How Pilot Cover Works and How to Reduce Your Aircraft Insurance Premium

One of the main factors affecting your aeroplane insurance premium is who will be flying your aircraft. Understanding how pilot cover works—and how to manage it—can help ensure you don’t pay more than necessary.

What Pilot Cover Options Can You Choose?

Aircraft insurers generally offer two main types of pilot cover:

a) Named Pilot Cover

With a Named Pilot policy, you list specific pilots who are allowed to fly the aircraft. Their details—such as licence type, experience, flying hours, and insurance history—are declared upfront. This option is ideal if only a small, known group will pilot the aircraft.

b) Open Pilot Cover

If your aircraft is flown by many different pilots, or if you’re unsure who will fly it (for example, it is rented out), Open Pilot cover may be more suitable. With this option, instead of naming individuals, you set criteria any pilot must meet to be covered (e.g. licence type, max age, hours in total / on model etc). Setting stricter criteria usually means lower insurance premiums.

You can combine these options, using open pilot to cover most flyers but then naming any pilot who does not meet the open pilot criteria (e.g. is over the age limit).

Is the Policyholder Automatically Covered?

Just as with motor insurance, where the policyholder is normally only insured to drive if they are a named driver, with aircraft insurance the policyholder is only covered to fly if they have either been added as a named pilot or if they meet the open pilot criteria.

Are Any Pilots Automatically Covered?

While wordings vary between insurers, most general aviation policies automatically include cover for certain types of flights carried out by qualified personnel:

• Instructors: Covered while providing flight instruction to a permitted pilot, provided training is an allowed use under the policy.
• Examiners / Testers: Approved pilots conducting test flights, pilot examinations, or Certificate of Airworthiness flights, but only during these specific flights.
• Engineers: Licensed engineers flying the aircraft for purposes directly related to its maintenance or repair.

Always review your policy documents carefully, as exclusions and conditions can differ significantly.

How to Manage Pilot Cover and Keep Insurance Premiums Low

a) Choose the Right Type of Pilot Cover

Insurers generally view Named Pilot cover as lower risk because they know exactly who is flying, so if you have only a small number of pilots, this option is usually cheaper than Open Pilot cover.

b) Keep Flying Hours Accurate and Up to Date

Experienced pilots tend to have better aircraft-handling skills, be more likely to understand the service and maintenance needs of the aircraft and make better decisions when it’s in flight and on the ground. Insurers understand this, which is why experienced pilots enjoy lower premiums.

Insurers use flying hours, in total and on model, to determine experience, with the premium being calculated based on the least experienced pilot on the policy. It is important to keep all pilot’s hours as accurate and current as possible, so you should update them at least annually, and ideally more frequently, especially for low experience pilots.

c) Remove Pilots If No Longer Flying

If a pilot no longer uses the aircraft, removing them from the policy can reduce your premium, especially if:
They are a low experience pilot for whom you may have been paying more, or
Your insurer gives discounts for keeping the number of named pilots down (e.g. 3 or fewer)
Remember, you don’t need to wait until renewal, indeed removing a pilot mid-term may even generate a pro-rata refund for the remaining policy period.

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