Piper Piston Insurance Cost Examples
Piper M350 - Owner Pilot Experienced
| Coverage | Limits | Premium |
| M350 Physical Damage | $1,500,000 Agreed Value | $12,100 |
| Aircraft Liability | $1,000,000 Per Occurrence | $1,900 |
| Total Annual Premium | $14,000 |
Piper Saratoga - Owner Pilot Less Experienced but PRIV INST
| Coverage | Limits | Premium |
| Saratoga Physical Damage | $600,000 Agreed Value | $5,500 |
| Aircraft Liability | $1,000,000 Per Occurrence | $1,500 |
| Total Annual Premium | $8,000 |
| Coverage | Limits | Premium |
| Archer DLX Physical Damage | $450,000 Agreed Value | $9,500 |
| Aircraft Liability | $1,000,000 sub $100,000 per passenger | $2,000 |
| Total Annual Premium | $11,500 |
Aircraft Summary
The Piper piston aircraft are great trainers for student flight training for a Private Pilot License. The headquarters is in Vero Beach, FL. It used to be that Piper was the leading general aviation manufacturer, along with Cessna and Beechcraft. Since the late 1990s and 2000s, many other manufacturers have surpassed Piper like Cirrus Aircraft.
The newest and most expensive Piper piston aircraft is the Piper M350 which is in high demand from owners pilots. It’s one step below the Piper M500 and M600 which are the turbo-prop versions. The M350 costs $1,600,000 brand new. The M500 is $2,900,000. And the M600 SLS is $3,200,000.
Underwriters are familiar with Piper aircraft because there are so many of them in operation and insurance companies can estimate the risk of future losses.
There is also a Piper Owners Society for member forums and discussion https://piperowner.org/
The highest liability limits available for piston Piper aircraft is typically $1,000,000 per occurrence or something referred to as “smooth”. Most owners have a lower liability limit such as $1,000,000 per occurrence sub $100,000 per occurrence. This is a low liability limit but most times the only option that is available. Hull premium is typically around 70 – 80 percent of the overall premium. The remaining premium is the liability.
An easy way to calculate what your estimated premium will be for a Piston Piper Aircraft is:: 1%, 2%, 3% and sometimes in excess of 4%
- 1% of the hull value for experienced pilots, no dry leases or fractional, and a hull value at $250,000 or greater
- 2% of the hull value for Private Pilots working on Instrument, Fractional Ownership and more than 3 named pilots with a high hull value like $250,000.
- 3% of the hull value for less experienced pilots; Student Pilots working on Private Pilot and a hull value less than $250,000
- 4% of the hull value for Student Pilots with hull value less than $100,000; Instruction and Rental; Flight Schools; Flying Clubs
Models We Cover
Valuation
Piper piston aircraft hold their value fairly well along with the rest of the market, such as Cirrus and Beechcraft. Recently we’ve seen a lot of Piper and piston aircraft in general increase in value.
Risk Areas
The hardest aircraft to insure for Piper Piston Aircraft is operations that have a lot of Named Pilots listed on the policy. We have seen some insurance companies cap the number of pilots they are willing to name at 5. Also pilots that are 70 or older have a tough time finding new relationships with insurance companies.
Claim History
Piper Aircraft have a good claims history. Most of the claims are from poor decision making by training pilots or pilot error.
Safety Features
The newer M-Series Pipers like the M350, M500, and M600 have a glass cockpit with a Primary Flight Display (PFD) or Multi Function Display (MFD) for enhanced situational awareness and instrument flying. The old Pipers often just have steam gauge instruments. A lot of Pipers use the Garmin 530 avionics.
Flight Training Centers
Piper Aircraft has training centers throughout the US and throughout the world. Here’s a link to Piper Training Centers https://www.piper.com/flight-schools/
See our complete list of approved flight schools for more information.
Parts Service Centers
Piper Aircraft service centers are located throughout the United States and world. Here’s a link to Piper Authorized Service Centers https://www.piper.com/find-a-service-center/