United States Aircraft Insurance Group (USAIG)

United States Aircraft Insurance Group (USAIG)

United States Aircraft Insurance Group (USAIG) is the nation’s oldest aviation insurer and a specialist provider of aviation insurance and reinsurance capacity for operators, manufacturers, airports and airlines.

Origins and notable milestones

• Founded after World War I by Reed McKinley Chambers and David C. Beebe to address a gap in aviation insurance identified when Chambers’ airline suffered catastrophic losses.
• Insured landmark aviation and aerospace events, including the first B‑52 bomber flight, the Boeing 707 prototype, the 1969 lunar module flight, the Boeing 747’s first commercial flight, and testing/development of the General Dynamics F‑111A.
• Issued the first insurance policy for an international communications satellite (COMSAT “Early Bird”) in 1965 and the first small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) policy in 2015.

Structure and membership

• USAIG is a pool of member property‑casualty insurers rather than a single company. United States Aviation Underwriters (USAU) acts as the manager for the USAIG pool; a Canadian subsidiary manages the Canadian Aircraft Insurance Group (CAIG).
• All member companies must meet minimum financial standards: at least an “A” rating from A.M. Best or Standard & Poor’s and a required statutory surplus (historically set at $1 billion or greater).
• Members are also required, via security agreements, to fund trust accounts to cover 100% of their net liabilities, and capacity used for policies is admitted across all 50 U.S. states or throughout Canada.

Coverage offerings

USAIG provides a broad range of aviation insurance products, including:
– Corporate and commercial aviation hull and liability
– Pleasure and business aircraft coverage
– Helicopter insurance
– Airline liability and hull policies
– Airport liability
– Aviation products liability
– Specialty programs for emerging technologies (e.g., sUAS)

Safety and industry role

• USAIG actively promotes aviation safety and publishes recurring “Safety First” materials and posters to support risk management and loss prevention across the industry.
• Through its pooled capacity and underwriting expertise, USAIG has historically supported aviation innovation by providing insurance for pioneering flights, prototypes and new aerospace technologies.

Key takeaways

• USAIG is the oldest dedicated aviation insurer in the United States with a history of insuring major aviation and aerospace milestones.
• It operates as a pool of highly rated insurers managed by USAU, with stringent membership and funding requirements to ensure financial strength.
• The group offers comprehensive aviation coverages and promotes industry safety and risk management.