Understanding ITIC’s aviation cover: protection beyond physical risks

Physical risks such as damage to aircraft, injury to passengers or loss arising from an operational incident are widely regarded as the core identity of aviation insurance. Less visible, but equally important, are the professional liability risks that can arise from advice, oversight, design, administration, certification, technical decision-making, broking and more. These risks are commonly overlooked and are often wrongly assumed to be covered by the extensive suite of traditionally purchased aviation insurances.

ITIC’s professional liability cover steps in to protect against gaps and liability exposures that are not immediately obvious. The cover is tailored for aviation professionals whose work or services are alleged to have caused financial loss to a client or another party. This distinction is important because aviation businesses may face exposure not only when physical damage occurs, but also when an allegation is made. For example, that a recommendation was incorrect, a task was handled negligently, records were misinterpreted or a service did not meet the required professional standard. In practical terms, this cover is intended to respond to negligence and errors and omissions, not physical occurrences.

Who does ITIC cover?

ITIC’s cover is intended for a broad range of aviation service providers (including but not limited to):

• Air charter and lease brokers
• Aircraft sales and acquisition specialists
• Aviation consultants
• Designers
• Surveyors
• Aircraft registries
• Approved training organisations
• Part-135 aircraft fleet managers
• Aircraft lease and asset managers
• Aircraft technical managers

Features associated with the cover include worldwide professional liability protection, including US jurisdiction, contractual risk management guidance, loss prevention support and access to a worldwide correspondent network able to assist with local legal and regulatory issues.

ITIC therefore sits alongside conventional aviation policies such as hull and liability insurance, hangarkeepers, non-owned operators or aerospace products liability. Its role is to provide protection for liabilities that may otherwise slip through the cracks.

Why choose ITIC?

ITIC’s position as a specialist mutual insurer is central to its role in the market. Run by assureds for the benefit of its assureds, it combines insurance protection with sector-specific knowledge, a sympathetic approach to claims, loss prevention support and practical risk management expertise. For aviation businesses, a standalone professional liability policy with a specialist insurer such as ITIC stands independently of other aviation covers. Therefore, in the event of a claim, there is no potential for conflict of interest between the different classes of aviation cover.

In a highly specialised industry like aviation, where responsibilities are often shared across multiple service providers, professional liability exposures can be easily misunderstood, misrepresented or even missed altogether. ITIC’s role is to provide dedicated protection for such liabilities, helping to ensure that significant exposures that fall outside the scope of conventional aviation insurance are picked up under a dedicated insurance product, giving the aviation professional the depth of protection that they deserve.