Press Release – October 2024

New York, NY (October 22, 2024)… It was 13 years ago at NBAA-BACE 2011 that USAIG debuted its Performance Vector safety initiative. Its goal was to help business and on-demand aviation policyholders boost the scope and impact of their safety programs. The inaugural version was modest, with the insurer offering to purchase access for up to five e- learning courses that interested and eligible policyholders could then issue to staff members. A fatigue risk awareness course plus pilot and aviation maintenance human factors courses comprised the whole catalog from which policyholders could build their e-learning packages. Uptake was modest too, but every journey starts with first steps.

In 2024 the program thrives, with 18 different options eligible policyholders can choose from for an annual benefit to extend and complement their readiness across a comprehensive range of safety issues. Despite the expansion, the program’s held true to three core tenets.

First, to be more responsive than prescriptive: addition and retirement of options has been guided by policyholder feedback and industry experience rather than safety remedies conceived and deemed important solely by the insurer. Second, the program aligns exclusively with leading, market-proven service providers and avoids (by design) becoming a test bed for unproven safety concepts. Finally, investment at the individual policy level is foundational. An insurer gains a stake in every insured operation’s success, and when a policyholder participates in Performance Vector, USAIG antes up directly to share some of that operator’s safety services cost.

New ways to use the benefit were added this summer:

• A contribution toward fees for Vertical Aviation International’s (VAI) Operational Risk and Resiliency Accreditation (ORRA) Program was added for policyholders with helicopter operations.
• Corporate Aviation Security International (CASI) also became a Performance Vector participating service provider, offering site security assessments of US-based operations, aviation staff training on security topics, and real-time support with advisors ‘on-the-ground’ for trips to security-sensitive destinations.

“The new CASI offers came about as others have over the years,” said Paul Ratté, USAIG’s Aviation Safety Programs Director. “Several policyholders advised us they were experiencing increased security concerns for their people and aircraft. They sought interventions to improve their posture in an increasingly volatile security environment worldwide. We knew of CASI’s capabilities, and a trial service outing with a valued policyholder paved the way for them to now offer their services through our program.” For policyholders that select CASI services as their Performance Vector benefit, USAIG subsidizes a portion of the service’s expense.

Options that have been in the Performance Vector program longer have evolved in step with industry and technological advances, boosting their relevance and benefit:

• ARGUS PRISM SMS, a popular benefit option in the program since 2012, recently revamped its user interface, adding many new features.
• The Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) ASAP, a program option since 2017, is now further enriched by the inclusion of SMS tools that ACSF makes available to all ASAP participants.
• Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) has been a popular option since it was added in 2015. Training provider Aviation Performance Solutions (APS) has added a 1-hour simulator session following the 3-flights in the basic UPRT course offered through Performance Vector, so trainees better visualize transferring the skills gained through in-aircraft training in the aerobatic Extra 300 to the class of aircraft they fly operationally.

Ratté notes, “our consistent program participants receive a dividend from our alignment with dynamic service providers who continually refine and enrich their services.”

With millions invested and the program continuing to adapt, USAIG sees no slowing down in Performance Vector’s future. “The idea of an insurer participating in the cost of an effective safety program just feels right to me,” says USAIG President and CEO John Brogan, adding, “whether we’re enabling a policyholder’s training program to be evaluated and refined by Advanced Aircrew Academy, elevating their emergency response posture by connection with Black Swan Solutions, or increasing their ability to manage risks and capture lessons learned through Polaris Aero’s advanced safety management tools—any of the available options represents a worthwhile investment from my perspective.”

For eligible policyholders, the task is to annually identify which option represents the best strategic value in their operation’s context, then contact their aviation insurance broker or USAIG underwriter to be enrolled. Information about Performance Vector and available options is always available at usaig.com.