Piper PA-46 Insurance Cost

Piper PA-46 Overview:

In the late 1970s, Piper found itself playing catch up to compete with Cessna’s newly introduced P210 Pressurized Centurion. Cessna was able to base the P210 on the successful 210 line, but Piper did not have a suitable six-seat base model and went to the drawing board to come up with not only a competitor to the P210, but hopefully a clearly superior design.

With the ability to start with a blank slate, Piper used an all new wing design of greater span and more fuel carrying capacity than its earlier six-seat models. The cabin was designed to be larger than both the P210 as well as Piper’s own Saratoga, and allowed club seating for the aft four passengers to increase legroom. King digital avionics and a pneumatic deicing system were made standard, and Piper selected the Continental IO-520 engine producing 310 horsepower. Test flying of a non-pressurizing model commenced in 1979 and the production prototype began flying in 1982. Certification was achieved in 1983 and deliveries of the PA-46 Malibu began late that year.

The original Continental powered Malibu sold well, but a number of accidents and incidents tied back to the engine led to lawsuits against Continental and ultimately Piper electing to replace the engine with a 350 horsepower Lycoming TIO-540 in 1988. To differentiate the changeover, Piper called the Lycoming-powered version the Malibu Mirage but officially the models were known as the PA-46-310P and PA-46-350P, reflecting their rated horsepower. Minor changes during production would focus mostly on interior options and gradually updating avionics.

In the late 1990s Piper flew a prototype of the PA-46 with the piston engine replaced with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop. The wing and tail were strengthened to complement this 500 horsepower selection and serial production began in November 2000 as the PA-46-500TP with the trade name Malibu Meridian.

The Mirage and Meridian would remain in production side by side through the 2000s, with both aircraft receiving glass cockpits and eventually standardizing on the Garmin G1000 system in 2009. From 2008 to 2015 an unpressurized version known as the Matrix would sit at the entry level of the line. In 2015 Piper rebranded the Mirage and Meridian as the M350 and M500, respectively, reflecting their horsepower ratings. 2016 would see the certification of a new turboprop variant – the M600 offered a new PT6 engine with 100 additional horsepower combined with a new wing holding 90 gallons more fuel and an almost 1000 pound increase in maximum takeoff weight.

The M350, 500, and 600 remain in production as of 2021 and over 1300 of all models of the PA-46 have been flown to date.

Piper PA-46 Insurance Cost:

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 aviation industry as a whole.

Piper PA-46 insurance, like all aviation 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.

Piper PA-46 aviation liability insurance covers damage caused by the aircraft, outside of the aircraft, specifically property damage, bodily injury, and provides for legal defense in the event that the aircraft owner or policyholder is sued.

Aircraft liability insurance is typically offered for Piper PA-46’s at $1,000,000 per occurrence (per incident) and includes coverage for passengers, but typically limits that amount to between $100,000 and $1,000,000 per passenger. Passenger liability coverage is included within the total liability coverage amount.

A real-world example of how this aviation liability coverage would protect you: If, as a result of operating your Piper PA-46 you damaged property or caused bodily injury outside of the aircraft, you would have the full amount of total liability coverage to pay for damages that occurred, less the liability amount paid for passengers inside the aircraft. If the aircraft crashed and you had passengers inside the aircraft that were injured, your insurance policy would pay up to the policy passenger limit for each passenger.

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.

Other liability options: Higher liability coverage on the Piper PA-46 may be available to qualified pilots with experience in the make and model and a minimum Private License/IFR rating.

The second coverage on a Piper PA-46 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 Piper PA-46 and requests a quote including hull coverage in the amount of say $900,000. Once an aviation insurance company provides a quote, they are agreeing with you that your aircraft is worth $900,000.
*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 $900,000, you would get a straight check for $900,000.

Piper PA-46 Insurance Cost Breakdown:

As of January 2021, there are 7 carriers quoting Piper PA-46 insurance in the U.S. We consider qualified pilots to have at least a Private License and IFR Rating, with 1,000 total hours, 500 Turbo and RG hours, 100 hours in make and model and ground and flight training within 24 months of the flight.

For an annual policy with $1,000,000 in liability only coverage.
 Premium range for qualified pilots: $650-$800 per year.
 Premium range for less than qualified pilots (low-time/etc): $875-$1,150 per year.

For an annual policy with $1,000,000 in liability coverage and $900,000 in hull coverage
 Premium range for qualified pilots: $13,500-$17,100 per year.
 Premium range for less than qualified pilots (low-time/etc): $23,000-36,000 per year.

BWI is a family-owned, nationwide insurance brokerage specializing in aviation insurance since 1977. Our dedicated Aviation Insurance Professionals are highly trained, hand-picked and experienced in helping Piper PA-46 owners and operators obtain the very best insurance coverage.

BWI offers comprehensive Piper PA-46 insurance policies for personal, business, charter, industrial aid, and commercial aviation uses.

For more information or to get an actual Piper PA-46 insurance quote, please fill out a quote request online here or call us at 800.666.4359