> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.planeconnection.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# What Is SmartScore for Insurance?
> How SmartScore provides continuous safety scoring for Part 135 operators, enabling data-driven insurance underwriting while preserving just culture and operator control.
SmartScore is PlaneConnection's composite safety and operational quality
metric. For insurance purposes, it translates an operator's real-time
operational data into a continuous 250--1000 score that insurers can use
to supplement traditional audit-based assessments during underwriting.
**Who should read this:** Accountable executives, safety managers, directors of operations, and
anyone evaluating how SmartScore fits into their insurance renewal process. For step-by-step
instructions, see [Generate and Share Your SmartScore](/en/how-to/sms/generate-smartscore).
## The Problem SmartScore Solves
Insurance underwriting for Part 135 operators relies heavily on periodic
audits (ARGUS, Wyvern, IS-BAO) and self-reported application data. These
snapshots are valuable but static -- an ARGUS Platinum rating tells you
where an operator stood at their last audit, not where they stand today.
Between audits, operators may improve their training programs, tighten
maintenance compliance, or invest in dispatch quality -- but insurers
have no visibility into these changes until the next renewal cycle.
Conversely, an operator's safety posture could deteriorate without any
signal reaching the underwriter.
SmartScore bridges this gap with continuous monitoring of operational
metrics, producing a score that reflects an operator's current safety
posture rather than a point-in-time assessment.
## Two Scores, Two Purposes
SmartScore separates **safety improvement** from **insurance
underwriting** with distinct internal and external scores:
* **Internal SmartScore** — a coaching tool for your safety team. It
tells you exactly what to improve and how. Never shared externally.
* **Insurer SmartScore** — a derivative score that reflects operational
outcomes without revealing internal safety culture details. Shared
only at your discretion.
This separation exists for a critical reason: operators need a safe
space to identify and address weaknesses without fearing premium
consequences. The internal score can surface sensitive insights that
would be counterproductive to share externally.
## "Your Score, Your Choice"
SmartScore is built on a foundational principle: **operators control
their data**. Specifically:
* You generate your own score -- PlaneConnection does not push scores to
insurers without your explicit action
* You see your score first, before anyone else
* You decide whether to share it, with which insurer, and for how long
* You can revoke sharing authorization at any time with one click
* Every sharing action requires informed consent through a
[triple-consent flow](/en/how-to/sms/generate-smartscore#share-with-your-brokerinsurer)
This is **data stewardship, not data brokerage**. PlaneConnection acts
as a data processor on your behalf -- you remain the controller of your
operational data.
## How SmartScore Complements Existing Ratings
SmartScore is positioned as **continuous monitoring between audits** --
it complements ARGUS, Wyvern, and IS-BAO rather than replacing them.
| Assessment | What It Measures | Frequency | SmartScore Relationship |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **ARGUS** | Operational standards at audit time | Annual or biennial | SmartScore fills gaps between ARGUS audits |
| **Wyvern** | Safety standards at audit time | Annual or biennial | SmartScore provides continuous signal |
| **IS-BAO** | SMS maturity stage | Stage-based (multi-year) | SmartScore tracks day-to-day SMS execution |
| **SmartScore** | Real-time operational metrics | Continuous (quarterly for insurers) | Uses same data operators already manage |
An operator with an ARGUS Platinum rating and a high SmartScore
demonstrates both point-in-time standards compliance and sustained
operational excellence.
## What Data Feeds the Score
SmartScore draws exclusively from **Zone A operational metrics** -- the
same objective, operational facts an operator would already disclose on
an insurance application:
* **Fleet composition** -- aircraft count, types, age, hull values
* **Flight activity** -- total hours, legs per month, route complexity
* **Maintenance compliance** -- overdue items, AD compliance rate, MEL usage
* **Crew qualifications** -- ATP percentage, average hours, currency rates
* **Training completion** -- recurrent training rates, simulator hours, pass rates
* **Dispatch quality** -- weather briefing rate, flight following coverage
* **Duty/rest compliance** -- duty time adherence, rest compliance rate
* **Certifications** -- IS-BAO stage, ARGUS rating, certificate status
**What is never included in an Insurer SmartScore:** individual safety reports, investigation
details, corrective action specifics, individual pilot names or scores, FOQA/FDM raw data,
anonymous reporter identities, or any data submitted under ASAP, FOQA, or SMS voluntary reporting
programs. See [SmartScore Data Privacy and Trust](/en/explanation/smartscore-privacy) for full
details.
## The Data Firewall
PlaneConnection maintains a strict separation between two categories
of data:
* **Zone A (operational metrics):** Objective facts about fleet,
crew, maintenance, and operations. These feed the SmartScore.
* **Zone B (voluntary safety data):** Safety reports, investigations,
corrective actions, near-miss details, and confidential submissions.
These are **never scored and never shared** with insurers.
This separation is enforced at the code level -- the scoring engine
physically cannot access Zone B data. The two zones use separate
databases with separate encryption keys. For a detailed breakdown, see
[SmartScore Data Privacy and Trust](/en/explanation/smartscore-privacy).
## Just Culture Preservation
The data firewall exists to protect **just culture** -- the principle
that safety reporters must never fear negative consequences for
reporting hazards and incidents in good faith.
If safety reports influenced insurance scores, operators would face a
perverse incentive: report fewer hazards to keep premiums low. This
would undermine the entire purpose of an SMS. SmartScore's architecture
ensures that:
* Reporting more hazards never raises your Insurer SmartScore
* Reporting fewer hazards never lowers it
* The only signal derived from safety reporting is a binary threshold:
"meets healthy reporting minimum" or "below minimum" -- with no
additional benefit for higher rates
This design preserves the safety reporting culture that FAA 14 CFR Part 5
requires while still giving insurers meaningful operational data.
## PBC Commitment to Data Stewardship
PlaneConnection is structured as a **Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)**
under Delaware law. The company's public benefit statement is:
> PlaneConnection PBC exists to improve aviation safety through
> technology that makes safety management accessible, measurable, and
> rewarded -- enabling operators to demonstrate their safety commitment,
> insurers to price risk accurately, and the flying public to benefit
> from a safer aviation ecosystem.
This PBC structure means that data stewardship is a legal obligation,
not just a marketing promise. The company publishes annual benefit
reports tracking safety outcomes, equity metrics, market integrity, and
governance transparency.
Key commitments embedded in the PBC charter include cost-based pricing
with an annual cap, a permanent free tier, full data portability, and
published scoring methodology.
## Related
Step-by-step guide to generating and sharing your score with insurers.
How to read and interpret your SmartScore report.
The data firewall, encryption, consent framework, and trust architecture.
Technical reference for scoring methodology, pillars, and reason codes.