AVEMCO Insurance
Company is the newest sponsor of the industry-wide BE A PILOT
education and outreach effort to increase consumer understanding of
personal flying and help bring more new people into aviation.
AVEMCO has undertaken a $25,000 "Bronze" major sponsorship for 2004
to increase educational resources for better understanding of
renter's insurance in non-owned aircraft operations.
"We're pleased to help support the BE A PILOT program, not only
for its unprecedented consumer outreach to recruit potential new
pilots, but also in its educational role on the benefits and
requirements of personal flying," said Jim Lauerman, AVEMCO's
executive vice-president and chief underwriter.
It is estimated that as many as 300,000 pilots fly in rented or
borrowed airplanes without insurance coverage protecting themselves
as the aircraft operator. In a change from typical business
coverage decades ago, most insurance in effect for FBOs and flight
schools today protects the aircraft owner and/or lessor, not the
renting pilot.
Insurance First Topic of New Educational Features
New educational
features on the BE A PILOT Web site (www.beapilot.com)
will detail specialized topics of interest to aviation's potential
new entrants, new student pilots and newly licensed aviators. The
features will discuss a particular segment of the industry or a
particular aspect of flying.
Insurance will be the first subject in this informative new
series of educational themes in the BE A PILOT program. The Web
site features will be educational, not commercial in nature--
although BE A PILOT sponsors active in that area of aviation will
be featured.
For instance, the
insurance subject will note those BE A PILOT sponsors (or
their affiliates) who provide renter's insurance, including
both AVEMCO and BE A PILOT Platinum-level sponsor Aircraft Owners
and Pilots Association (re: its AOPA Insurance Agency, Inc.)
"Insurance is an important part of the aviation world, and it's
an important consideration for any new pilot or student," said BE A
PILOT chairman Jack Olcott (pictured right). "As a non-profit
educational foundation, BE A PILOT can be informative in this area
as it is about other factors involved in being a pilot."
"Insurance issues are among the toughest faced by flight schools
today," said AVEMCO's Lauerman.
"FBOs and flight schools could benefit if their renters
understood the importance of non-owned aircraft policies.
"If everyone understands who's covered and how, then pilots, too,
can be properly protected and enjoy the benefits of flying without
risking a financial surprise."