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Pilots often are concerned that their avocation or hobby will translate into higher life insurance premiums. Thankfully that is not normally the case. In most cases life insurance for pilots is issued at regular rates – the same rates that non-pilots routinely receive.
When you apply for life insurance there will be an additional aviation questionnaire to be completed. This form will ask you details about your flying, hours, licenses, and other information. The insurance company will use this to assess the risk prior to making an offer.
Commercial Pilots
If you are a commercial pilot ferrying people between licensed airports, you should expect regular rates.
The two general areas that insurance companies will review that may be reflected in higher rates is if you are taking off and landing at non-licensed strips and the terrain you fly over. So if you are flying people into remote cabins (flying over northern wilderness) and landing them on lakes in the bush (non-licensed) then you may expect an increase in premiums.
Cargo and charter flights will frequently also result in a rating or increase in premiums.
Private Pilots
Private pilots can receive regular rates under many conditions. The conditions that can cause an increase in premiums are combinations of age and experience. If you are a young pilot with very few hours, this could potentially lead to an increase in rates. Just being in ground school however means you may still be able to qualify for regular rates.
The second thing that can lead to additional premiums with private pilots is geography. Very generally if you’re flying over fields of wheat, the insurance companies will likely treat this as a standard risk with no additional premium. If you’re flying where mountains get in the way, the insurance companies may ask for an additional premium for the perceived additional risk.
**UPDATE** We are having an increasingly difficult time finding regular rates for private pilots. The trend is towards a $2.50/1000 rating. The implications of this are to take the amount of insurance you are purchasing divided by 1000, then multiplying by 2.50. That amount is then added to the base regular life insurance premiums. For example if you were seeking $250,000, the additional premium would be $250 X 2.50 = $625 per year (multiply by 0.9 to calculate the monthly additional premium in this case 625 X .09 = $56.25). Our solution is to pre-shop the insurance companies to find out which one will offer the lowest rating.
Life Insurance for Pilots: How to proceed?
Every case is reviewed by underwriters and treated individually. Give us a call at 1-877-344-4011 and ask for Simon. He’ll advise you on how best to proceed. If no premium rating is expected he can advise on the least expensive company. If a premium rating might be expected then he will advise on how to pre-shop the market to determine which life insurance company will provide the lowest premiums.
Please contact us if you have any additional questions or request a quote.
