Although the improvement in the aviation sector’s safety record – particularly regarding the number of fatal accidents – cannot be questioned, it continues to see a high volume and growing magnitude of insurance claims, meaning aviators and insurers alike cannot be complacent.
Analysis of more than 50,000 aviation insurance industry claims worth more than €14.8bn ($16.3bn) over the past five years shows collision/crash incidentsaccount for over half the value of all claims (57%) – equivalent to €8.4bn ($9.3bn) – and over a quarter by number (27%), according to new research from AGCS and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest aeronautics and aerospace university. Loss of control in flight is the most frequent cause of fatal accidents.
Collision/crash claims also incorporate incidents such as hard landings, bird strikes and runway incidents such as incursions and excursions. The research shows there have been 470 runway incidents resulting in claims over five years, totaling more than €800mn ($883mn) of insured damages. The average runway claim totals around €1.7mn ($1.9mn).
Increasingly sophisticated aircraft are also contributing to more expensive claims. In particular, more complex engines and, in some cases, composite materials – such as carbon fiber layers bonded with resin which are strong and light and help improve fuel efficiency – can be costly and more time-consuming to repair. More and more aircraft are using composite materials and significant damage is more expensive to repair than in traditional metal alloys.The growing complexity of aircraft design, technology and manufacturing is also leading to more costly grounding incidents, involving entire fleets, as in the case of the aftermath of the two fatal crashes involving the redesigned Boeing 737 Max within five months in 2018 and 2019. Such incidents highlight the challenge in finding technical solutions to complex problems, which increases the time it takes to get grounded aircraft back into operation. Even if a fix is found, the task of retrofitting a fleet takes considerable time. Civil aviation and airline safety authorities have grown increasingly cautious and rightly so. However, this will also likely result in more, and longer, groundings of aircraft in future.
Insurers are also seeing a higher level of foreign object damage claims. Bird strikes are a notable contributor, resulting in excess of €330mn ($364mn) of damages over five years.
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This article is part of the our Global Risk Dialogue. Appearing twice a year, Global Risk Dialogue is the Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty magazine with news and expert insights from the world of corporate risk.
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