Aviation Life Insurance

Life insurance for airplane pilots has traditionally beenlife insurance companies when they choose to cover
pretty plain vanilla. Life insurance for pilots has beenpilots. There is more "pilot centered" life insurance
more expensive than that for most people who haveunderwriting going on now, as life insurers attempt to
different professions, and it's often been all aboutdistinguish between different kinds of pilots and more
exclusion: that is, traditionally life insurance policiesclosely assess their risks of unexpected death. In
written on pilots have been not only more expensive,many instances, life insurers are no longer excluding
they have included riders stipulating that the lifeGA deaths from their coverage, or they do it's
insurance company is not going to pay out if the pilotcheaper to buy off the rider.
dies in a plane crash. The riders could be removedAviation insurance is now something that pilots need
but only at a steep increase in premiums, and manyto look at coming from many different companies.
pilots either didn't want to have to pay thoseThe life insurers are more willing to compete for their
premiums or they were blissfully unaware that theybusiness now, and they have more available products
had such a rider. Aviators are highly trained and noneas a result. However, the different companies have
of them expect to die in a plane crash anyway.such different underwriting standards that they can
Now it's far less likely that someone, including a pilot,have almost erratic differences in their approach to
will be involved in a plane crash than it is that they'llunderwriting pilots.
be involved in a car accident. On the other hand,For instance, one company might offer aviation life
when airplane crashes do happen, especiallyinsurance that is cheaper than its competitors for
commercial airplane crashes, they are almost alwayscoverage of those who are in the older age ranges,
fatal. For this reason, aviation life insurance has notbut is still quite expensive for those of the younger
been a great option, although if you are a pilot andages. Then, there can be situations where some life
want life insurance there's not been any way aroundinsurance companies, perhaps because their agents or
it.underwriters are not as knowledgeable, will cover
But since 9/11/2001, the life insurance industry hasaviation-related risks where others will either exclude
been reconsidering life insurance on pilots. There wasthem with a rider or else charge a higher premium for
a fear that as a result of the downturn in thethe same amount of coverage on the same person.
aviation industry, fewer pilots would get or evenOne example may be one company not checking on
renew their life insurance policies. This has possibly ledthe exact type of non-commercial aviation engaged
to the life insurance companies re-evaluating the wayin by one pilot, such as to see if he engages in
they treat and underwrite pilots, for there has indeedfire-fighting, which is very dangerous. The company
been a slow but steady surge in new pilot policies,that doesn't check on this might unwittingly give a
and companies have also stopped lumping all airplanebetter premium for the same amount of coverage
pilots together as being just all the same.than another company where they are more
Commercial aviators are not the same as privatepilot-savvy.
pilots or "weekend barnstormer" aviators. The latterSome life insurers have more pilot-agents on their
groups of pilots have considerably more chance ofstaff or underwriters who are more familiar with the
surviving an airplane crash than the former have. Thisactuarial stats about aviation. If you're looking for
has always been the case, but nowadays lifeaviation life insurance you should check around very
insurance companies seem more aware.carefully and compare as many different companies
But since this is a new trend, there are lots ofand types of policies as you can find.
different underwriting criteria being used by different