Aviation Insurance Savvy bennie

[HRM]

So, got this today and had forgot about the fact that I had it last year. Anybody have it and have to use it?

Recall that Savvy is Mike Busch's company.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Welcome to another year of Global Aircraft Breakdown Assistance fueled by Savvy Aviation.

By renewing your aircraft insurance policy for 1965 Mooney M20 (A/B/C/D/E/G) N5976Q with Global Aerospace, Inc. you have locked in another year of free breakdown assistance coverage for all your cross-country flights.  You can fly with confidence that you'll have Savvy's expert A&P/IA technicians available to assist you 24/7 should you have an aircraft problem while away from home base.

Should you need help, please continue to use the toll-free hotline number provided in your original welcome packet (attached here again for reference).

We look forward to serving you.

Thank you,

Your SavvyAviation Team

[toto]

I'm well into year #2 with the breakdown assistance benefit.  I've had a couple of away-from-home situations, but both minor and it seemed unnecessary to get a third party involved versus just talking with a local mechanic.

If the local mechanic wanted to pull a cylinder or something, I wouldn't hesitate to call Savvy.

Note that this benefit only costs about $100/year, so not worth making an insurance company selection over unless the price delta is below that amount.

[Browncbr1]

I have that on my global policy too and clearly paid for it with my slightly higher premium. 

[Rick Junkin]

I've had the opportunity to use the Savvy Breakdown Service twice, and I'm very happy with the results.

Think of it as sort of AAA for your airplane - you have a problem, call the Savvy toll free number and talk to a dispatcher, and within minutes you get a call back from a knowledgable technician who helps diagnose your issue and gives you a recommended course of action. If service is required to get you back in the air, the technician will refer you to a reputable shop on or near the field you're at. No guess work or looking for local recommendations. That's the real benefit of the service from my perspective; you get a referral to a reputable service provider in Savvy's network and get to provide feedback on your experience.

You can also make the initial contact online if you want - I did that on one occasion and provided the technician pictures of the oil leak I had to help with his diagnosis. They follow up with you to make sure you get your airplane airworthy again and also to make sure you got home ok. Worked great, and I highly recommend it!

By the way, my insurance provider doesn't include the Savvy service, and I pay the full price for coverage through Savvy. Worth every penny to me.

Cheers,
Rick

[toto]

It's actually a little more expensive than I remembered - $149/year for singles.

https://www.savvyaviation.com/home/savvy-services/savvybreakdown/savvy-aircraft-breakdown-assistance/

Global Aero has been competitive on price (for me, anyway), and the Global quote has sometimes been lower than other providers without factoring in the Savvy thing.  It's been a real consideration for me at renewal time, and honestly has made Global stickier than other companies without the benefit.

[HRM]

13 minutes ago, toto said:

It's actually a little more expensive than I remembered - $149/year for singles.

https://www.savvyaviation.com/home/savvy-services/savvybreakdown/savvy-aircraft-breakdown-assistance/

Global Aero has been competitive on price (for me, anyway), and the Global quote has sometimes been lower than other providers without factoring in the Savvy thing.  It's been a real consideration for me at renewal time, and honestly has made Global stickier than other companies without the benefit.

So I did OK since my premiums went up by 0.1 AMU this year 

[EricJ]

I've had it for a couple years but have never used it.   I like having it there, though.   It does seem like AAA for airplanes, and I've had AAA for probably a couple decades and have always liked having it.

 

[Sabremech]

I could see a benefit for the non mechanic pilot /owner but being an A&P owner, it’s of no use for me. I’ll save the premium.

[carusoam]

Invite @kortopatesto the discussion...

Best regards,

-a-

[Andy95W]

It would seem that Mike Busch isn't just an accomplished speaker and author, but pretty decent at marketing as well.

[kortopates]

I could see a benefit for the non mechanic pilot /owner but being an A&P owner, it’s of no use for me. I’ll save the premium.

We'll, I sorta thought the same way, but wish I used it more. Mike even uses it quite a bit, but perhaps not quite the way you might think. We’re all about getting you home to where the proper repair can be done most economically and thoroughly - including by yourself. Sometimes it’s good, when your very emotionally involved, to talk over your diagnosis and plan for getting home in a somewhat crippled bird to make sure you’re not being stupid and missing something. Sometimes a second opinion and a sanity check is a really good idea.


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[Rick Junkin]

5 minutes ago, kortopates said:

to talk over your diagnosis and plan for getting home in a somewhat crippled bird to make sure you’re not being stupid and missing something. Sometimes a second opinion and a sanity check is a really good idea.

That's exactly the case I had with what appeared to be a small prop governor oil leak - and add in that it was after hours on a late Sunday afternoon with no one on the field to give it a look. I got a second opinion from the Savvy tech on the wisdom of my plan to fly the airplane the 1.3 hours home where I could put it down for my mechanic to take care of. We discussed the pictures I sent him, I answered his additional questions and sent a couple more pictures, and we determined that the risk was acceptable with a couple of mitigations and the RTB plan was sound. The flight home was uneventful other than the expected indications of more oil loss when I got to the hangar.

I consider the Savvy service as one more tool for my single-pilot Operational Risk Management applications. As Paul said, sometimes a second opinion on your PAVE and IMSAFE assessments is a really good idea.

Cheers,
Rick

[Sabremech]

1 hour ago, kortopates said:

We'll, I sorta thought the same way, but wish I used it more. Mike even uses it quite a bit, but perhaps not quite the way you might think. We’re all about getting you home to where the proper repair can be done most economically and thoroughly - including by yourself. Sometimes it’s good, when your very emotionally involved, to talk over your diagnosis and plan for getting home in a somewhat crippled bird to make sure you’re not being stupid and missing something. Sometimes a second opinion and a sanity check is a really good idea.


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Hi Paul,

There are plenty of very talented mechanic/owners out there who actually know more than Savvy. I’m not saying I’m one of them, but there’s nothing on my Mooney or the engine that’s on it that intimidates me or that I feel I should spend money for an outside service. I take my maintenance seriously and feel I’ll make the appropriate decision on airworthiness if a problem arises. Mike’s in business to make money, he’s just not going to make any from me. 
Thanks

[kortopates]

23 hours ago, Sabremech said:

Hi Paul,

There are plenty of very talented mechanic/owners out there who actually know more than Savvy. I’m not saying I’m one of them, but there’s nothing on my Mooney or the engine that’s on it that intimidates me or that I feel I should spend money for an outside service. I take my maintenance seriously and feel I’ll make the appropriate decision on airworthiness if a problem arises. Mike’s in business to make money, he’s just not going to make any from me. 
Thanks

Hi David, I certainly didn't mean to imply you needed our help or a BAP subscription. I was commenting more on what I thought was a more surprising use where even Mike has called  up one of his peers to just to get a second opinion. I  bet you probably have peers you know professionally, just as I have at Savvy, that you could take some comfort in discussing your options with someone not emotionally involved in the outcome and that you trust will give you an unbiased opinion on the safety of flight. That's something even a very knowledgeable mechanic might want to do from time to time to make sure their looking at things clearly.

Look forward to seeing your tooling ideas come to fruition. 

[HRM]

I've used the online free SavvyAnalysis system for years and really love it as a flight logging method and I have never found the need for Savvy's subscription engine analysis service. Mike takes all the data that we freely upload to him and does statistical analyses (he's a mathematician) on it that feeds his maintenance philosophy, books and talks. He is a total straight shooter and a master at his craft, bar none. I have his books, he is quite a heretic when it comes to maintenance.

Oh, what's one of the hallmarks of a master? He's not afraid to ask for a second opinion.

I like what @Junkman said: "Think of it as sort of AAA for your airplane". Great to have and really want to never have to use it.

[RobertGary1]

I have it on my policy but I think you have to register it. I don't know I'd ever see any value in it. I'm pretty good at figuring out what's wrong and all they provide is a referral to a mechanic. Its not like AAA that will jump your car for free or tow you.

 

-Robert

[kortopates]

1 hour ago, RobertGary1 said:

...and all they provide is a referral to a mechanic....

-Robert

I am not suggesting you need it and understand your self-sufficient, but your assessment of what it provides is pretty far off. Savvy works to diagnose the issue first and does everything possible to avoid sending anyone to a shop away from home. When it is necessary to bring in a shop, Savvy manages the maintenance to do only what is required to get you home which saves our clients $. See https://www.savvyaviation.com/home/savvy-services/savvybreakdown/ for more on the specifics.