Imagine having to make an emergency landing in your airplane. You spy a golf course below with a long fairway where you’re able to land the plane. Unfortunately, during the landing a golfer is clipped by a wing, your passenger suffers a neck injury, the fairway is torn to shreds, and your aircraft is damaged.
Your liability coverage includes property damage (other than your owned aircraft), bodily injury outside the aircraft and bodily injury inside the aircraft.
With a smooth limit, you have the entire limit amount to address all three liability claims. This means if you insured at $1,000,000 smooth, you have the full $1,000,000 to cover the claims. Policies with smooth limits are typically more expensive, but as we look at policies with a sub-limit, you’ll understand why.
With a per-passenger sub-limit, coverage for the passenger is limited to the amount listed on the policy. For instance, if you insured at $1,000,000 combined single limit with $100,000 per passenger, the golfer and the course would be covered under the $1,000,000 and coverage for the passenger would be limited to $100,000.
With a per-person sub-limit, your coverage amount would be limited not only for your passenger, but also for the golfer since each is a “person.” For instance, if you insured at $1,000,000 combined single limit with $100,000 per-person, the course would be covered under the $1,000,000, and the golfer and the passenger would be limited to a maximum of $100,000. Because per-person sub-limits are the most restrictive – and because there’s almost never a related premium savings – they should be avoided if at all possible. At AssuredPartners Aerospace, we do not offer a per-person sublimit.