Title 14—Aeronautics and Space--Volume 1
PART 205—AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT LIABILITY INSURANCE
§ 205.1   Purpose.
This part contains the rules for aircraft accident liability insurance coverage needed by U.S. direct air carriers to obtain or to exercise authority from the Department to operate in interstate or foreign air transportation, and by foreign direct air carriers to operate under permit or other authority in foreign air transportation. It further requires a disclosure statement to shippers about cargo liability limits and insurance coverage for U.S. and foreign direct air carriers.
§ 205.2   Applicability.
These rules apply to all U.S. direct air carriers, including commuter air carriers and air taxi operators as defined in § 298.2 of this chapter, and foreign direct air carriers, including Canadian charter air taxi operators as defined in § 294.2(c) of this chapter.
§ 205.3   Basic requirements.
(a) A U.S. or foreign direct air carrier shall not engage in air transportation unless it has in effect aircraft accident liability insurance coverage that meets the requirements of this part for its air carrier or foreign air carrier operations. The minimum amounts of coverage required by this part may be provided either by insurance policies or by self-insurance plans. The currently effective policy of insurance or complete plan for self-insurance shall be available for inspection by the Department at the carrier's principal place of business. The current certificate of insurance or a summary of the complete self-insurance plan on file with the Department, as required by § 205.4, shall be available for public inspection at the carrier's principal place of business.
(b) For purposes of this part, a certificate of insurance is one or more certificates showing insurance by one or more insurers (excluding reinsurers) of currently effective and properly endorsed policies of aircraft accident liability insurance in compliance with this part. When more than one such insurer is providing coverage, the limits and types of liability assumed by each insurer (excluding reinsurers) shall be clearly stated in the certificate of insurance. Insurance policies and self-insurance plans named in a certificate of insurance that accompanies an application for initial registration or for operating authority shall become effective not later than the proposed starting date for air carrier operations as shown in the application.
(c) The certificate of insurance shall list the types or classes of aircraft, or the specific aircraft by FAA or foreign government registration number, with respect to which the policy of insurance applies, or shall state that the policy applies to all aircraft owned or operated by the carrier in its air transportation operations. With respect to certificates of insurance that list aircraft by government registration number, the policy or self-insurance plan shall state that, while an aircraft owned or leased by the carrier and declared in the policy is withdrawn from normal use because of its breakdown, repair, or servicing, such insurance as is provided by the policy or plan for that aircraft shall apply also to another aircraft of similar type, horsepower, and seating capacity, whether or not owned by the insured, while temporarily used as a substitute aircraft.
(d) Each certificate of insurance shall be signed by an authorized officer, agent, or other representative of the insurer or the insurance broker.
(e) Insurance coverage to meet the requirements of this part shall be obtained from one or more of the following:
(1) An insurer licensed to issue aircraft accident liability policies in any State, Commonwealth, or Territory of the United States, or in the District of Columbia;
(2) Surplus line insurers named on a current list of such insurers issued and approved by the insurance regulatory authority of any State, Commonwealth, or Territory of the United States or of the District of Columbia; or
(3) Insurers licensed or approved by a foreign government.
§ 205.4   Filing of evidence of insurance.
(a) A U.S. or foreign air carrier shall file a certificate of insurance or a complete plan for self-insurance with the Department. Each carrier shall ensure that the evidence of aircraft accident liability coverage filed with the Department is correct at all times. The Department will normally notify the carrier within 20 days of receipt if the certificate or plan does not meet the requirements of this part. Certificates of Insurance shall be filed on OST Form 6410 for U.S. air carriers, including commuter air carriers and air taxi operators, and OST Form 6411 for foreign air carriers, including Canadian air taxi operators. The Department may return the certificate or self-insurance plan to the carrier if it finds for good cause that such certificate or plan does not show adequate evidence of insurance coverage under this part. Forms may be obtained from and should be filed with the Department at the addresses specified in paragraph (c) of this section. Forms may also be obtained on the Internet at https://www.transportation.gov/policy/aviation-policy/licensing/US-carriers.
(b) If the coverage is by type or class of aircraft or by specific aircraft, endorsements that add previously unlisted aircraft or aircraft types or classes to coverage, or that delete listed aircraft, types, or classes from coverage, shall be filed with the Department at the addresses specified in paragraph (c) of this section not more than 30 days after the effective date of the endorsements. Aircraft shall not be listed in the carrier's operations specifications with the FAA and shall not be operated unless liability insurance coverage is in force.
(c) Certificates of insurance and endorsements required in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section shall be submitted to the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Program Management Branch, AFS-260, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591. For those air carriers that have a mailing address in the State of Alaska, the forms shall be submitted to the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Alaskan Region Headquarters, AAL-230, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, Alaska 99513. For Canadian air taxis, the forms shall be submitted to the Department of Transportation, Special Authorities Division, X-46, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
§ 205.5   Minimum coverage.
(a) Insurance contracts and self-insurance plans shall provide for payment on behalf of the carrier, within the specific limits of liability in this section, of all sums that the carrier shall become legally obligated to pay as damages, excluding any deductible in the policy, for bodily injury to or death of a person, or for damage to the property of others, resulting from the carrier's operation or maintenance of aircraft in air transportation provided under its authority from the Department.
(b) U.S. and foreign direct air carriers, including commuter air carriers but excluding U.S. air taxi operators and Canadian charter air taxi operators, shall maintain the following coverage:
(1) Third-party aircraft accident liability coverage for bodily injury to or death of persons, including nonemployee cargo attendants, other than passengers, and for damage to property, with minimum limits of $300,000 for any one person in any one occurrence, and a total of $20,000,000 per involved aircraft for each occurrence, except that for aircraft of not more than 60 seats or 18,000 pounds maximum payload capacity, carriers need only maintain coverage of $2,000,000 per involved aircraft for each occurrence.
(2) Any such carrier providing air transportation for passengers shall, in addition to the coverage required in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, maintain aircraft accident liability insurance coverage for bodily injury to or death of aircraft passengers, with minimum limits of $300,000 for any one passenger, and a total per involved aircraft for each occurrence of $300,000 times 75 percent of the number of passenger seats installed in the aircraft.
(c) U.S. air taxi operators registered under part 298 shall maintain the following coverage:
(1) Third-party aircraft accident liability coverage for bodily injury to or death of persons, including nonemployee cargo attendants, other than passengers, with minimum limits of:
(i) $75,000 for any one person in any one occurrence, and a total of $300,000 per involved aircraft for each occurrence, and
(ii) A limit of a least $100,000 for each occurrence for loss of or damage to property.
(2) U.S. air taxi operators carrying passengers in air transportation shall, in addition to the coverage required in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, maintain aircraft accident liability insurance coverage for bodily injury to or death of aircraft passengers, with minimum limits of $75,000 for any one passenger, and a total per involved aircraft for each occurrence of $75,000 times 75 percent of the number of passenger seats installed in the aircraft.
(d) Canadian charter air taxi operators registered under part 294 of this chapter shall maintain the following coverage:
(1) Third-party aircraft accident liability coverage for bodily injury to or death of persons, including nonemployee cargo attendants, other than passengers, and for damage to property, with a minimum coverage of $75,000 for any one person in any one occurrence, and a total of $2,000,000 per involved aircraft for each occurrence, except that Canadian charter air taxi operators operating aircraft of more than 30 seats or 7,500 pounds maximum cargo payload capacity, and a maximum authorized takeoff weight on wheels not greater than 35,000 pounds shall maintain coverage for those aircraft of $20,000,000 per involved aircraft for each occurrence.
(2) Canadian charter air taxi operators engaging in passenger charter air service under part 294 of this chapter shall, in addition to the coverage required in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, maintain aircraft accident liability coverage for bodily injury to or death of aircraft passengers, with a minimum coverage of $75,000 for any one passenger and a total per involved aircraft for each occurrence of $75,000 times 75 percent of the total number of passenger seats installed in the aircraft.
(e) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of this section, the carrier may be insured for a combined single limit of liability for each occurrence. The combined single-limit coverage must be not less than the combined required minimums for bodily injury and property damage coverage plus, if the aircraft is used in passenger service, the required total passenger coverages stipulated in paragraph (b) of this section for U.S. and foreign direct air carriers and commuter carriers, paragraph (c) of this section for U.S. air taxi operators, or paragraph (d) of this section for Canadian charter air taxi operators. 1 The single-limit liability policy for the required aircraft accident liability coverage may be provided by a single policy or by a combination of primary and excess policies.
1 For example: the minimum single limit of liability acceptable for any aircraft in air taxi passenger service with 16 passenger seats would be computed on the basis of limits set forth in paragraph (c) as follows: 16 × .75 equals 12; 12 × $75,000 equals $900,000; $900,000 plus $300,000 (nonpassenger liability per occurrence) plus $100,000 (property damage per occurrence) equals $1,300,000. The latter amount is the minimum in which a single-limit liability policy may be written.
(f) The liability coverage shall not be contingent upon the financial condition, solvency, or freedom from bankruptcy of the carrier. The limits of the liability for the amounts required by this part shall apply separately to each occurrence. Any payment made under the policy or plan because of any one occurrence shall not reduce the coverage for payment of other damages resulting from any other occurrence.
§ 205.6   Prohibited exclusion of coverage.
(a) No warranty or exclusion in the policy or plan or in any endorsement or amendment to the policy or plan, nor any violation of the policy or plan by the carrier, shall remove the liability coverage required by this part, except as specifically approved by the Department. This requirement shall not limit the right of insurers to recover from the carrier for amounts paid.
(b) A policy of insurance or a self-insurance plan required by this part shall not contain the following exclusions:
(1) Violation of any safety-related requirement imposed by statute or by rule of a government agency.
(2) Liability assumed by the carrier under an agreement to raise the liability limitations of the Warsaw Convention by signing a counterpart to an agreement of carriers (such as the Montreal Agreement, 18900, signed May 13, 1966, agreeing to a limit on the carrier's liability for injury or death of passengers of $75,000 per passenger), or any amendment to such agreement that may be approved by the Department and to which the carrier becomes a party.
§ 205.7   Cancellation, withdrawal, modification, expiration, or replacement of insurance coverage.
(a) Each policy of aircraft accident liability insurance and plan for self insurance shall specify that it shall remain in force, and may not be replaced, canceled, withdrawn, or in any way modified to reduce the minimum standards set forth in this part, or to change the extent of coverage, by the insurer or the carrier, nor expire by its own terms, in regard to coverage for the carrier in its common carrier operations in air transportation, until 10 days after written notice by the insurer (in the event of replacement, by the retiring insurer), or by the insurer's representative, or by the carrier, describing the change, to the Department at the addresses specified in § 205.4(c), which 10-day notice period shall start to run from the date such notice is actually received at the Department. For purposes of this part, a policy will not be considered to have expired if the same insurer renews its coverage without reduction in the extent of coverage or amounts of coverage, and without a break in coverage, whether or not a new policy is issued, and notice to the Department is not required in that event. If the coverage being changed is by type or class of aircraft or by specific aircraft, endorsements adding or deleting specific aircraft or types or classes of aircraft, for which prior notice would be required by this paragraph, shall be filed in accordance with § 205.4(b), and prior notice of the change need not be given under this paragraph.
(b) The requirements of this section shall not apply if the policy contains a lesser time period for cancellation in a war risk exclusion. If the war risk exclusion is activated by the insurer, the insurer or its representative shall immediately notify the Department.
§ 205.8   Cargo liability disclosure statement.
Every direct U.S. or foreign air carrier providing air cargo service in air transportation shall give notice in writing to the shipper, when a shipment is accepted, of the existence or absence of cargo liability insurance, and the limits on the extent of its liability, if any. The notice shall be clearly and conspicuously included on or attached to all of its rate sheets and airwaybills.