When the Risk Leaves the Ground, So Does the Insurance Market.
Protecting aircraft owners, airport businesses, and flight operations
Aviation insurance covers the people, aircraft, and businesses of general and business aviation — from an individual aircraft owner to a fixed-base operator fueling and storing others' planes to a flight school training new pilots. The defining feature is that the exposure leaves the ground: an aircraft accident is high-severity and often catastrophic, coverage is written in a specialized market with its own hull-and-liability structure, pilot warranties, and territorial and use conditions, and a lapse in a warranty can void a claim. That specialized, warranty-driven market is what sets aviation apart from ordinary commercial insurance. Aviation risks need coverage built around aircraft hull and liability, non-owned and hangarkeepers exposure, and the specific operation involved. This is a corner of specialty insurance built for how aviation risks actually take loss.
Properly structured coverage protects the owner or operator, the aircraft, and everyone in the air and on the ground.
The Aviation Signature Exposures
The defining exposure is aircraft liability and hull: an accident can cause catastrophic bodily injury, third-party property damage, and total loss of a high-value aircraft, so hull (physical damage) and liability limits, and the pilot and use warranties that condition them, are central — flying outside the approved use, territory, or pilot qualifications can void coverage. Around that sit exposures specific to each operation: an owner's personal or corporate use and non-owned flying, an airport business's hangarkeepers liability for others' aircraft and its fueling and ground operations, and a flight school's instructor and student-training exposure. Products, premises, and war/terrorism considerations round out the market.
Aviation Businesses We Insure
Aviation coverage is tailored to the specific operation, including:
Aircraft owners — private and corporate hull and liability, and non-owned coverage — see aircraft owner insurance
Airport service businesses and FBOs — fueling, hangarkeepers, and ground handling — see airport service business insurance
Flight schools and instructors — training aircraft, CFI liability, and students — see flight school insurance
Charter, aerial-application, and specialty operators, placed through the aviation market
Each operation carries its own warranties, limits, and pilot requirements, which is what most defines the class.
Core Coverages in Aviation
A properly built aviation program typically includes:
Aircraft Liability (Bodily Injury & Property Damage) — Covers third-party injury and damage arising from ownership and operation of the aircraft.
Aircraft Hull (Physical Damage) — Covers the aircraft itself, in flight, taxiing, and at rest, subject to agreed or stated value.
Non-Owned Aircraft Liability — Covers rented or borrowed aircraft flown by the insured or its pilots.
Hangarkeepers Liability — Covers damage to others' aircraft in the insured's care, custody, or control.
Premises & Products Liability — Cover the airport premises and any products or services provided.
Medical Payments & Passenger Liability — Cover occupants of the aircraft, subject to policy terms.
Workers' Comp & Umbrella (as applicable) — Cover employees and add limits over a catastrophic aviation claim.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Aviation programs are most often weakened by:
Pilot warranties and open-pilot clauses not matched to who actually flies the aircraft
Use, territory, or purpose conditions violated, voiding coverage at claim time
Hull valued at stated value that no longer reflects the market
Non-owned exposure ignored when the insured rents or borrows aircraft
Hangarkeepers limits below the value of aircraft in the operator's care
The gaps that hurt most are unmet pilot warranties and use conditions that void a claim.
Real-World Claim Examples
An aircraft accident causes injury, third-party damage, and a hull loss
A claim is denied because the pilot did not meet the policy's warranty
A stored or serviced aircraft is damaged in a hangar
A rented aircraft is damaged and non-owned coverage is tested
A fueling or ground-handling error damages an aircraft
Any one of these can be catastrophic, and the liability, hull, and warranty-related claims are the most distinctive.
Regulatory & Licensing Context
Aviation is federally regulated by the FAA, which governs pilot certification, aircraft airworthiness, maintenance, and operating rules under the Federal Aviation Regulations — Part 91 for general operations, Part 135 for charter, and Part 141/61 for flight training. Airports and FBOs operate under sponsor, lease, and minimum-standards agreements that impose insurance and indemnity requirements, and fueling operations carry environmental and spill obligations. Insurance itself is placed in a specialized aviation market where pilot warranties, approved-use and territory conditions, and stated-value hull terms are strict conditions of coverage rather than mere details.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Underwriters weigh the aircraft type and value, the operation (private, corporate, FBO, training, charter), pilot experience and ratings, use and territory, hangar and ground operations, safety and maintenance programs, and loss history. Because aviation is a specialized, warranty-driven market with catastrophic severity, coverage is placed through aviation underwriters, and terms turn on matching pilot warranties and use conditions to reality. Setting hull value correctly, meeting every pilot and use warranty, and matching limits to the operation are the essential steps.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we place aviation coverage through the specialized market it requires — aircraft hull and liability, non-owned and hangarkeepers exposure, and terms matched to how the aircraft is actually flown, by whom, and where, so a warranty never quietly voids a claim. We tailor the program to the operation, whether you are an aircraft owner, an airport service business or FBO, or a flight school.
When the risk leaves the ground, so does the insurance market, which makes aviation 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 aviation business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — plus the gap most often missed, in the Aviation Coverage Checklist.
Download the fillable Aviation Supplemental to start your submission, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get aviation 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 aviation 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 aviation insurance cost?
Premiums vary from business to business. The main drivers of aviation 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 aviation insurance?
It depends on your situation. Some coverage is required by law; more often, aviation 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.