Aviation, Insurance Brokers and ITIC

Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance provides cover for aviation professionals for claims which are brought against them for losses suffered by their customers as a result of their negligence, error or omission. ITIC, as a specialist not-for-profit provider of professional indemnity insurance, is a natural choice for those who work in the aviation sector requiring protection from claims.

Any party who acts as a professional, providing advice, information, designs, consultancy and asset management services, owes a duty of care to their clients. Examples in the aviation sector include Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisations (CAMO), aircraft managers, aircraft charter and lease brokers and aerospace designers. Under English law, the standard of duty of care is the provision of “reasonable skill and care”.

In the event that the services provided by professionals fall below this standard and cause their clients a loss, the clients can seek to recover these losses. For this reason it is now commonplace for contracts used in many sectors to hold a specific requirement for PI Insurance.

However, a PI policy is also there to protect the policy holder. The world is becoming more and more litigious and not all claims have merit. Escalating legal costs mean that the cost of innocence has never been higher, and in the event of an unfounded allegation of negligence, a PI policy will pay for the valuable defence of the Assured’s interests. ITIC has funded the defence of spurious claims against Assureds in a variety of worldwide jurisdictions, including the USA and Canada. Our team of specialists will also manage the claim on behalf of the Assured, saving them both time and money.

Put simply, any company providing advice, training, design, consultancy or asset management services should be covered by PI insurance. Whilst many professionals struggle to imagine a claim being made against them, ITIC’s experience confirms that mistakes frequently occur. As a specialist insurer of aviation professional risks, ITIC provides cover for a range of companies , some of whom may not immediately recognise that they could have an exposure to a PI claim. However, should their error or omission cause a loss to their client, or to a third party, then they could be held responsible. They could even be sued simply because they act as an agent for somebody else.

What ITIC looks for:

A well-presented, completed proposal form and an up to date CV.

As an insurer of liabilities arising out of the mistakes made by an individual or a company, as part of our underwriting considerations we will naturally form a view as to the professionalism of your client. First impressions count, and these are often based on a completed proposal form. A neat and well-presented proposal form with complete answers is often a strong indicator of the standards set by the individual or company.

Further, tell us about your client’s background. If we can see that they are now consulting on a particular aspect of aviation which they have already spent some 20 years working in, we will look on their application more far more favourably than someone with little or no experience!

A detailed description of your client’s professional activities. ITIC will be covering your client for claims which will arise following their provision of professional services. A PI insurer who doesn’t understand what their Assured does, doesn’t understand the business or what they are insuring. If your client is an aircraft manager, CAMO, surveyor or charter broker, we can send you an additional form which will tell us everything we need to know. For everybody else, a short paragraph with a description of their activities is helpful. We can let you know if we need to ask further questions.

Confirmation as to whether an AOC is held by your client. If they are holding an AOC, we know that they are also holding an aviation hull and liability policy. It tells us that we may be able to exclude death, bodily injury or property damage claims from the professional indemnity policy, which will avoid double insurance and help to keep the premium down.

Details of any approvals which have been issued in favour of your client by an NAA, especially those relating to design, management and maintenance of aircraft. Quite simply, if they are not holding the approvals that they require to carry out their activities, then we will decline to insure them. ITIC holds its Assureds in high esteem and we will never knowingly jeopardise our ability to underwrite their risks or handle their claims. Checking approvals is part of our underwriting due diligence.