I will be instructing for a Part 61 flight school - I will be a 1099 employee (or I guess it would be considered an independent contractor). I've been researching CFI Insurance, setting up an LLC, and AOPA's Pilot Protection Services. Talk about a confusing and convoluted subject. I've pretty much read every thread I could find on Google about these subjects as it relates to instructing.
Quite a few instructors have talked about setting up an LLC for liability and tax reasons. That said, my research has indicated that setting up an LLC will not do much for me in terms of liability. If someone sued me, my LLC wouldn't provide any protection. This seems to be a fairly misunderstood topic. It also seems like a lot of work to set one up and to keep it properly maintained.
The aircraft are fully insured and they made it pretty clear to me that they have never gone after a student or instructor for any damages - not even the deductible. I'm waiting to hear back if instructors are covered under their policy. After quite a bit of research I decided to join SAFE over NAFI. SAFE has the best CFI Insurance from what I can tell (setup through Aviation Insurance Resources). I plan to give them a call once I know what the flight school's insurance covers. It looks like plans range from a couple hundred dollars a year to $1500+. I can't afford $1500+ a year as an instructor. From what I've gathered, the vast majority of people who instruct for a school do not hold any insurance at all. In fact, a friend of mine who did only independent instructing never held insurance either. I'm not a rich man, but I wouldn't say I am the penniless young instructor that is quite common (I've worked as an engineer for a large Aerospace company for the past 4 years and my wife has a good paying job as well).
It seems like the general consensus is that the AOPA PPS is pretty cheap insurance for someone looking to make a flying career. I'm not interested in this for flight instructing, just for general legal help if I ever need it (lose a medical, etc). I could also use this as an opportunity to consult an aviation lawyer about setting up an LLC, Insurance, etc.
Anyways...any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Quite a few instructors have talked about setting up an LLC for liability and tax reasons. That said, my research has indicated that setting up an LLC will not do much for me in terms of liability. If someone sued me, my LLC wouldn't provide any protection. This seems to be a fairly misunderstood topic. It also seems like a lot of work to set one up and to keep it properly maintained.
The aircraft are fully insured and they made it pretty clear to me that they have never gone after a student or instructor for any damages - not even the deductible. I'm waiting to hear back if instructors are covered under their policy. After quite a bit of research I decided to join SAFE over NAFI. SAFE has the best CFI Insurance from what I can tell (setup through Aviation Insurance Resources). I plan to give them a call once I know what the flight school's insurance covers. It looks like plans range from a couple hundred dollars a year to $1500+. I can't afford $1500+ a year as an instructor. From what I've gathered, the vast majority of people who instruct for a school do not hold any insurance at all. In fact, a friend of mine who did only independent instructing never held insurance either. I'm not a rich man, but I wouldn't say I am the penniless young instructor that is quite common (I've worked as an engineer for a large Aerospace company for the past 4 years and my wife has a good paying job as well).
It seems like the general consensus is that the AOPA PPS is pretty cheap insurance for someone looking to make a flying career. I'm not interested in this for flight instructing, just for general legal help if I ever need it (lose a medical, etc). I could also use this as an opportunity to consult an aviation lawyer about setting up an LLC, Insurance, etc.
Anyways...any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.