Aircraft Insurance in Massachusetts
Post-Accident Financial ResponsibilityState requirements, lender rules, and airport policies for Massachusetts aircraft owners.
State Liability Insurance
Not Required
State Hull Insurance
Not Required
Lenders always require hull coverage
Federal Requirements (FAA)
The FAA does not require liability or hull insurance for privately owned general aviation aircraft. Only commercial air carriers must carry insurance under 14 CFR Part 205 ($300,000 per passenger minimum). This means neither federal nor Massachusetts state law mandates insurance for private GA operations — but most pilots carry it anyway.
Post-Accident Financial Responsibility
Massachusetts adopted the Uniform Aircraft Financial Responsibility Act (Gen. Laws Ch. 90, §49B-49T). This is a post-accident security requirement — NOT a pre-flight insurance mandate. After an accident, the state may require a security deposit within 30 days. Minimums are extremely low ($5,000 per person, $10,000 per occurrence, $5,000 property damage) — unchanged since adoption in the 1950s. Pre-flight insurance is not mandatory but is strongly recommended.
View StatuteLender Requirements
Most aircraft lenders require hull insurance with the lender named as loss payee, plus liability coverage of at least $1M.
Airport & FBO Requirements
Many Massachusetts airports and FBOs require proof of liability insurance ($1M minimum) for based aircraft and transient operations.
Recommended Coverage
Regardless of state law, most aviation professionals recommend at minimum:
- ✓$1M combined single limit liability with $100K per-passenger sublimit — the most common GA coverage level
- ✓Hull coverage equal to current market value (stated value, not actual cash value)
- ✓In-motion and not-in-motion coverage (ground and flight)
Source: AOPA Insurance Services. An estimated 10-20% of GA aircraft fly uninsured (GAO Report GAO-15-740, 2015).