According to GAMA statistics, there are 611,000 active pilots in the United States and only 223,000 registered general aviation aircraft. Even allowing for air taxi airplanes, clubs and partnerships, this means that lots of us are flying airplanes that we don’t own. Some of us rent from local flight schools, some borrow from friends.
Few flight schools can afford to carry insurance that gives the student or renter pilots much, if any, protection. And while permissive users of privately owned airplanes are usually automatically included under the aircraft liability coverage, insurers will frequently subrogate to recover the cost of physical damage.