Overview:
The Beechcraft King Air is a twin-turboprop, nine-to-fifteen-seat, low-wing, retractable gear aircraft built by Cessna. Production started in 1964 and over 3,100 King Airs have been built. The King Air is one of the most successful turboprops ever built and is often compared to and competes with many different jet aircraft models.
The King Air is fast, cruising at nearly 260 miles per hour. This speed combined with a range of about 1,300 nautical miles and useful load of almost 5,000 pounds give the King Air unprecedented utility compared to similar multi-engine turboprops. These characteristics make the King Air the perfect aircraft for both personal and commercial use. The King Air is used around the world for cargo and passenger transport including military observation, VIP travel and corporate executive transportation.
Aviation insurance in general, is a very specialized industry and premiums vary depending on make and model of the aircraft, hull value, use of the aircraft, pilot history and qualifications and aircraft insurance rates even take into account the loss history of each specific make and model and the loss history of the industry as a whole.
King Air insurance, like all airplane insurance, is broken down into 2 specific coverages. The first is Liability Coverage, which is standard on every aircraft insurance policy and the second is optional hull coverage, which covers damage to the aircraft itself.
King Air aviation liability insurance covers damage caused by the aircraft, outside of the aircraft, specifically property damage, bodily injury, and provides money for legal defense in the event that the aircraft owner is sued. Aircraft liability insurance is typically offered for King Air aircraft between $1,000,000-$5,000,000 per occurrence (per incident. This total liability limit depends on primarily on the use of the aircraft, IE Industrial Aid vs commercial vs personal use. Liability also includes coverage for passengers but sets limits typically at around $100,000 per passenger. The passenger liability limits also depend on the aircraft use, pilot qualifications, etc. Passenger liability limits are included within the total liability limit.
A real-world example of how this aviation liability coverage would protect you: If while flying your King Air and damaged property or caused bodily injury outside of the aircraft, you would have the full $1,000,000-$5,000,000 in coverage to pay for damages that occurred. If the airplane crashed and you had passengers inside the aircraft that were injured, your insurance policy would pay up to $100,000 for each passenger (depending on limits). The King Air typically holds 9-15 passengers, so between $900,000-$1,500,000 of your total $1,000,000 liability limit, could be used to pay for passenger liabilities, leaving you with the remaining coverage for other damage outside of the aircraft or legal defense.
This liability coverage also applies as a bubble that follows the aircraft around. If the aircraft is hangered, liability coverage extends throughout your hangar and it is this coverage that airports will typically require you to have. It’s not a separate insurance policy, it is actually coverage built into your standards airplane insurance policy.
The second coverage on a King Air aircraft insurance policy is hull coverage and is an optional coverage. Aircraft hull insurance covers damage to the aircraft itself and is an agreed value, not subject to depreciation. Agreed value is decided during the initial insurance quoting process, the aircraft owner requests an insurance quote for his or her King Air and requests a quote including hull coverage in the amount of say $975,000. Once an aviation insurance company provides a quote, they are agreeing with you that your aircraft is worth $975,000.
*Insurance companies may place additional stipulations on quotes to prove the value of your aircraft prior to binding, if your agreed value is higher than bluebook.
Most aviation insurance companies do not offer deductibles higher than $0 deductibles, which means in the event of a total loss, if your aircraft was insured for $975,000, you would get a straight check for $975,000.
King Air Insurance Cost Breakdown:
As of February 2020, there are 6 carriers quoting King Air insurance in the U.S. We consider qualified pilots to have at least a private license, with 4,000 total hours, 2,000 Multi-Engine, 500 Multi-Engine Turboprop and 250 hours in the make/model.
For an annual policy with $5,000,000 in liability only coverage.
Premium range for qualified pilots: $2,180-$3,500 per year.
For an annual policy with $5,000,000 in liability coverage and $975,000 in hull coverage
Premium range for less than qualified pilots (low-time/etc): $8,870-$21,200 per year.
For more information or to get an actual King Air aircraft insurance quote, please fill out a quote request online here or call us at 800.666.4359
-The BWI Team
