Question: What does Robinson R44 insurance cost?
Question: What does Robinson R44 insurance cost?Answer: The average insurance cost for a Robinson R44 is $9,690 for a qualified pilot with $200,000 in hull coverage. The average insurance cost for liability only coverage is $2,187.
Qualified Robinson Pilots will have at least a Private license with IFR rating, 500 total hours and at least 100 in make/model and completed a Robinson training course.
The average insurance cost for under qualified pilots is $10,138 with $200,000 in hull coverage.
Overview:
Unfortunately there have been many fatal Robinson R44 accidents over the years but most of them were due to pilot error and not aircraft failure. Robinson R44 Insurance cost, is going to depend largely on a few main factors. #1 Pilot experience, #2 Hull value #3 Pleasure vs Commercial use.
Only 5 of the major aviation insurance markets will offer to quote on Robinson Helicopter Insurance. These markets have a good history and understanding of Robinson R44 accidents over the past few years. The better an Aviation Insurance Company understands the risk associated with the aircraft and it’s history, the more likely they are to offer quotes for insurance.
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.
Robinson R44 insurance, like all helicopter 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.
Robinson R44 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 R44’s, at $1,000,000 per occurrence (per incident) and includes coverage for passengers but limits that amount to $100,000 per passenger, which is included within the total liability of $1,000,000.
A real world example of how this aviation liability coverage would protect you: If while flying your Robinson R44 and damaged property or caused bodily injury outside of the aircraft, you would have the full $1,000,000 in coverage to pay for damages that occurred. If an accident occurred and you had passengers inside the aircraft that were injured, your insurance policy would pay up to $100,000 for each passenger. The R44 typically holds up to 3 passengers, so up to $300,000 of your total $1,000,000 insurance policy could be used to pay for passenger liabilities, leaving you with $700,000 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’s actually coverage built into your standards aviation insurance policy.
Other liability options: Some companies may offer lower liability at $500,000 but the cost savings typically doesn’t make this a viable choice. Higher liability coverage on the Robinson (might) be available available to highly qualified pilots (ex: ATP, Instrument rated pilots with several hundred hours in R44’s) and is typically offered at $1,000,000 total liability, limited to $250,000 per passenger or 1 Mil smooth, which is $1,000,000 total liability with no passenger limit. Due to the claims history, finding higher than $100,000 per person liability limits is going to be rare if not available at all.
The second coverage in a Helicopter 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 R44 and requests a quote including hull coverage in the amount of $200,000. Once an aviation insurance company provides a quote, they are agreeing with you that your aircraft is worth $200,000.
*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 $200,000, you would get a straight check from the insurance company for $200,000.
Robinson R44 Insurance Cost Breakdown:
As of December 2019, there are 5 carriers quoting R44 insurance in the U.S. We consider qualified pilots to have at least a private license, instrument rating, with 500 total hours, 100 hours in make/model and at least some formal Robinson Helicopter training.
For an annual policy with $1,000,000 in liability only coverage.
Premium range for qualified pilots: $2,187-$2,421 per year.
Premium range for less than qualified pilots (non-IFR and less than 50 make/model): $2,516-$3,148 per year.
For an annual policy with $1,000,000 in liability coverage and $200,000 in hull coverage
Premium range for qualified pilots: $9,690-$11,340 per year
Premium range for less than qualified pilots (non-IFR and less than 50 make/model) $10,138-$14,526 per year.
For more information or to get an actual Robinson helicopter insurance quote, please fill out a quote request online or call us at 800.666.4359
-The BWI Team
