Lockdown varies a great deal between countries, particularly when it refers to GenAviation.
We’ve shifted to ground cover insurance, as we’re not anticipating flying any time soon (though still permitted in Kenya).
Are your insurance companies offering a switch to ground cover, offering refunds, or only possible when current annual cover is due for renewal?
After discovering wing deterioration in January 2017, we approached our insurer and had no problem going to Ground Cover. We stayed on that until April 2019, when we had no problem returning to Flying Cover.
If you’re going to be grounded for months, I’d suggest you contact your insurer. They won’t know your intentions.
Having switched to ground cover only, I noticed a few things to check in the small print:
1) Engine runs permitted?
2) 3rd Party cover still in place?
3) Whether you lose your No Claims Bonus by transferring to a new policy.
What is the approximate saving for reducing to Ground Cover only? Appreciate this will be affected by airborne risks that are higher for aircraft flown more and for pilots with low hours and/or rental aircraft vs experienced and more highly qualified crew.
What is the approximate saving for reducing to Ground Cover only?
70%
Same with us, but almost certainly varies between insurers, and loss of No Claims would reduce the saving.
Not keeping 3rd Party (hangar rash on another aircraft), and War Risks (includes malicious acts by ground personnel, for example) would reduce the premium considerably more.
We were told that “The current policy doesn’t provide lay up returns so they won’t give a return at this time but will consider it at renewal.”
And that after a near doubling of the premium last renewal. Not happy.
Neil do you mean that once you go on ground cover you cannot go back to air cover until “possibly” at the renewal date?
People should name their insurer. I think I know some of the insurers in question and there really is no free lunch. Haywards never did anything dodgy like this.
I am not going for ground cover because I firmly plan to get some flying in at some point, to maintain currency. I will need to find an “essential reason” 
All I could do was ditch pax liability. With an open claim, I wasn’t going to argue!
My Insurance – SYDNEY CHARLES AVIATION INSURANCE BROKERS – have come up with an intriguing solution:
“Any Ground returns are subject to the aircraft being grounded for a minimum of 30 consecutive days and will be calculated once the aircraft is again flying or if first, the policy is due for renewal. Once we know the two dates we can then calculate the return for the client(s) and all can be used against any future payments due to us.
No adjustments will be made until we know when the aircraft are again flying to save on having to do two transactions.
The aircraft will have Full Flight risks at all time and this will also mean that if the potential quarantine / isolation is lifted, this is so we will not have a huge influx of requests to increase coverage on a Friday late in the afternoon!.”
This means I can fly the moment I am allowed to, with a rebate at the end.
