About two-thirds of all private pilots belong to the AOPA, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The AOPA is a self proclaimed advocacy group for pilots. One of the things they have pushed for years is life insurance through AOPA, underwritten by Minnesota Life.

I know some may get tired of me leaping on this soapbox, but the definition of advocate and what the AOPA and Minnesota Life are doing don’t match.

(dv-kt)

tr.v. ad·vo·cat·ed, ad·vo·cat·ing, ad·vo·cates

To speak, plead, or argue in favor of. See Synonyms at support.

n. (-kt, -kt)

1. One that argues for a cause; a supporter or defender: an advocate of civil rights.

2. One that pleads in another’s behalf; an intercessor:

This sounds like someone who is going to do the right thing for you. When it comes to life insurance, the right thing is to be represented by someone who is going to offer you the coverage you need at the best possible rate.

From this page on the AOPA website we find out that one of the benefits of buying AOPA life insurance is that the “AOPA receives revenue” from Minnesota Life. Guys, in my neighborhood that is called a kickback and the way Minnesota Life is able to offer a kickback is that they have the “advocate” of over 400,000 pilots helping sell overpriced, poorly structured life insurance products.

Bottom line. The AOPA really isn’t the best place for pilots to buy life insurance. I don’t know if they ever were, but they haven’t been for a very long time. If private pilots have their insurance through Minnesota Life, they can look down, way down, at lower prices and better product. Time to find an independent agent to be your advocate when it comes to this arena.