Insurance Claim at EAA Didn’t Keep One Pilot Grounded

Overview
The last thing that any pilot wants to do is damage his plane. Not only is an incident embarrassing for a pilot, but it mars a pilot's flying record, and can also influence the perceived value of an aircraft. As a result, when it does happen, pilots need an insurance company that will respond to the situation not only with speed, but with discretion.

Challenge
While flying into this year's EAA AirVenture, Shawn*, a recreational pilot, experienced a hard landing and damaged his propeller. When his propeller struck the ground, it caused the engine to stop suddenly resulting in significant damage to both the engine and the propeller. While hard landings happen, and dinged propellers are not uncommon, it is a serious matter. Shawn's aircraft was grounded in Oshkosh and was in need of repairs. The pilot prepared himself for the challenge of getting this resolved while at AirVenture. Even though Shawn was surrounded by thousands of people in the aviation industry, everyone was busy with AirVenture activities and not in their normal work environments.

The pilot had flown in to camp on the AirVenture grounds and had all of his equipment with him. The situation not only derailed his plans for camping, but he feared he would spend his entire trip dealing with insurance agents and repair shops in front of the entire aviation community.

Solution
The pilot had recently signed a policy for ground and flight coverage with Travers and Associates for his Turbo 206. He called his Traver's representative and within 15 minutes an adjuster called him to start the process. Because the pilot flew in on a Friday night, he was concerned that service and equipment shops would be closed until Monday. However, Travers was able to arrange for Steve Myers with Myers Aviation: Aircraft Rebuilding and Retrieval to immediately start the repair process.

So Shawn unpacked his camping gear, and by dinner that evening his plane had been taken to the repair shop and he was enjoying AirVenture. At the end of the long weekend, Shawn took a commercial flight back to his home confident that his plane was in capable hands.

Results
Under his policy, the pilot had a $1,000 deductible for an in-motion claim and a $100 deductible for a not-in-motion claim. Because this was an in-motion claim, Shawn paid his $1,000 deductible and his insurance company covered the remainder of the $30,000 bill to repair the propeller and rebuild the motor. Just a few weeks later, Shawn was able to travel back to Oshkosh to retrieve his like-new aircraft and fly it home. Because of the professionally managed job of the repair, the aircraft maintained its full value.

The pilot was extremely pleased with the timeliness of the solution and the results of the work. Because of Travers and Associates' quick response time and reasonable rates, Shawn will continue his relationship with the aviation insurance broker for the coming years.

*Name has been changed at the request of the pilot