial pilots/CFIs with a lot more hours than partner #3. I've
heard of others that get a per-pilot quote from the broker, and each
pays a non-equal share based on how much they personally added to
the liability premium.

Phil
www.pfactor.com