Some thoughts on the SAMAA Insurance.

The idea that the SAMAA insurance does not cover members who operate non type-approved radio equipment has emerged again on the SARFLY List. People also claim that; the insurance does not cover those operating from unregistered fields, the insurance does not cover those members who do not have a Solo Rating, the insurance does not cover those who fail to adhere to the Manual of Procedures. And so on.

There is no hard evidence that any of these statements is correct. I have a copy of the Insurance Schedule dated November 2003. It's the only version I have ever managed to obtain so it may be out-of-date. None of these restrictions appear in the documents. (I'd love to see a more recent version.)

It does appear that there are attempts to use the SAMAA Insurance as a tool to enforce compliance with “rules”. Fear, uncertainty and doubt are raised by saying,”If you don't stick to the rules you won't enjoy insurance cover”.

This is not the purpose of insurance. Insurance is meant to protect people in the event of a disaster. We have other means to enforce rules; the Laws of the Land, peer pressure as with the recent drinking and flying incident, other sanction at club and flying site level and so on. But not insurance.

We want the widest possible disaster cover for our members. We want cover with the minimum of restrictions. In the end we my have to compromise somewhat for reasons of cost. In this case let the members see the figures and assist with the decisions. Surely this is not too much to ask?