Liberty has offered cover to commercial pilots for many years, on all benefits including own occupation disability including monthly income disability benefits. Because pilots can lose their license and be grounded temporarily for relatively minor health complaints (high blood pressure for example), they are more sensitive to claim.
We also employed an aviation risk specialist to assess these risk for us, to make sure that we rate clients appropriately based on their commercial and private aviation activities, currency in flying, experience and qualifications.
We are the very best in the market in assessing these risks, and because we assess so thoroughly at the outset, we know that we offer better contract certainty for our clients. We will also be doing extensive marketing around this although Covid-19 has really placed a damper on this offer due to the risk management that has to take place.
As we have a commercial aviation specialist assessing all aviation applications we require the following aviation requirements to assess:
Aviation Requirements:
Aviation Questionnaire
Copy of CAA License
Copy of CAA Flight Medicals
Copy of CAA A4 Type and Class ratings page
Copy of Logbook indicating the last three years of flying
Our loss of pilots licence cover:
Loss of pilots licence exclusion clause wording on disability benefits for commercial pilots(it is actually an inclusion to cover the pilot’s licence on medical grounds).
Claims for “loss of licence” under [(SUBSTITUTE THE NAME OF BENEFIT)] benefit will be payable under the “Disability” claim definition where:
· You are considered medically incapacitated as a direct or indirect result of an identifiable accident, disease, illness or surgery; and
· The incapacity is of such a nature that you are continuously and wholly prevented from engaging in your normal flying duties; and
· As a result of the incapacity your Commercial Transport Licence (CPL) or Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) is temporarily or permanently revoked by an accredited Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Medical Board
The loss or cancellation of your CPL or ATPL shall not, by itself, entitle you to claim for benefits under your policy. To qualify for payment under “loss of licence” under the “Disability” claim definition of your benefit(s) you need to satisfy all of the conditions above in addition to all other standard terms and conditions of the benefit and policy. These conditions include but are not limited to requirements for loss of income and permanence of your medical incapacity, depending on the benefit you purchased.
This is not actually an exclusion but an inclusion clause:
It covers loss of license cover. If you lose your licence because you breached civil aviation regulations for example arriving for duty while under the influence(drunk) and you lose your licence then a claim will not be considered, if however you lose your licence because of a medical condition then a claim will be considered as you have lost your licence.
What if you fly abroad under different airlines rules & licence?
With regards to flying abroad and you have a GCAA licence as an example, we understand a GCAA license in not dependent on your SACAA license, but you will be assessed at claim stage according to CAA rules. We are happy to accept foreign country medicals but at claim stage we will have to rely on our local CAA and our local laws etc., you after all a South African citizen and it is all by special concession (so to speak) that we accept foreign medicals or covering commercial aviators abroad.
Thus at claim stage a client will have to go to a local designated SACAA accredited doctor, if you are fit to fly as per SACAA rules then there is no claim. If you are however unfit to fly then SACAA will issue the official document stating that you are grounded and claims process can start.
Let us start off by looking at what we can offer AFTER COVID-19 once the airlines are fully operational again.
Commercial Aviation:
Based on the above requirements we can consider the following benefits:
Life cover
OD/OOD/AP(OD & OOD) to age to age 65 with loss of licence cover
Monthly Income Protector with 3 month waiting period to age 65 with loss of licence cover
Living Lifestyle
(there might be some loadings on benefits depending on the type of aviation)
DURING COVID-19:
Note: Freight and cargo pilots that weren’t as much affected by Covid-19 and continued to fly can still possibly qualify for all the above own occupation disability benefits, this will also apply to crop-sprayers as an example that were not affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.
For pre-dominantly passenger flying commercial pilots we can offer the following during Covid-19 epidemic:
Life cover
Impairment Benefit to age 65
Living Lifestyle
(no Retrenchment Benefit)
Note: after Covid-19 we can review changing the Impairment Benefit to Own Occupation Disability benefit and the addition of Monthly Income Protector(with 3 month waiting period to age 65).
Please put us to the test, we would glad assist in getting your pilots covered!
