Your Aircraft Is a Seven-Figure Asset the Moment It Leaves the Hangar.
Protecting private and corporate aircraft owners and operators
Aircraft owners hold and fly aircraft for personal, business, or corporate travel — single-engine pistons, high-performance singles and twins, turboprops, and jets. The defining feature is a high-value asset operated in an environment where any accident is severe, and where the policy that protects it is conditioned on strict pilot warranties, approved use, and territory — miss one and a claim can be denied. That warranty-driven, high-severity profile is what sets aircraft ownership apart from insuring an ordinary vehicle. An aircraft owner needs coverage built around hull physical damage and liability, the pilot and use conditions that govern the policy, and the non-owned and hangar exposures of ownership. This is part of the broader aviation insurance market, tailored to the individual or corporate owner.
Properly structured coverage protects the owner, the aircraft, and everyone aboard and below.
The Aircraft Owner's Signature Exposures
The defining exposure is hull and liability severity: a loss can total a seven-figure aircraft and produce catastrophic bodily-injury and property-damage claims to passengers and third parties. The coverage that responds is conditioned — the policy names approved pilots or sets open-pilot warranties (hours, ratings, checkouts), approved use (pleasure and business versus commercial), and territory, and flying outside those conditions can void the claim. Passenger liability, non-owned coverage when the owner rents or borrows another aircraft, and hangar and ground exposures (damage in storage, taxiing, and towing) complete the picture. Corporate ownership adds entity liability and named-insured structuring.
Key Risks in Aircraft Ownership
Aircraft owners face exposure related to:
An accident causing a hull loss and injury to passengers or third parties
A claim denied for a pilot who did not meet the policy warranty
Flying outside the approved use, purpose, or territory
Damage to the aircraft while taxiing, towing, or in the hangar
Liability to passengers aboard the aircraft
A loss involving a rented or borrowed (non-owned) aircraft
Hull value that no longer matches the aircraft's market value
A seven-figure asset the moment it leaves the hangar is what most defines the class.
Core Coverages for Aircraft Owners
A properly built owner program typically includes:
Aircraft Hull (Physical Damage, Agreed/Stated Value) — Covers the aircraft in flight, taxiing, and at rest, at an agreed or stated value.
Aircraft Liability (Bodily Injury & Property Damage) — Covers third-party injury and damage from ownership and operation.
Passenger / Medical Payments — Cover occupants of the aircraft, subject to policy terms and any per-seat limits.
Non-Owned Aircraft Liability — Covers the owner flying rented or borrowed aircraft.
Hangar / Ground & Contents Coverage — Cover the aircraft on the ground and, where owned, hangar and equipment.
Umbrella / Excess (as available) — Adds limits over a catastrophic aviation liability claim.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Aircraft-owner programs are most often weakened by:
Open-pilot warranties that don't match who actually flies the aircraft
Use or territory conditions violated, voiding coverage at claim time
Hull stated value that has drifted from the aircraft's real market value
Smooth (single-limit) versus per-passenger liability limits misunderstood
Non-owned exposure ignored when the owner rents or borrows aircraft
The gaps that hurt most are unmet pilot warranties and mismatched hull value.
Real-World Claim Examples
An accident totals the aircraft and injures passengers
A claim is denied because the pilot lacked the required hours or rating
The aircraft is damaged during towing or in the hangar
A rented aircraft is damaged and non-owned coverage responds
A passenger brings a bodily-injury claim after an incident
Any one of these can be catastrophic, and the hull-loss and warranty-related claims are the most distinctive.
Regulatory & Licensing Context
Aircraft ownership operates under FAA regulation: aircraft airworthiness and registration, required inspections and maintenance, and pilot certification and ratings under Part 61, with most personal and business flying conducted under Part 91. Corporate ownership structures (LLCs, flight departments) raise operational-control and named-insured considerations. The insurance policy's pilot warranties, approved-use, and territory provisions are strict conditions, and lenders or lessors financing an aircraft impose their own hull-value, loss-payee, and breach-of-warranty requirements.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Underwriters weigh the aircraft make, model, and value, the pilot's ratings, hours, and training, the use (pleasure, business, corporate), territory, hangar and storage, and loss history. Because severity is high and coverage is warranty-driven, aircraft are insured through the aviation market, and terms turn on matching the pilots and use to the policy. Setting hull value to market, meeting every pilot warranty, and choosing liability limits (smooth versus per-seat) that fit passenger exposure are the essential steps.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we insure aircraft owners through the aviation market — placing hull at the right value, liability limits matched to your passengers and mission, and pilot warranties and approved use set to how you actually fly, so a claim isn't voided by a technicality. We coordinate lender and lessor requirements and non-owned needs. We also serve airport service businesses and flight schools, and place the broader aviation program.
Your aircraft is a seven-figure asset the moment it leaves the hangar, which makes ownership a distinct risk — we build the coverage to match it, hull, liability, and pilot warranties included.
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 aircraft owner business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — plus the gap most often missed, in the Aircraft Owner Coverage Checklist.
Download the fillable Aircraft Owner Supplemental to start your submission, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get aircraft owner 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 aircraft owner 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.
How much does aircraft owner insurance cost?
Premiums vary from business to business. The main drivers of aircraft owner insurance pricing are the nature of your operations, your revenue and payroll, your loss history, and the limits you carry. Rather than quote a flat figure, we negotiate across several markets and walk you through the options, so you only pay for the protection you actually need.
Who needs aircraft owner insurance?
It depends on your situation. Some coverage is required by law; more often, aircraft owner insurance is required by a contract, lease, lender, or client before they will do business with you — and even when it is not mandated, it guards against exposures that can be severe. We review your operations and obligations and tell you plainly what you need and why.
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.