Aircraft Insurance Outlook: January 2026

The aircraft insurance market continues to soften in several areas. Capacity has returned, competition has increased, and premiums are down in many segments. While this is generally positive for aircraft owners and operators, pricing alone should not solely drive insurance decisions.

The details still matter—especially around claims handling, underwriting flexibility, and long-term market relationships.

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A Softer Market, Driven by New Entrants

New aviation MGUs have entered the market. Their arrival has increased competition and helped push pricing down while expanding available capacity.

This has been a net positive for aviation. That said, not every market is the right fit for every operation, and lower premiums do not always translate to better coverage or better outcomes if there’s a claim.

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Insurance Carrier vs. Managing General Underwriter — Why It Matters

Not all aviation insurance companies operate the same way:

• Insurance companies (carriers) are the entities that ultimately pay claims and make long-term underwriting decisions.
• Managing General Underwriters (MGUs) act on behalf of carriers and have delegated authority to quote and bind coverage, but typically with more limited flexibility.

There is a difference in how these companies operate:

• Claims can be handled very differently from one company to another
• Approved Training Schools or extensions in training are needed; Ie. – maybe you want to do in-aircraft vs going to the full motion simulator
• When pilots are added or changed to the Policy; especially if you need to add a lower time pilots or if that pilot has had prior claims
• Aircraft upgrades or transitions plans; Ie. – Owner has TBM 960 and upgrades to a Phenom 300

Lower premiums can be attractive, but it’s important to understand who is standing behind the policy and how much authority your underwriter has if your operation changes or needs more flexibility down the road.

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What to Pay Attention to When Choosing a Market

Before selecting or changing insurance carriers, consider:

• Who handles claims—an in-house team, McLarens, or independent adjusters
• Which insurance company actually pays the claim
• How flexible the underwriter is as your operation evolves

Minor claims are usually straightforward. Larger or more complex losses are where market strength and claims experience matter most.

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The “Quality Factor” of Your Policy

Your aircraft insurance policy is more than just a premium. There is a quality factor that includes:

• Ancillary Coverage: Premises, Hangarkeeper’s, Spare Parts, Deductibles, Endorsements
• Coverage quality and policy language
• Claims handling assistance and payment
• Underwriting flexibility and oversight
• Speed and responsiveness; Approving Pilots or getting Additionally Insured Certs
• Long-term relationships with the underwriter can help with negotiating premiums, liability limits, and pilot warranties

If you’ve ever had a claim and felt frustrated with the process or outcome, chances are the quality factor of that policy was low—even if the pricing looked attractive upfront.

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Why Many Veteran Owners Stay With the Same Market

It’s common to hear operators say, “We’ve been with the same insurance company for 20 years.”

That’s usually because the market understands their operation and has a track record with their risk.  Existing insureds are often treated more favorably than new business when it comes to:

• Premium Consistency and Negotiations 
• Training approvals
• Transition pilots
• Aircraft upgrades
• Higher liability limits
• Expanding territory for additional flight operations
• There’s a chance new entrants may not be around in the next hard market when you need them most

For example, transitioning from a TBM 850 to a Citation CJ3 is typically far smoother when there’s an established market relationship. Many MGUs simply don’t have the limits or authority to support those transitions.

That said, markets do change—and yearly reviews still make sense.

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Sector Trends that still have high loss ratios:

Still challenging:

• There has been a lot of crashes in Citation aircraft recently but the market is still strong
• New flight operations that haven’t paid premiums or acquired underwriter relationships yet; Ie.) – buying a used Diamond DA62 for single ship instruction and rental when the insured hasn’t paid any premiums and therefore to new to have a loss ratios
• Owner-flown single pilot turbine with a high value and/or a lot of seats
• Rotor wing is pretty hit or miss because the operations vary so widely
• Low-time transition pilots (often limited to one strong option) Ie. Upgrading from a Cirrus SR22 to Phenom 100
  

Relatively unchanged:

• Large charter operators
• Commercial fleet policies
  
  

Getting easier but still depends on the operation:

• Bell 505
• Robinson R44 / R66
• Daher TBM 850
• Piper M700
• Piaggio
• Diamond DA62

Higher-cost / watch-outs:

• Pilots under 1,000 hours flying higher-value single-pilot aircraft
  (Phenom 300, Pilatus PC-24, HondaJet)
• Multiple dry leases continue to add underwriting complexity
  

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**Notable Daher TBM Market Development**

The Daher TBM insurance market continues to evolve with programs such as TBM Pilot Proficiency Program and TBM Advanced Aviator Program. Some carriers are offering discounts of up to 20% for elite pilots that meet the requirements of these programs which includes having experience in the TBM, with a strong focus on training, safe operations, and  live flight sharing to monitor approach speed consistency. Daher was very smart to include the flight data retrieval and transfer system box in TBMs from early on. 

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Final Thought

While meaningful premium reductions are available in today’s market, they’re often supported by:

• Increased pilot experience
• Second-year+ ownership with great loss ratios
• Additional training or ratings
• Cleaner, simpler operations

Premium matters—but claims handling, flexibility, and long-term market support also counts.

As always, I’m happy to discuss how these market conditions apply to your specific aircraft, pilot profile, and operating plans.

Make	Model	Type of Pilot	Hull Value	Premium	% Move
Daher	TBM 850	Owner Pilots nearing 1,000 Total Time	$2,150,000	$23,000	🔻56%
Piper	M700	Owner Pilot Experienced; 74 YO	$3,500,000	$28,000	🔻45%
Bell	505	Owner Pilot with 350 Total Time; Switched from Fractional Owned to Single Owner	$2,400,000	$36,000	🔻42%
Phenom	100	Owner Pilot Experienced	$2,300,000	$21,000	🔻38%
Daher	TBM 930	Owner Pilot Experienced; PPP Pilot	$3,800,000	$29,000	🔻27%
Cirrus	Vision Jet	Owner Pilot Experienced	$3,000,000	$22,000	🔻22%
Piper	M350	Owner Pilot working on INST rating	$1,700,000	$24,000	🔻17%
Piper	M600	Owner Pilot Experienced	$2,500,000	$22,000	🔻16%
Phenom	300	Owner Pilot with 1,200 Total Time No one quoted this single pilot except the incumbent insurance company	$7,000,000	????	????
Daher	TBM 850	Hail Damage Claim; Negative Loss Ratio; Premium will drop next year	$2,150,000	$25,000	🟢4%
Piper	Matrix	Owner Pilot Experienced	$600,000	$10,000	FLAT
Piper	JetProp	Owner Pilot Experienced	$800,000	$15,000	FLAT
Citation	Mustang	Owner Pilot Experienced	$2,280,000	$22,000	FLAT
Diamond	DA62	Instruction Rental; Single Ship	$1,100,000	$56,000	NEW
Diamond	DA62	Owner Pilot just got ME, working on INST	$1,700,000	$25,000	NEW
Tecnam	P-Mentor	New Flight School	$350,000	$11,000	NEW
Piper	JetProp	Three Fractional Owners using Pro Pilots	$1,000,000	$20,000	NEW
Bell	505	New Part 135 Charter Tours	$2,200,000	$55,000	NEW

Advice: The best way forward is to maintain a close relationship with your aviation insurance broker and underwriters so you get the best rates as things are changing. 

Ben Peterson is a 15 year aviation insurance services professional, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor with over 1,000 hours instruction given, and former Cirrus Factory Instructor Pilot.