I just returned earlier this month from the Pilatus Owners and Pilots Association (POPA) annual convention – this year the event was hosted in Salt Lake City at the Grand America hotel. The gathering is an annual conference that brings together the worldwide Pilatus dealer network, as well as the ancillary service providers including representatives from insurance (brokerage and underwriting), aviation finance, legal, aircraft modifications and MRO facilities. We had the good fortune this year to hear from underwriting carriers Sompo, Class A, and Starr,all three of which were represented on an insurance panel discussing current market trends, aging pilots, and risk management tools such as FOQA (flight operations quality assurance) and ADSB data.
The POPA organization is one of the longest-running OPAs (Owner-Pilot Associations) in the space, and each year seems to attract increased attendance at its annual conference. This year marks the 20th year I have been a member of POPA, and it was nice seeing some of my industry colleagues in Salt Lake City, whom I had met back in 2006 at POPA in San Antonio. The industry relationships are what it’s all about and the Pilatus community was certainly my first foray into the professional owner/pilot organizations since I started my aviation insurance career in 2004.
Over the last 20+ years, I have become involved with Citation Jet Pilots (CJP), the TBM Owners and Pilots Association (TBMOPA), Hondajet owners, Phenom Owners and PMOPA (Piper M Class owners) – each organization is a valuable conduit to my customer base in those respective classes of aircraft. The insurance industry has been supporting most of the owner/pilot organizations over the last decade or so. Several insurance underwriting carriers and aviation insurance brokerages provide market briefings and insurance panel discussions as part of the annual OPA convention agendas.
I think the more educated the customer base is about aviation insurance, the better the relationship is between the insurer, the broker, and the consumer. The “OPA” organizations are not only a great way to get the word out, but they also provide a venue to personally meet your broker and potential underwriter for those participating. If you are a client of my firm, I look forward to meeting you at your aircraft’s annual conference in the future.
Until then, FLY SAFE!