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It has been the bane of many paramotor pilots—insurance, or lack
thereof. Most pilots don't notice the problem since they fly
from places where it doesn't matter but, for those who aspire to alight
from some public locales, insurance is critical. And for those who teach it
can be required at some places like public airports.
There is now a source for rated pilots. Unfortunately, it's a lot more
expensive than for free flight
even though our risk appears to be less. Nothing we can do about that so
far, its just the reality. The insurance company looks at it from the
perspective of how much damage you're likely to do, not how likely you
are to damage yourself. Essentially, the insurance doesn't cover YOUR
medical bills, it covers the medical bills or damages of the person /
thing you hit.
Individual Insurance
If you've got a USPPA/USUA PPG2 rating you can get liability
insurance that's good up to $1,000,000 dollar limit with various other
limits. It's $300 per year and requires you to join and register your
gear with
USUA (that's only $30). Here
are full details from the USUA website, scroll down to Class 1
coverage.
Commercial Insurance
If you're a USPPA/USUA certified Instructor, you can get commercial
flight school insurance. It gets a lot more expensive but it is
available. The wording on the form suggested that paramotor pilots would
not qualify but they have changed the wording to accommodate us. The old
form required instructor's to be FAA CFI's, and now it recognizes that
paramotor instructors won't likely have that.
So now the requirements are what would be expected: be certified as a
USPPA/USUA PPG3 and Instructor. Then the coverage is very much like the
personal coverage with up to a million dollar ($1,000,000) aggregate
liability along with some very minimal medical expense. She has issued
new wording for the form that will eventually be incorporated but, for
now, use this form form for the requirements. Provide a copy of your
USPPA/USUA rating card.
The cost is about $2000 per year.
Below is the verbiage for Paramotor commercial flight school
insurance. Here is the
updated (same as below) wording from First Flight Insurance as a
PDF.
Powered Paraglider (Paramotor) Commercial
Flight School Insurance
First Flight also offers a more extensive
Commercial General Liability coverage package for commercial powered
paragliding s.. This program includes liability coverage for the
school's premises, plus 3rd party and participant injury liability.
Who Qualifies for This Program?
Current PPG3 rated pilots who are certified
powered paragliding instructors. Instructors must be owners or employees
to be covered under the policy. All powered paragliders used for
training must be registered with USUA. All operations are subject to FAA
exemptions and requirements.
Each application is underwritten individually
based on business and training experience, safety record, size and type
of operation and optional coverage required.
Coverage:
- General and Premises Liability for the
business location(s) (excludes products and completed operations)
- 3rd Party Liability for Bodily Injury and
Property Damage possibly caused by instructor
- Participant Liability if student is
injured (must have a signed waiver and be an active student under
instructor supervision)
- Medical Expense of $1,000 for minor
injuries
- Training aircraft can belong to others as
long as it meets policy criteria
How Do I Apply for Commercial Insurance
Coverage?
- Step 1: Be a PPG 3 rated pilot and USPPA
certified PPG instructor. Make sure all training powered paragliders
are registered with USUA.
- Step 2: Visit the First Flight Insurance
Group, Inc.'s website, and select a broker in your state. Ask the
broker to send an application to you. If no broker is listed for
your state, please contact Jessica Craig at (252) 261-1903 Extension
257 for assistance. You may also
contact Jessica by e-mail at jcraig@firstflightinsurance.com.
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