Author’s Cessna 206 lies bent and broken after a 55-MPH gust upended it in Fargo, North Dakota. Insurance covered only part of the repairs.

by Clint Lowe

Most owners think about aircraft insurance once a year, when they send in the premium check or maybe chat with a broker about renewal terms. If you never have an accident, that’s about as exciting as insurance ought to be. But if the worst happens and you have to ask an insurance company to pay for bent metal, be prepared for some surprises of the unpleasant sort.

That’s what happened to me last year, when the Cessna 206 I used for hauling checks was involved in a freak ground accident that nearly totaled the airplane. In retrospect, much of the expense and downtime I endured might have been avoided if…