General Insurers Delighted With Expansion of Aviation Insurance

Extending the cover, aviation insurance will now be offering cover not just for aircrafts but also will be responsible for aviation product and ground handling. The traditional fleet insurance policy provide cover only against damages that are caused due to natural calamities or accidents but there is no coverage for manmade mishaps like enemy attacks, incidents of hijacking and invasions. M Ravichandran, president of Tata AIG General Insurance said that the company is currently looking for dealing with aviation product, aerospace and general aviation insurance coverage but in the coming months they are likely to offer airline insurance.

India is witnessing a good increase in the number of airports and airline companies which has attracted the general insurance companies to enter in this market. Underwriting head of a general insurance company informed how this act is leading to the growth of this insurance market. The aviation insurance provided by non-life insurer, covers the loss of license, general aviation, airport liability and crew’s insurance in addition to other basic coverage. Aviation insurance premiums are influenced on regular basis by the number of airlines which use the service, size of airport operations and air-traffic data.

CEO of a private general insurance company said that with more than two insurers offering cover for different divisions at the same airport, insurers will be able to expand their services. Aviation insurance is still in its early stages with less than 10% of total product portfolio and has a large market to grow.

The new airports have raised the need of aviation insurance products as the need for covering various liabilities have increased. As per Manik Nehra, senior manager Bajaj Allianz, the basic reason behind the demand of hanger keepers’ liability and aviation product liability is the growing maintenance, MRO setup (repair and overhaul) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).