Private Aircraft Insurance for Connecticut Owners: Owned, Managed, Fractional, and Chartered

Short answer: Personal homeowners and umbrella policies almost always exclude liability arising from aircraft. Owners need an aviation policy with hull and liability limits sized to the aircraft and its use, typically through the ownership LLC with the management company and pilots properly insured. Families who fly fractional or charter should consider non-owned aircraft liability, because they can be named in a lawsuit after an accident even when they did not own or operate the aircraft.

Owned aircraft

• Hull: physical damage to the aircraft at an agreed value, including while in the hangar and in flight.
• Liability: bodily injury and property damage to passengers and third parties, often written as a combined single limit with per-passenger sublimits. Read the passenger sublimit carefully; it can be far lower than the headline limit.
• Named insureds: the owning LLC, the individual owner, the management company and approved pilots should all be addressed. Pilot warranties, meaning required ratings and hours, are a frequent claim issue.
• Use: owner flights, managed charter (Part 135) and leasing each change underwriting. An aircraft placed on a charter certificate needs coverage that contemplates it.

Fractional ownership and jet cards

Fractional programs and jet-card providers carry substantial insurance, and the contracts describe it. But owners and passengers can still be sued, and the program's policy protects the program first. Non-owned aircraft liability provides excess protection for the individual and family, and often covers the family's liability when chartering aircraft as well.

Hangars, helipads and airport facilities

Connecticut owners commonly base aircraft at Westchester County Airport, Danbury, Oxford, Sikorsky Memorial in Stratford, or Bradley. Hangar leases require specific insurance and indemnity terms; review them before signing. A private helipad on residential property needs specific liability coverage and is excluded by most homeowners forms.

Coordinate with the umbrella

Because umbrellas exclude aircraft, a family with a $25 million personal umbrella may have only the aviation policy's liability limit standing behind an aircraft accident. Size aviation liability with that in mind, and see our guide to high-limit excess liability. Drones are a separate question: some homeowners and umbrella policies cover small recreational drones, others exclude all aircraft including drones; check the wording.

New England Insurance, an independent Connecticut agency in Bridgeport since 2012, works with aviation specialists and coordinates aircraft coverage with private-client programs. Contact us.