When a Part Fails in Flight, There Is No Second Chance.
Protecting manufacturers of flight-critical components
Aerospace and aircraft-parts manufacturers make components and assemblies for commercial aircraft, space, and defense — and they sit among the highest-severity product classes in commerce. A defective part that fails in flight is catastrophic, which is why the industry demands aviation-grade quality systems, full material traceability, and airworthiness discipline, and why a single part can carry grounding liability across an entire fleet and export-control obligations across every shipment. This is a specialized, high-severity corner of manufacturing insurance where products and completed-operations exposure, not property, defines the risk.
Properly structured coverage protects the manufacturer against severity most product classes never see.
The Aerospace Manufacturer's Signature Exposures
Catastrophic product severity is the first and defining exposure — a defective component that fails in flight can bring down an aircraft, so completed-operations limits must be sized to aviation severity rather than to shop size, and the exposure follows the part for the life of the airframe. The second is the systemic reach of a single defect: a flaw traced to one part number can ground an entire fleet, trigger an airworthiness directive, and force a recall across every unit delivered, turning one error into a portfolio loss. Layered on top are an AS9100 quality-and-traceability regime where a documentation failure is itself a loss event, cyber exposure around ITAR and controlled defense information, and machinery exposure on the CNC and forming equipment that makes the parts.
Key Risks in Aerospace & Aircraft Parts Manufacturing
Aerospace and aircraft-parts manufacturers face exposure related to:
A defective part causing an in-flight failure or crash — catastrophic, highest-severity products liability
A recall or airworthiness directive issued against a delivered part
Grounding liability spreading a single defect across a fleet
An AS9100 quality-system or material-traceability failure
Amputation and machinery injuries from CNC and metal-forming equipment
High-value raw materials, tooling, and equipment concentrated in the plant
Cyber exposure around ITAR and controlled unclassified defense data
Export-control (ITAR/EAR) violations on defense and space work
The catastrophic in-flight failure and the fleet-wide grounding are what most define the manufacturer.
Core Coverages for Aerospace & Aircraft Parts Manufacturers
A properly built aerospace program typically includes:
Products Liability & Completed Operations — Covers claims that a delivered part caused an in-flight failure — written at aviation-grade limits and the single most consequential coverage in the program.
Product Recall — Funds the withdrawal and replacement of a defective part across every unit delivered.
Grounding Liability — Responds when a defect in a delivered part grounds aircraft across a fleet, a specialized aviation-products coverage.
Commercial Property & Equipment — Covers the building, high-value CNC and forming equipment, tooling, and raw materials.
Equipment Breakdown — Covers sudden mechanical or electrical failure of precision machining and forming systems.
General Liability — Covers premises and ongoing operations exposure.
Cyber Liability — Covers breach and loss of ITAR-controlled and controlled unclassified information held for defense and space work.
Workers' Compensation — Provides legally required coverage for machinery and occupational injuries.
Umbrella / Excess Liability — Stacks high limits above the primary program to match catastrophic product severity.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Aerospace programs are most often weakened by:
Completed-operations limits sized to shop size rather than to aviation severity
No grounding-liability coverage for a fleet-wide defect
Missing or thin product-recall coverage for a delivered part
No cyber coverage for ITAR and controlled defense data
Gaps in export-control compliance that can void coverage and create penalties
The gap that hurts most is a completed-operations limit nowhere near the severity of a single in-flight failure.
Real-World Claim Examples
A defective structural or engine component fails in flight and leads to catastrophic loss
A defect traced to one part number grounds an operator's fleet and triggers an airworthiness directive
A recall forces withdrawal and replacement of a part across every unit delivered
An AS9100 traceability failure surfaces non-conforming material already installed in airframes
A breach exposes ITAR-controlled design and defense data
Any one of these can reach the highest end of product severity, and the fleet-wide event can threaten the company's survival.
Regulatory & Safety Context
The FAA governs airworthiness and parts approval (including PMA parts), and carriers treat an airworthiness directive as both a liability and a recall trigger. The AS9100 aerospace quality-management system frames traceability and conformity, ITAR and EAR export controls govern defense and space work, and DFARS clauses with NIST SP 800-171 cybersecurity requirements apply to defense-contract data — a compliance failure in any of these is a coverage-relevant exposure, not just a regulatory one. OSHA machine-guarding and lockout/tagout rules govern the shop floor where the parts are made.
Why Proper Placement Matters
This is a hard, specialized market placed largely through excess and surplus lines (E&S) and dedicated aviation-products carriers, because the catastrophic severity and fleet-wide reach fall outside standard manufacturing appetite. Underwriters weigh the end use above all — commercial aircraft, defense, and space each carry distinct severity — along with AS9100 certification, traceability discipline, the mix of structural versus non-critical parts, export-control compliance, and the limits the account's customers and contracts require. Placing the account with a market that understands aviation severity, and sizing limits to a single in-flight failure rather than to revenue, is what makes the coverage real.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we insure aerospace and aircraft-parts manufacturers around catastrophic product severity, grounding and recall exposure, and the compliance regimes that shadow the work. We place products and completed operations with aviation-products markets, size limits and excess layers to a single in-flight failure, and coordinate recall, grounding, cyber, property, and workers' compensation around AS9100 and export-control realities. We also insure related operations, including tool and die and precision machining, machine shops, and metal fabrication, and coordinate product recall and umbrella or excess liability.
A part you ship today flies for decades — we build coverage sized to what it carries.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
See the coverages an aerospace & aircraft parts manufacturing business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — plus the gap most often missed, in the Aerospace & Aircraft Parts Manufacturing Coverage Checklist.
Complete the Aerospace & Aircraft Parts Manufacturing Supplemental online in a few guided steps, download the fillable PDF, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get aerospace & aircraft parts manufacturing insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate aerospace & aircraft parts manufacturing insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
What drives the cost of aerospace & aircraft parts manufacturing insurance?
There is no flat rate. The cost of aerospace & aircraft parts manufacturing insurance reflects your industry, your size (payroll and revenue), your claims history, and the limits and deductibles you choose. We market your account to multiple carriers, compare the real quotes side by side, and explain what is driving each number so you can weigh coverage against price with confidence.
Do I need aerospace & aircraft parts manufacturing insurance?
Requirements vary. Aerospace & aircraft parts manufacturing insurance may be mandated by statute, or required under your contracts, leases, or loan agreements — and in many cases it is simply prudent given the risks involved. We look at your specific obligations and exposures, then recommend the coverage and limits that fit.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.