AMA alternative ?
Capgains
With reference to the insurance question. Up until a year ago, your impression was the same as mine. Then, on Bill Lee's list a question came up. What happens in a situation where a government owned site does not require AMA membership to fly? It turns out, in talking to Carl Maroney, that the AMA will still charter a club there, and supply to the landlord insurance coverage at the request of the chartered club. So you do have non-AMA members flying with AMA members. In further talking to Carl Maroney about this, it turns out that the AMA will provide the initial defense for the landlord regardless of who the flyer is, in case of an accident. Apparently, this is not as uncommon as you and I might think.
Now, if your question is how are you going to change the mind of a chartered club to allow non-AMA members on a site that they probably own or lease, that is a different issue. You are correct that you must be an AMA member to be a flying member of a chartered club. I would guess that finding a chartered club that is willing to pay for the land and let others fly there is unlikely.
On the idea of non-insured member rate, that's not a bad idea. I think there are a lot of older AMA members that now pay their dues and no longer fly or build, just to support the hobby. My guess is that the cost of such a membership would be prohibitive to those that purchased insurance elsewhere. Realistically, we know that the insurance coverage this year cost will cost about $10 per member. That being the case, a non-insurance membership would sell for $48, instead of the full $58. I suspect that the only people that would buy the non-insurance membership would be the ones that do not want to fly. Keep in mind that alternative insurance companies are in it for a profit, while, although AMA provides services other than insurance, it is a non-profit corporation. I don't think the AMA is going to sell a non-insurance membership at a loss. I don't think offering a menu of services you want or don't want is likely.
As I said in my previous post, if the AMA did not sell insurance, I do not think you would get a lot of arguments about the membership would drop rapidly. On the other hand, no one else is offering or has offered the complete package that the AMA does.
The insurance is the engine that drives the AMA. If you really like the new Ford T-bird, but, really want a Chevy engine, you can't buy the Ford without the engine. It's a similar situation, you can wish all you like, but buying an AMA membership without the insurance ain't likely to happen.
JR