I’ve had an accident in my plane. Now what happens?

As much as we hope to avoid ever having an accident in our aircraft, they do happen and sometimes are out of our control.

If you do have an accident, and you have an active Airplane Insurance Policy, these are your next steps:

1. Personal safety first. Do whatever is necessary to make sure you and your passengers are safe first.
2. If the accident is severe or there is bodily injury, call 911 immediately.

3. Notify your Aircraft Insurance Broker.

   1. If you are a BWI customer, we have a 24/7 accident reporting hotline and online claim submission form at. Report A Claim
   2. Once notified, your broker will take down basic information about the claim and advise you on how to proceed.
      1. If the accident is minor, IE a small dent in the airframe, your broker may advise you to not turn in the claim. Your insurance broker typically has experience with turning in hundreds of aircraft insurance claims. It may be in your best interest to pay for the repair yourself, to avoid unnecessary increases in premium in the future, due to having a claim on your record.
      2. In most cased, your insurance broker will want to turn the claim in immediately.
4. Once a claim has been turned in to the insurance company, the claims and recovery process begins.
5. At this time, it’s a great idea to begin getting information regarding the loss, your logbook, aircraft repair records and any receipts or information to help justify your aircrafts insured value.
6. Within 24-48 hours of turning in the claim, an adjuster from the insurance company will contact you directly. The adjuster will ask you some basic questions about the loss, information on bodily injury and aircraft damage, where the aircraft is currently located, and if repairable, do you have a repair shop in mind.
7. The adjuster will be eager to get the claim process started and depending on the severity of the loss, might conduct a further investigation.
8. The adjuster will be eager to get the claim process started and depending on the situation and severity, finalize the claim and fulfill the companies obligation of making you whole again.

Important Notes Regarding Claims:

1. The information you provided to your insurance broker to obtain the quote, including your aircraft, pilot and prior loss information must be accurate and will be reviewed in the event of a claim.
2. If the information is inaccurate, the insurance company may deny your claim.
   1. For this reason, BWI focuses on honest and accurate information when obtaining Aircraft Insurance Quotes, regardless of the premium.
3. If there is a prop-strike. It is an automatic engine tear-down.
4. If the aircraft had recently undergone maintenance at a repair shop and the claim was a result of mechanical failure. The insurance company may subrogate against the repair shop, depending on the results of the loss investigation.
5. Once a claim has been completed and money has been paid or the aircraft has been repaired, that claim stays on your record for 3-5 years depending on your insurance company.
6. It is important to stay with the current insurance company that paid the claim, for at least 3-5 years to maintain your long-term relationship with that company.

For more information on claims of other general aircraft insurance questions, please contact an experienced and knowledgeable insurance agent at BWI. Our office is open 12 hours a day (6 AM – 6 PM Pacific, Mon-Fri)

Office: 800.666.4359 or email admin@bwifly.com

 

 

 

aircraft accident, aircraft claim report, aircraft insurance, airplane insurance, aviation insurance

---

Continue Reading