Balloon Articles
Analogy of an Insurance Claim:
(3 Part Series)
Part I - What is an Insurance Claim?
By: Beth Miller
IMC Balloon Agency
To define a claim, we may look under the dictionary and find several appropriate definitions: "Notification to an insurance company requesting payment of an amount due under the ters of the policy" or "Legal demand or assertion by a claimant for compensation, payment or reimbursement for a loss or injury due to negligence" or "A request or demand for payment in accordance with an insurance policy" etc.
What does all that mean in real life terms and scenarios? Hopefully, this series of articles will help sort out all the 'fact and fiction' surrounding hot air balloon insurance and claims.
Many balloonists may be surprised to know just what kind of occurrences result in a claim. We are all aware of passenger injury - any type of injury to a passenger (whether the passenger is a 'paying passenger', crew person, friend, family member, etc) should result in a phone call to your agent. Remember, your agent is on your side! Always call to discuss with your Agent anything that happens that causes you concern or your sleep is disrupted. No matter how insignificant it may be, your agent will professionally advise you on how you should proceed and/or whether or not a claim should be submitted to the company. That is the job of your Agent.
Here are some other common claims:
- Passengers injured entering & exiting the gondola
- Propane leaks - during storage, refueling or during flight
- Damage to your balloon in a car accident during transport - basket falling off a truck bed or trailer and dragging behind the vehicle. Not only can this cause damage to the balloon, but can cause a car accident!
- Injury while loading and unloading your equipment to pilot/passenger/crew - do your novice passengers 'help' with inflation or deflation?
- Improper packing-up of equipement: moisture, insects, novice crew or passengers damaging equipment
- Crop damage...property damage...livestock damage (domestic deer farms are now the new rage)...etc
What is a 'claim' to YOU?? This is not a 'catch me if you can' type scenario and should not be treated as such. Be proactive!! In some instances, there are many symptoms of a 'claim' prior to the claim happening. Be aware.be alert..be conservative. Any doubts about flying, go to breakfast instead!
Be aware of the fact that the most frequent and expensive claims are liablity claims. This not only includes your passengers, but your crew. As I am sure everyone is aware that balloon equipment mishandled or handled by inexperienced crew (or passengers acting as crew) can be very dangerous. As the Pilot-in-Command is ultimately responsible for any injuries, realistically you can not see (nor be ) everywhere at all times, that is where an experienced crew chief is invaluable. Some pilots refuse to fly without their crew chief being present. How do you achieve save inflation and flight?
The most common cause of passenger injury is .you guessed it.high wind landings/hard landings. What most novic passengers do not realize is that "what goes up, must come down"! To the general public, hot air ballooning looks like the most docile sport (which it certainly can be!) not realizing the inherent dangers that exist. It is up to the Pilot-in-Command to educate his passengers and crew. Waivers and written breifings are essential to the survival of the sport we all love...I will discuss these in Part II.
Fact: high wind landings or hard landings are the cause of the majority of passenger injury claims. Some of these can be avoided, and some can not. Injuries occur when passengers (& pilot) collide with each other or hit equipment in the gondola, flip out of the gondola (then hit by the gondola), etc. Crew commonly are injured in trying to stablelize a high wind inflation and/or landing balloon. Do you have a proceedure in place for immediate medical and emergency response ?
Here is an interesting quote from Tom Reusse's "Flying Safe" book:
"THE FORCE AT WHICH YOU LAND INCREASES BY A FACTOR OF FOUR (4) EVERY TIME YOU DOUBLE THE WIND SPEED."
"OK...with the above fact in place, you are going to bounce and drag twice as hard and long at twelve (12 ) knots as you would at eight (8) knots - that is only a four (4) knot margin for error.….AND it's a four (4) knot change that could mean the difference between a SAFE landing and a TRAGEDY for an inexperienced passenger. IF you are serious about 'flying safe', you will put the WELFARE of your passengers FIRST - FORGET about yourself, FLY IN WINDS YOUR PASSENGERS CAN HANDLE."
(Ref "Flying Safe" 3/15/1987)
Fact: Many claims result from injuries entering and exiting the gondola.
How many pilots recognize the importance of the passenger being able to climb into the gondola, and climb out of the gondola without assistance? In an emergency situation, this could be the key to not only avoiding a potential injury but to a life being saved. Should this be a requirement of the Pilot-in-Command prior to flying any passenger or crew???
Fact: currently, due to our indulgent and aging society , the highest risk factors are the passengers that are overweight or "older" passengers. Even a 'perfect stand-up' landing can result in injuries to these folks. I realize that this is an extremely delicate area for any pilot and I will address ways that other Pilots have handled this situation in Part II.
Fact: In the last 10 years, many more claims are happening during balloon rallies and events...why? Peer pressure? Pressure from the events to fly? Pressure from the events to fly passengers/sponsers? Poor event organizing or management? Too many balloons? Inexperienced and low houred pilots involved? Not enough landing areas? Out of state pilots not familiar with weather, flight conditions or geographic conditions of the event site? I have heard all of these reasons sited...your thoughts?
Yes...claims are part of life, whether you are walking down the street or flying a balloon. This letigious world is a bit different than it was 20 years ago! There are actually people that make their living from suing insurance companies and they are looking for a 'easy' target - don't be that target!
(Part II will address: Avoiding a Claim and/or Submitting an Insurance Claim)