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  • Bearhawk 4-place insurance?

    Considering a 4-place Bearhawk but before I go too far down that road I’m interested in what to expect from an insurance cost and requirement standpoint.

    im a low time pilot without much tailwheel time; will I likely need to log a significant amount of tailwheel hours in order to get insured? What kind of rates can I expect once I meet all the requirements?

  • #2
    I received several quotes from different sources when I started researching my build. I am currently with Parrish O'Neill https://www.parrishoneill.com/ The rep is Kimi Pillow and she is great to work with. When I start flying, my insurance will be somewhere around $4K per year. I expect it to go down after logging time in the machine. I am also flying with a tailwheel instructor twice a month while building my Bearhawk. These logged hours of dual instruction will be helpful when activating my policy as the insurer may require 10 hours of dual before flying solo. Jared Yates also offers Bearhawk transition training that the insurer may also require.
    Rob Caldwell
    Lake Norman Airpark (14A), North Carolina
    EAA Chapter 309
    Model B Quick Build Kit Serial # 11B-24B / 25B
    YouTube Channel: http://bearhawklife.video
    1st Flight May 18, 2021

    Comment


    • #3
      This is always something good to think about in advance. Do you have a broker that you already work with? Call that broker, or Falcon, and tell them what you have in mind. They will be happy to give you an estimate of premiums and pilot requirements. If necessary, tell them you have the option for the EAA Flight Advisor program and for an FAA approved transition training program also. The first year is always the hardest, and it's not uncommon to see quotes of 3000-5000. My last renewal was around 2000. See if they will tell you what they'd like to see in terms of tailwheel time to really see a difference in premiums.

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      • #4
        You can get insurance being a low time tailwheel pilot. It becomes cheaper after you get 200-250 hours of tailwheel time. I will let others tell you what to expect as far as a premium because my policy is commercial/sales demo and not the same as a private pilot. Back in the day it would cost me $3,000 or so a year for $85,000 hull and liability. Mark

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        • #5
          Then numbers vary pretty significantly depending on experience and how much you insure your rig for. There was a Bearhawk for sale here recently in the $125K range, so I set down a path to see what the associated costs would be. I’ve got almost 300 hours over the last 11 years of flying, and I have about 70 hours of tailwheel time, I suppose. About 50 or so of that is in a Maule, which I think is a pretty close comparison to a Bearhawk in mission, dimension, weight, etc. The quotes I got were quite staggering at around $5000-6000.

          Some folks here have a lot more time and experience in this particular plane, and they’re also insuring at different levels. If you search past posts, you’ll see that there are folks here who are getting pretty good rates. But I’m throwing this out there for those who are low time and are carrying a note on their plane as a point of reference.

          The short story is there is a pretty small insurable pool, and full,coverage will be pretty high on the lower end of the experience range.
          Christopher Owens
          Bearhawk 4-Place Scratch Built, Plans 991
          Bearhawk Patrol Scratch Built, Plans P313
          Germantown, Wisconsin, USA

          Comment


          • zkelley2
            zkelley2 commented
            Editing a comment
            Holy crap, we had single pilot 135 insurance for that.

          • Chris In Milwaukee
            Chris In Milwaukee commented
            Editing a comment
            Tell me about it. I was as shocked as you are! When I asked about floats, the quote doubled with a 10% deductible.

          • zkelley2
            zkelley2 commented
            Editing a comment
            To me those prices are the same as saying, nah, we don't want to insure you.

        • #6
          Thx; that is what I was looking for.

          Comment


          • #7
            Another something to think about is where are you going to build whatever and will it be insured during the build. Most home insurance companies will not cover your kit. Not sure about scratch build projects though. Dennis and I had builders insurance for that purpose. Especially crucial when you have an engine sitting there waiting to be installed. As far as flying the finished product we ended up without much of a choice because we could not get time in type. Didn't matter at all that we both had thousand of hours in a tailwheel, so we flew the first 50 without any insurance at all.

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            • #8
              We were getting hull in motion insurance for a premium of 1.3% of insured value, in our case $150,000. This was through Starr underwriters in London, using a local Broker.

              That was with over 250hrs for one pilot and over 50 for the other, two pilots insured.

              With no time on type and an experimental plane (no test flying completed), it was closer to 1.8%.

              We insured during the build for about $500 p.a, for a full replacement kit. We also paid about the same again, for special insurance while travelling via road with the kit. This was towing it on a trailer to the airport.
              Last edited by Battson; 03-27-2019, 03:27 PM.

              Comment


              • #9
                That is an amazing rate!

                Originally posted by Battson View Post
                We were getting hull in motion insurance for a premium of 1.3% of insured value, in our case $150,000. This was through Starr underwriters in London, using a local Broker.

                That was with over 250hrs for one pilot and over 50 for the other, two pilots insured.

                With no time on type and an experimental plane (no test flying completed), it was closer to 1.8%.

                We insured during the build for about $500 p.a, for a full replacement kit. We also paid about the same again, for special insurance while travelling via road with the kit. This was towing it on a trailer to the airport.

                Comment


                • #10
                  Zero to low-time tailwheel pilots may want to think about buying (partnership, maybe) a spam can in which they can accumulate time and proficiency while they build; then sell it when the BH is ready to go. Then prior to first BH flight get Jared’s transition training. Insurance companies would love that approach. With 400+ hours of tailwheel time and transition training I was able to get my first year of BH insurance for about $2800. My understnding is that the price will drop significantly when I reach 100 hours in type, which I plan to do before policy renewal at the end of year one. I also did the same as Battson with my first plane and used “not in motion” for the hull (after the first year). I have had very good service with Jim Stewart at Falcon Insurance Agency.

                  Comment


                  • #11
                    That is an amazing rate!

                    Originally posted by Battson View Post
                    We were getting hull in motion insurance for a premium of 1.3% of insured value, in our case $150,000. This was through Starr underwriters in London, using a local Broker.

                    That was with over 250hrs for one pilot and over 50 for the other, two pilots insured.

                    With no time on type and an experimental plane (no test flying completed), it was closer to 1.8%.

                    We insured during the build for about $500 p.a, for a full replacement kit. We also paid about the same again, for special insurance while travelling via road with the kit. This was towing it on a trailer to the airport.

                    Comment


                    • Ray Strickland
                      Ray Strickland commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Oops. Looks like I mis-read Battson’s phrase “hull in motion” as “not in motion.” “Not in motion” only covers the hull when it is sitting still...on the ramp or in a hangar, etc. It is a lot cheaper, of course.

                  • #12
                    Originally posted by Ray Strickland View Post
                    Zero to low-time tailwheel pilots may want to think about buying (partnership, maybe) a spam can in which they can accumulate time and proficiency while they build; then sell it when the BH is ready to go. Then prior to first BH flight get Jared’s transition training. Insurance companies would love that approach. With 400+ hours of tailwheel time and transition training I was able to get my first year of BH insurance for about $2800. My understnding is that the price will drop significantly when I reach 100 hours in type, which I plan to do before policy renewal at the end of year one. I also did the same as Battson with my first plane and used “not in motion” for the hull (after the first year). I have had very good service with Jim Stewart at Falcon Insurance Agency.
                    Good advice. Ideally I would buy one already flying but in the meantime a cheap pacer might be just the ticket to get tailwheel time up

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