Personal liability insurance

I'm finding myself doing more annual inspections these days and would like to invest in some personal liability insurance. Does anyone who is regularly doing maintenance have any advice for me.

Thanks in advance,
Brian

If you find something please share. I have tried several times to just get an umbrella policy which will include aviation related activities to no avail...

The personal Umbrella Policy does not cover comercial work related activity. The PUP is designed to cover additional exposure for your personal auto and homeowners ins.
You might want to contact a comercial agent who can quote you a Comercial General Liability Policy commonly refered to as a CGL. Ask him/her to explain the diffrence.

I suggest looking into an LLC company, by running all payments through this entity you'll accomplish a separation from your business and your family assets should an event arise.
Herer is a link to an IRS website for some initial info.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98277,00.html

What is personal liability insurance? Can someone explain to what kind of insurance is this? Is this a term or a policy?

Personal liability insurance provides coverage if someone should sue you, as an individual. It pays for legal (lawyer) costs, as well as paying out (up to the policy limits) if you should lose. Usually the policies state what is covered or not covered, e.g., car accidents or accidents on your property. Standard polices from your Homeowner's insurance company usually exclude work (A&P, CFI) or flying.

If you have insurance on your aircraft part of the premium is for personal liability ("Liability").

Unfortunately our peers (juries) tend to hand out large awards in aviation accidents. IMHO sufficiently high limits are just not available for any price, leave alone for a reasonable price. I'm a CFI and will not sign off students anymore for solo; too much uninsured risk.

One of the posts suggested forming a corporation (with almost no assets) so that if the corporation was sued it wouldn't lose much. Whether or not this shields the individual from a law suit depends on the state. Here in CA this approach is useless for an individual. If you have a partnership and it's your partner that screwed up, an LLC may provide you some protection.

at the risk of giving unheeded advise.

Personal liability insurance is not what you need. To protect yourself from being sued as a result of doing commercial aviation maintenance (annuals), you need Aviation Products (Completed Operations, or your work) Liability Insurance. This protects you if it is alledged that you performed negligent work that resulted in bodily injury or property damage to others.

You may also want hangarkeepers liability, if you take aircraft into your care. If you're wokring on it, you probably do, legally.

Probably going to cost $2,500 - $4,500 and up, depending on the amount of work you do.

....or you could be like the 80% of other small shops / mechanics out there and go uninsured.

+1 Jeffs comments.
I write a lot of policies for the mechanics (many on my airport where the City requires Premises liability, Products Liability, Hangarkeepers and Work Comp.)

We got them to waive all except Premises because the cost is $5000 to $12,000 / year and they are Sole Proprietors, etc.

The premises liability makes the City happy that the mechanics meet their "Minimum Standards". But we warned them it would be a lightning rod for litigation and it certainly has been. It has provoked several suits already which never would have existed before.

Nobody really wants to touch you when you are "naked".