Aircraft maintenance can raise several insurance questions. An owner may need to review damage to an aircraft. A repair business may need cover for its work and aircraft in its care. A routine service bill is a different question again.
Explain the work, the people involved and the loss you want to address. Then review the relevant policy and service contract.
Separate routine work from accidental damage
Ask how the policy treats wear, corrosion, mechanical breakdown and scheduled work. Do not assume that hull cover pays for an overhaul or a fault found during an inspection.
If an accident causes damage, ask how the insurer distinguishes that damage from unrelated maintenance or an upgrade. Keep the shop’s findings and itemized estimates.
Review the owner’s cover before work starts
Tell your insurance contact about major repairs, modifications and extended downtime. Describe where the aircraft will be kept, who will move it, and whether anyone plans to fly it during the work.
- Does the policy cover the aircraft at the proposed location?
- Who may taxi or fly it?
- Are test or repositioning flights within the agreed use?
- What value and deductible apply during the work?
- Does a storage arrangement change any conditions?
Ask for written answers to questions that affect your plans. Keep the repair agreement with those answers.
Review the repair business’s risks separately
A maintenance business should describe its services, facilities and customer aircraft to its insurance contact. Aircraft in the business’s care, work already completed and injury claims can raise different cover questions.
Provide contracts and any insurance limits customers require. Ask about exclusions for faulty work, damage to the item worked on, and resulting damage. Read the actual wording offered.
See BWI’s insurance information for aircraft maintenance businesses for the next step.
Keep clear maintenance records
Keep inspection entries, work orders, modification records and the documents needed to show the aircraft’s status. Explain gaps or missing records to the relevant professionals.
The FAA’s maintenance-record guidance discusses recordkeeping under Parts 43 and 91. Have qualified aviation professionals address the requirements that apply to your aircraft and operation.
Report a loss and preserve the facts
Deal with immediate safety needs through the proper emergency and aviation channels. Then follow the policy’s reporting requirements.
Record what happened, when it happened and who observed it. Keep original photos, records and messages. Separate observations from a later diagnosis.
Ask the claims contact how to arrange inspections and handle damaged parts. Get guidance before disposing of evidence or approving work that could affect the review.
For aircraft sharing a storage facility, review how one event could affect multiple aircraft. Our hangar catastrophe insurance guide covers questions for high-value fleets.
List downtime costs individually
Transport, storage, rental aircraft and lost revenue are separate costs. Ask which, if any, the policy addresses and under what conditions.
A service plan or warranty has its own terms. Keep it separate from the aircraft policy and ask each provider to explain its part.
Prepare for BWI’s review
Have the aircraft details, proposed work, storage location, flight plans and relevant contracts ready. For an existing loss, use the claim-reporting page. For future cover, request an insurance review or call 800-666-4359.
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