what is the united states aircraft insurance group 
united states aircraft insurance group usaig is the nation s first aviation insurance company founded in 1928 by world war i flying ace reed mckinley chambers and pilot david c beebe the united states aircraft insurance group was founded when chambers realized a need for aviation insurance after the airline company that he had formed florida airways faced bankruptcy when four airplanes were lost to storms and one accident in 1926 florida airways had earned the first private air mail contract awarded by the united states government understanding usaigon july 1 2018 usaig celebrated its 90th anniversary the insurance company is credited with furthering aviation by insuring historic events such as the first b 52 bomber flight the boeing 707 prototype the 1969 lunar module flight the boeing 747 s first commercial flight and the development and testing of general dynamics f 111a fighter jet in 1968 usaig s founder reed chambers broke the sound barrier while flying in a convair f 106 delta dart usaig also is active in promoting safety in flying and publishes a series of safety first posters several times each year usaig today usaig is neither a single insurance company nor a corporation it s a pool of member firms all highly rated property and casualty insurance and reinsurance companies we re proud to say that our members all carry a m best ratings ranging from a to a the company notes on its website united states aircraft insurance group and canadian aircraft insurance group each comprise a pool of highly rated property casualty insurers united states aviation underwriters a licensed new york agent serves as manager for usaig usau s canadian subsidiary manages the caig pool every policy written through usaig or caig uses capacity that is admitted in all 50 united states or throughout canada each member company must meet minimum ratings requirements at least an a rating with either a m best or standard poor s and hold a required statutory surplus of 1 billion or greater in addition we go the extra step of requiring each member company through a security agreement to fund a trust account to meet 100 percent of their respective net liabilities the company stated the company s line of coverages includes corporate aviation commercial aviation pleasure and business aircraft helicopters airlines airport liability and aviation products liability in 1965 usaig designed and implemented the first insurance policy for an international communications satellite the comsat early bird in 2015 it issued first small unmanned aircraft systems suas policy 