As part of going to flight school, I got a job detailing the fleet with a couple of the other students. There'* good money in doing custom aircraft washes/waxes, and we want to expand our business outside the school'* planes. However, we need some kind of insurance coverage that would cover damages to airplanes that are incidental to the washing process. I'm not sure what kind of insurance polices are available for people in our situation, and I'm wondering if any of you have a better understanding of the insurance business. We just need some kind of coverage in case we accidentally damage something on an airplane.

Thanks in advance!

Anybody have insight into this? The airport requires $1,000,000 in liability coverage for commercial operations on the premises, and we need to know what kind of insurance to look for, as well as a reliable provider.

Ben, I know that there are at least a couple people here in the insurance industry. I believe Tracy (SSE14U24ME or something like that) is, but I don't know if it'* just auto insurance. You may want to try and PM her to see.

Another way to do it, if all else fails is to just set down with an insurance provider and have THEM spell out what they believe your options and requirements are. Then speak with another one to get a second opinion and to further eductate yourself. Then decide on what you want to go with and solicit competetive pricing from at least three providers.

That'* standard business practice everywhere else.

I believe that this would fall under General liability insurance.

Usually for airplanes, your coverage limit would have to be at least 1 milion, and depending on the client, they may require you to have a higher limit wich would then fall under an umbrella policy which is usually 5 million. That will bring your total coverage for loss to 6 million should anything happen to the plane or planes your working on.

If you are the boss/owner, then you would also be required to carry Workers comp insurance unless you "hire" your other workers as sub contractors, then they would have to carry their own workers comp and insurance coverage.

Also, if your cleaning the outside of the planes, the airports usually have a special area to do this as the water run off can contain harmful chemicals to the environment such as de-icing chemicals etc. the water run off is usually caught in a basin where it will then be filtered, then turned into clean water, and if this is the case, you may also need to purchase an environmental policy too.

Theres allot to it and im probably leaving out some small details, but thats what I got from the insurance gurus here at work


Lastly, if you search online, there are associations that you can join for this type of business that offer discounts on your insurance premiums because it would be a group buy. You might want to look into this seeing where your just starting off and the insurance premiums can be in the thousands for all of the coverage you would need.

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Thanks for the input, guys.

The school I currently attend/work for has the $1,000,000 required coverage, and their annual premium is only $1000. If we could find something for that price, it would be great. I guess I just have to call around and see what I can find, eh?

I know that detailers for cars have to get what is called Garage Keepers insurance. It covers cars that they have on their premises or that they have to drive. I have a feeling this wouldn't cover airplanes, but there must be something similar.

Ben, The company I work for provides this type of insurance. If you would like a quote, you can call: 1-617-261-6700 and ask to speak to Ray Roach about getting you a quote.