Your Insurances

September 7th, 2008 by JCB
Posted in Letters | No Comments »

In the course of the many telephone conversations which I have with Pilots, it is often apparent that they are unsure as to exactly what cover they are paying for. I shall attempt here to give a brief and simple explanation.

The Pilot Protection Policy, currently insured with Royal & Sun Alliance, is unique in the British Insurance Market. The Wording is tailor made to your requirements and is there to provide the Pilot with Loss of Income should he be suspended as a result of a Piloting incident and to cover any Legal Costs which may be incurred in attempting to get his licence reinstated.

The final part of the Policy is in respect of Third Party Claims, which are currently limited to £1,000 in respect of payments, but there is always the concern that a test case may be brought which would involve Legal Costs way in excess of this relatively low amount.

It is often pointed out to me that the Premiums charged appear to be unfair to the Pilots who are not full-time and work out of the smaller Ports. Their issues have been taken into account by us having the two levels of Premium and Cover, the insurer’s did originally want just one charge for all Pilots, but we managed to agree with them that a split was fairer to the Membership.

The next Policy is the one with DAS, which is principally there to provide Legal Services in the event of a Pilot suffering an injury where someone else is to blame. This is not just restricted to incidents at work.

There are other Sections which apply to this Policy which include Legal Defence Costs, including for Criminal Prosecutions brought against you, Tax Investigation Costs and numerous Helplines for any Legal question which you may have, even though it may not be covered by the Policy.

Once again, this Policy Wording is tailor made to suit the U.K.M.P.A. Membership as it covers both employed and self-employed persons, this is unusual for a Commercial Legal Expenses Policy which is usually one or the other.

The two Policies mentioned are Compulsory to the Membership, but there is the Optional Personal Accident Cover. There are still a lot of the Members who do not take this Option, with the regular comment being that they already have sufficient cover. There is no limit to the amount of Personal Accident cover you can take in respect of Death, Loss of Limb, Loss of Eye and Permanent Total Disablement. I am continually told by Members that when they have looked for this insurance on their own, the Premiums they are charged are considerably higher than that being offered by Circle.

Another area where there is perhaps some confusion on this insurance is that once again it is just not restricted to accidents at work.

One final point on the Personal Accident insurance is that the Members do not have to take this insurance out on the 01^st January, it can be any other day of the year, all they have to do is contact me and I will give them a pro-rata Premium for the remainder of the insurance year.

I could go into more detail on the insurances, but the information is currently available on both our website and that of the U.K.M.P.A.

I wish to make one final point. Circle Insurance Services and Meridian both work on behalf of the Members of the U.K.M.P.A. We are there to provide you with a Professional Service and Assistance during what could be extremely stressful times. We know from day to day experience that insurance companies do not always appear to be the most helpful, we are on your side.

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Drew smith, Circle Insurance.