‘Do You Have Insurance?’

It’s every pilot’s worst nightmare. Or perhaps more accurately, it’s your family’s worst nightmare – that moment after an accident when they realise your insurance isn’t going to cover the costs or isn’t valid at all.

We all hear about the accidents. Many of us will know of pilots who didn’t have the right cover: who found themselves strapped to a stretcher for a 12-hour carry off a mountain because they didn’t pay into the helicopter fund; who discovered their paragliding insurance excluded comp flying; or who sat for hours in pain on their scheduled flight home before hobbling off to the hospital. (Actually, that was me, but it was a long time ago, wasn’t a flying accident...