I know there are lots of horror stories that float around, but does anyone personally know of an instance where a pilot was renting an aircraft from a flight school, had an incident, and the flight school/insurance company went after the pilot for payment? If so, did they go after the whole cost of the damage or just the deductible?

Haven't rented an airplane in a long long time and trying to wrap my head around the insurance/liability situation. Would love for anyone with knowledge of the subject to provide input...

It's been awhile but back in the day, I never met anyone with renters insurance. I know of a guy who did a gear-up landing on a fairly new Seneca while getting dual from one of the most arrogant CFI's I have ever known. The instructor pulled the gear warning circuit breaker and was trying to see when his student would discover when the gear had not yet dropped. He got sidetracked and when they landed without wheels, the CFI turned to the pilot and told him that HE would be responsible (not the CFI) for paying the deductible on the airplane. The owner of the flight school wound up eating the deductible and did not fire the CFI. The pilot now works for a Major Airline. The CFI was a Full Bird Colonel in the USAF (non-aviator type) and a pompous you-know-what.

Yes, I carry renters insurance now that I have something to protect. I only have second and third hand accounts of subrogation efforts. I do know one guy who bought a canopy for a glider because of his failure to fully strap in and his baseball cap had the button on top still attached.

Yes, it happens. Whoever has to pay the deductible could go after you for that, and the insurance company could go for whatever they had to pay.

If you're a starving cfi, it may not be worth bothering with...On the off chance something happens you can bankrupt out of the judgement and not lose anything (hope the majors don't care). If you have assets either get your own insurance or get named on your employers insurance....and have your lawyer review it all.