In the last issue I discussed the exposures and needs of a pilot flying for an operation. This time, I want to address the exposures of the guy or gal who is out in the rain, snow or heat of the day to get your helicopter pulled in or pulled out of the hangar or the one who is responsible for the fueling needs you might have. If you are that person, read on. One quick note is that insurance companies will usually get many times more claims for Hangarkeepers losses than losses related to the actual mechanical work through the products liability part of the policy. Therefore, you are a vital part of the safety equation.

PREMISES LIABILITY
This basic part of the policy will protect the liability of the operation for the employees while performing their duties. This would be the fueling operation, and any part of the business associated with the office and ramp areas. The facility will add to this policy additional parts to cover the specific needs of each operation.

HANGARKEEPERS
The larger operations, you know, like a Bell service center with 8 to 10 beautiful ships in various stages of maintenance with full pilot training facilities for instance, is almost always going to have exceptional policies covering their business operations that include what you do. Their policy will cover any person acting on behalf of the operation in the carrying out of their duties. This policy will protect you if you should do something unintentional that causes damage. An example might be in the process of moving a helo in or out of the hangar with a power tug. If you are watching one side and start the turn too soon and catch the tail boom or rotor on the hangar door or another helicopter sitting next to the one you are moving, the damage you cause will be covered by the operations Hangarkeepers coverage.
Now let’s say you work for a maintenance only shop with just 1or 2 ships being worked on at any one time. In these difficult economic times, it is not unheard of for some operations to trim expenses and not purchase the Hangarkeepers option of the policy. If you are unsure, work up the courage to ask your boss if you are covered under this part of the policy. Seeing a copy of the declarations page with the policy effective dates will help reassure you and will also tell you if the coverage has been purchased.

TRAINING
It is the hope of the insurance underwriters that if you are asked to do something new that you will have received training ahead of time. If you usually move a Robinson R22 or Schweizer 300 and are now asked to move a multi-million dollar Sikorsky S-61, please be sure you ask for training or assistance. This same training will apply to any part of the operation you perform. Even something that seems as simple as fueling or de-fueling must be part of your training before you perform it by yourself. Underwriters would prefer the operation participate in NATA’s Safety First program, but any good, thorough in house training program is okay.

IN-FLIGHT HANGARKEEPERS
This coverage is important if you are operating the helicopter in flight. It is not uncommon for an operation to do a test flight after maintenance has been performed or if avionics have been installed or changed. Sometimes a problem reported by the owner can only be replicated while in flight. If you are the one who flies it, be sure you meet all of the pilot requirements of both the operators’ policy and the helicopter owners’ policy. In almost every case, an owner will have an aircraft policy that has as part of their pilot warranty a paragraph that states what qualifications a pilot needs to meet before he can fly as part of a maintenance flight. There are some operators who believe that the owners’ policy will cover any damage that results from a loss to the aircraft while flying under this provision. Remember that the owner has a policy to protect them; not you. If there is a loss, they will get the ship repaired; but if the loss was the fault of the pilot and not the ship, the company may take the opportunity to subrogate the loss back to the repair shop.

I will address this part of the protection program in the next column, addressing Additional Insured, Waiver of Subrogation and Completed Operations & Products coverage. So be sure you put the two columns together for the full picture.

Jeff Fleming brings 30 years of experience to our agency.  Before the insurance business, Jeff attended Florida Institute of Technology in the 1970’s, graduating with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Air Commerce degree.