insurance/medical question

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Rose2012

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Rose2012
I'm full of dumb questions this week.

So...*cough*, apparently when I posted last night that I have a current medical, that was not true. It, um, expired at the end of last month. Yes, I need a calendar or something.

Anyway, my insurance says I must hold a valid pilot certificate (with appropriate ratings, blah, blah, blah), a current and valid medical if required, and a current and valid BFR if required.

So, if I am currently flying with a CFI because I haven't yet completed my BFR and checkout, do I need a medical to be covered by insurance?

(Yes, I realize the easy answer is to go renew my medical, but that's not going to happen for who knows how long thanks to stuff at work).
 
You probably do. Insurance trumps all, unless you want to fly uninsured.

We had a similar gotcha about ferry flights once, so we just called them and got them to fax an approval that we'd run it past them.
 
Not if the instructor is fully qualified to be PIC and meets both your open pilot waiver and any instructor requirements your policy includes, and you agree that the instructor is legal PIC for the flight. Read your policy for details, and if you have trouble reading it (you wouldn't be the first) call your broker for help.
 
Ron Levy said:
Not if the instructor is fully qualified to be PIC and meets both your open pilot waiver and any instructor requirements your policy includes, and you agree that the instructor is legal PIC for the flight. Read your policy for details, and if you have trouble reading it (you wouldn't be the first) call your broker for help.
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Another gotcha with that is, some policies are written in a way that an open pilot waiver may require written authorization for the pilot flying under the waiver.

Seems insurance companies have gotten burned trying to figure out if owners truly meant for that 10,000 hour person to be flying their aircraft or something. It's definitely in our policy and worded in as cagy a way possible that one can't tell if handing them the keys is enough. Better to just write it down.

Be kind and write the lawyers a note that your CFI was authorized and leave it with someone who'll hand it to the estates if you both go crunch together. Don't just both pop into the airplane for a flight and think the open pilot waiver instantly applies.

It's all about nitpicky little crap that lawyers get paid to argue about. Might as well head it off at the pass.
 
denverpilot said:
Another gotcha with that is, some policies are written in a way that an open pilot waiver may require written authorization for the pilot flying under the waiver.
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If so, it is not an "open pilot waiver.". That's what the "open" part means -- that it is open for any pilot who meets the stated requirements without further ado. Otherwise, it's just another named pilot listing, which always requires insurer approval.
 
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Ron Levy said:
If so, it is not an "open pilot waiver.". That's what the "open" part means -- that it is open for any pilot who meets the stated requirements without further ado. Otherwise, it's just another named pilot listing, which always requires insurer approval.
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I'll let my insurance company know you disagree with their naming of that section of the policy, Ron.

The heads up was because our document clearly states the pilot must be authorized beyond the flight time requirements. Maybe other documents also say exactly that.

Maybe ours is an odd-ball because it has a clause that requires we sign in blood, have it notarized, and locked in a fireproof safe with two keys which only work if the magic incantation is spoken and a representative of the Insurance company and the Administrator themselves turn the special Unicorn-urine-dipped keys simultaneously after authenticating they're supposed to do so via an HF Command Net with NORTHCOM with the right authenticator codes.

I did think it somewhat strange. If its an odd-ball, she won't find any such requirement in hers. :)

If someone wants to believe lawyers would prefer two dead people shook hands on it, fine. We will go with something in writing for their surviving spouses to use to beat the lawyers over the head with, ourselves. But hey, maybe they can hire you as an expert witness and you can say they misused the term "open". :)
 
P.S. It does not say the insurance company must authorize. It says the owner must authorize. In our case, the owner is the LLC, which adds a little more lawyer fun. We just own shares.
 
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