What Is Hangarkeepers Legal Liability?
What Is Hangarkeepers Legal Liability?
Hangarkeepers legal liability is coverage for damage to aircraft you do not own or lease while those aircraft are in your care, custody or control. It is particularly important for FBOs, MROs, maintenance shops and other businesses entrusted with customer aircraft.
If a customer leaves an aircraft with your operation for storage, maintenance or servicing, you have taken on an exposure that ordinary premises liability may not adequately address.
When can hangarkeepers coverage matter?
Common situations can include aircraft that are:
- Stored in your hangar
- Parked on your ramp under your control
- Being towed or repositioned
- Undergoing maintenance
- On jacks
- Otherwise entrusted to your employees
The specific policy language determines whether coverage applies to a particular loss.
Per-aircraft versus per-occurrence limits
Hangarkeepers coverage commonly involves two important limits.
Per-aircraft limit
This is the maximum applicable limit for one aircraft.
A practical starting point is to consider the most valuable aircraft your operation could realistically have in its care.
Per-occurrence limit
This becomes especially important when one event could damage several aircraft.
Consider a fire inside a hangar containing multiple customer aircraft. Even if the per-aircraft limit is adequate, the overall per-occurrence limit may still be insufficient for the combined exposure.
Limits shouldn't be based on yesterday's business
An FBO or MRO can change substantially without anyone revisiting its insurance structure.
You may:
- Begin servicing larger aircraft
- Win a new fleet customer
- Expand hangar capacity
- Increase the number of aircraft stored at one time
- Move into turbine or business aviation work
If the operation changed but the hangarkeepers limits did not, the insurance program may no longer match the business.
Review the concentration of aircraft value
Rather than asking only whether you “have hangarkeepers,” ask:
What is the largest realistic aircraft loss we could have?
Then ask:
What is the largest realistic multiple-aircraft loss we could have from one event?
Those questions produce a much more useful limit discussion.
Coverage terms and limits vary by policy and insurer, so the program should be reviewed against the actual operation.
Aeris Insurance Solutions can review your aircraft-in-custody exposure as part of a broader Coverage Risk Review.
Common questions:
- What Insurance Does an FBO or MRO Need?
- Does General Liability Insurance Cover “Hangar Rash” to a Customer Aircraft?
- Named Insured vs. Additional Insured: What’s the Difference?
- Does Aviation Liability Insurance Cover Aircraft You Operate but Don’t Own?
- How Much Aviation Liability Insurance Does an FBO or MRO Need?
- Should Your Insurer Review Hangar Leases and Service Contracts?
Continue exploring this topic
Build stronger paths through related FAQs, articles, podcasts, and adjacent services from this page.
Articles and case studies
Learn how aircraft physical damage insurance works, including agreed value coverage, in-motion vs. not-in-motion policies, and what's covered after a loss. Get a quote with Aeris.
Learn aircraft liability basics in aviation insurance including limits, sublimits, legal defense, and coverage for owned and nonowned aircraft today
Understand aircraft liability legal defense in aviation insurance, how insurers provide expert defense, manage claims, and protect policy limits
Related services
Learn what insurance an FBO or MRO may need, including aviation liability, property, hangarkeepers, pollution, cyber and other important coverages.
Aircraft and aviation insurance for airports and aviation businesses with premises liability, aircraft damage, compliance support, and operational risk coverage.