Aerospace

Upon closing, the unit will be renamed First Product Protection.

Further rate increases are anticipated through 2026.

Gallagher’s $13.45bn deal for AssuredPartners was completed in August.

Price has become a key differentiator in marine and energy.

Insurance Insider reflects on major loss events of 2025 for the London market.

From 2026, the facility will also offer longer maximum construction periods.

Clive Strickland previously worked at Gallagher, where he had been a partner since 2020.

The carrier is understood to have had a significant line size on the slip.

The consortium goes live from 1 January 2026.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

All-risks premium increases are now understood to be in the 15% to 20% range.

The aviation specialist is eyeing up diversifying into new classes such as marine.

Nobody likes flying in turbulence, and in recent years aviation insurers have faced their fair share of upheaval.

Despite 2025 losses, carriers have not secured desired rate increases.

Rob Sage joined Aon in 2022 as an executive director.

Oliver Dlugosch spent 20 years at Swiss Re before it exited aviation this year.

Tim Wakeman joined Marsh in 2021 and previously worked at Elseco.

After outsized losses, the (re)insurer still sees opportunity in a softening market.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Ed Louth will join Liberty next year after serving out his contractual duties at Willis.

The Marsh-placed account renews its all-risks cover on 16 November.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

The Boeing cargo aircraft was wet leased by Emirates.

David Bell has held aviation roles at Marsh, AIG, Gallagher Re and Aon.

Insurer results and 1.1 reinsurance renewals will shape the trajectory of 2026.

The aviation market has experienced a run of large losses this year.

Several airlines are understood to have come to market early.

After losing in the High Court, insurers pin their hopes on the Court of Appeal.

A decision in relation to who bears which legal costs will be reached at a later date.

Chris Eaton and Bill Moret gave their notice last week without specifying their destination.

From aviation claims to retention challenges, underlying dynamics will take time to play out.

Mark Connellan is the latest addition to Bassel Matta’s team.

The pair were offered contracts by Willis Re in July.

Rönesans covers lines including aviation, energy, engineering and liability.

Patton Kline succeeds Glod as US aviation and space practice leader.

The broker said 2026 will bring a “cautious but deliberate” aviation reinsurance environment.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Besides Russia-Ukraine losses, the Air India crash losses totaled $26mn.

Matthew Budd has over 30 years’ claims experience and previously worked for Talbot and XL.

Net adverse development for the quarter increased 30% year on year to $89.2mn.

The airline has exercised a break clause to renew its cover six months earlier.

In trying to solve multiple needs, specialty reinsurance opens up complexities.

The syndicate now predicts a return on capacity for 2021 of between -5% and 5%.

Robert James is set to join the Bassel Matta-led team.

The Lloyd’s carrier is expected to try to claim multiple times under the policy.  

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Duc Tu and Lucy Howard have resigned from Atrium.

AIG leads the all-risks cover and Axa XL is the hull war lead.

The claim could add pressure to the hull war market after a recent High Court ruling.

Scor's CEO said the P&C market had experienced a “competitive” first half.

Fidelis, Liberty and Hive are among the insurers with the greatest exposure.

Despite steep rate hikes, premium volume has held steady as players such as SpaceX self-insure.

Willis has been adding brokers to its aviation unit in Europe and the US.

The availability of capacity remains the market’s key driver, the broker said.

Plus the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

The managing agency is offering 62p per £1 for 2026 YoA capacity.

The aerospace, energy and marine markets all sustained multiple significant losses in H1.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

There is a growing disconnect between risk and pricing in the class.

The Atrium-led cover renews after the multi-billion-dollar High Court ruling.

Air India has a multi-year insurance arrangement in place.

The carrier is launching a dedicated auto-follow unit within its DA practice.

The carrier has scaled up its international insurance offering in recent years.

There is the prospect of fragmented appeals and uncertainties around reinsurance recoveries.

The carrier said it is disappointed with the English High Court’s decision.

The UK High Court has ruled in favour of lessors in the multi-billion-dollar dispute.

Saul Nagus is the latest from Marsh’s aviation unit to join WTW.

Jack Kenneally will take on the role of class underwriter at the MGA.

Alex Cullen left Atrium last month.

The aircraft lessor has booked $654mn in settlements from insurers over the past year.

Willis has made a series of aviation hires on both sides of the Atlantic in recent weeks.

The company has settled, or is in the settlement stage, for 80% of the exposure.

The carrier has also added AIG’s Alice Hawkins to its aviation unit.

IGI saw opportunities in energy, ports and terminals and marine cargo but remains cautious in long-tail lines.

Space pricing experienced double-digit increases after the 2023 capacity retreat.

AIG, HDI Global and others have settled. Chubb’s fight continues.

The pair add to the roster of aviation-focussed hires at WTW.

The hires form part of WTW’s build-out of its US aviation practice.

Charles De Bar leaves Allianz after four years with the carrier.

Methven joined the MGA in 2002.

The Lloyd’s syndicate is a lead market in aviation war.

TMK is the largest insurer of aviation risks at Lloyd’s by gross written premium.

A positive outcome could significantly curb insurers’ exposure to the loss.

Large losses and attrition put pressure on aviation underwriters.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Lloyd’s has been likened to a “toothless tiger” in its crackdown efforts.

The $1bn+ programme renews at 1 May.

Overall market capacity increased by 5.3% year-on-year, the broker reported.

Settlements relate to aircraft that were blocked from leaving Russia since 2022.

The MGA’s GWP hit $4.6bn as the CEO labelled aviation all-risks rates “woefully inadequate”.

Of the 178 passengers and crew on board, no serious injuries have been reported.

Lloyd’s hopes to protect healthy pricing, but focus is on broader structural market shifts.

Aviation reserve strengthening added 10.1 points to the combined ratio.

The offering includes GA, aviation GL and airport and product manufacturers liability.

CEO John Fowle said “isolated missteps” had tarnished Atrium’s record.

The capacity arrangement with LRA also remains in place.

Returns on capacity reduced, forecast at 4.4%-14.4%, have settled at 4.6%.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

CEO Andreas Berger addressed Swiss Re’s primary aviation exit.

Insurers are moving to settle with airline lessors over Ukraine claims.

Sources said that the firm was already preparing to drop the book before the spate of losses.

The reserve includes hull, liabilities and legal expenses.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Q2 renewals will likely signal changes in the reinsurance market, the broker said.

In tandem, it pegged its net cat loss estimate from California wildfires at $160mn-$190mn.

Mark Costin previously held senior roles at Piiq and Marsh.

The crash is the latest of several losses for aviation insurers in recent months.

The aircraft lessor said it did not expect additional recoveries.

Settlements could reduce seized aircraft quantum to the mid-single billions of dollars.

The former Marsh aviation CEO is expected to join Lockton next month.

Several airlines priced down around time of the Jeju and American Airlines aviation crashes.

Financial details will not be revealed until the publication of Avolon’s full-year results.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Aviation premiums have been described as “woefully inadequate” considering rising liability losses.

Starr-leads the WTW-placed all-risks cover for American Airlines.

Arta Nasradini joins from AIG, where she led the DACH aerospace team.

The broker said the market had entered a ‘new normal’ after $2bn+ losses

Behind Axa XL, Convex wrote a 9.5% line on the all-risks reinsurance programme.

The broker cautioned unresolved Russia-Ukraine claims remain a ‘Black Swan’

The MGA can now put down $200mn lines in the niche aviation war class.

LAU will become the new Core Specialty Aviation & Aerospace Division.

Axa XL leads the aviation all-risks reinsurance coverage for the destroyed Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 craft.

Axa XL is understood to be the lead carrier, with Gallagher the broker on the account.

The programme was developed in collaboration with Allianz Commercial.

A California ruling could set an important precedent as other courts consider similar cases.

This puts the total cumulative cash proceeds received at $319mn.

It is understood that Lectio is now at ~$160mn of premium and could rise to $270mn next year.

Barry Stiff is expected to join Aon in May.

The programme is brokered by Gallagher.

The exits include several senior brokers who were previously with JLT and Hayward Aviation.

Ball will succeed Jeff Poliseno, who is set to retire.

The LMA report focused on first-party property damage from a coverage perspective and on eight key sectors.

The carrier also warned of “uncertainty” around 2021 due to exposure to “Western-leased aircraft in Russia”.

Space insurers are running at a near-200% loss ratio after booking losses of over $1bn in 2023.

Starr is understood to be one of several carriers to reach an in-principle agreement with AerCap.

The Plane Talking report said the longevity of the ‘buyers’ market’ is in question.

The settlement was announced by DAE’s lawyer Alistair Schaff on day one of the aviation ‘mega trial’.

The 12-week trial is set to commence in the Commercial Court in London tomorrow.

Co-heads of the space unit Chris Gibbs and Richard Parker have left the carrier following the exit from the class.

Loss-free accounts are expected to be oversubscribed by as much as 140%.

The build-out of the new vehicle will bring capacity to the constrained aviation war class.

The account is among a handful of airlines that have swapped out their brokers this year.

Crashes and collisions accounted for 63% of aviation insurance claims between 2019 and 2024.

The company said insurers’ capacity and appetite had spurred competition over Q2.

Ian George will be joined by Sawyer and Williamson as account executive and consultant respectively.

The new hires include ex-Liberty underwriter Mike Hart and Gallagher partner Matthew Giddings.

Daniel Fulco has spent nearly 12 years at LSM.

This is Chubb’s second MGA deal in the past few months.

John succeeds Kostya Zolotusky, who will retire at the end of the month.

Axa XL has also added Fidelis’ Jamie Cann to its aviation team.

The status was achieved thanks to the MGA’s insurance partner, Apollo Underwriting.

BOC is believed to be the first lessor to publicly disclose a settlement with its (re)insurers.

The market remains “delicately balanced” amid global conflicts and claims deterioration.

The judge said the lessors “are very unlikely to obtain a fair trial in Russia”.

Mike Smith will step down from his role on 31 March.

Plus all the latest executive moves and the top news of the week.

Rate increases have accelerated further after major losses in 2023.

There remain 22 defendants still challenging the venue for claims hearings.

The talks must be completed by 28 June to avoid a trial.

The 737 Max fleet was previously grounded in 2019 following the fatal crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, when Boeing had a $500mn sub-limit on such claims.

In its Plane Talking report, the broker notes a “distinct differentiation” between the hull and liability and the hull war/third-party liability markets in 2023.

AIG leads the placement, WTW is the lead broker, with Marsh support, on the JAL account.

The lessor said the amount of its all-risk claim relating to the 47 engines and five aircraft is around $836mn.

The executive has more than 25 years’ experience in the industry.

The lessor is still pursuing a variety of claims for other trapped planes.

Thursday’s announcement means that the Russian insurer is off the hook for claims proceedings.

The carrier is targeting the line of business as part of a wider strategic push in international insurance.

Aircraft lessors have now received nearly $2.4bn in insurance settlements from Russian airlines.

The executive joined the group five years ago.

The incoming aviation specialist was previously head of aviation at LSM.

Sompo has begun writing aviation war for the first time, while Apollo has picked its pen back up after a pause.

The broker said reinsurance capacity has contracted over the past 18 months, and the once-diamond-hard aviation war market has started to soften.

Chubb declared at the last minute that it would not contest the English court’s jurisdiction, in contrast to every other reinsurer being sued by aircraft lessors.

Rates are said to be doubling across the board as losses for 2023 top $1bn, resulting in a loss ratio of around 150%.

The lessor said the payment was in relation to eight aircraft formerly leased to Pobeda Airlines, the low-cost subsidiary of Aeroflot.

The carrier previously led a space consortium for 25 years and co-launched a Lloyd’s-backed space consortium with Hiscox MGA in 2019.

The carrier said the decision was the culmination of a “series of strategic portfolio adjustments”.

Celestial Aviation Services received $501.5mn relating to 14 aircraft that were stranded in Russia as a result of the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

The China Development Bank-owned lessor received $195mn for four aircraft leased by Aeroflot.

The move follows another incredibly soft year for the all-risk market as aviation war continues to harden.

The MGA will be Fidelis MGU subsidiary Pine Walk’s eighth launch.

Leahy joins the carrier after just over a year at TMK as divisional head of airline.

Looking to the key Q4 renewal period, Gallagher said there is “little to suggest a drastic shift in conditions”.

Rate changes across the aviation all-risk and war markets remain wildly divergent during the key Q4 renewal period, sources told this publication. 

The capacity, provided by Allianz, will allow Hive to deepen its exposure in the class.

Avenue Capital-backed Greylag claimed that insurers denied coverage of the two lost aircraft, which have a value of nearly $110mn and $120mn, respectively.

The lessor will continue to pursue its litigation in the Irish courts under its own insurance policies.

The A-rated capacity is designed to support the AAM market and is ready for submissions.

The news comes a few weeks after this publication revealed that UIB was in advanced discussions to take over local broker South Re.

Several London insurers, including Tokio Marine Kiln, Axa XL, Munich Re, Starr International and Chaucer, are named in the new case.

The worst-case scenario of a $12bn-$15bn claim looks to have been taken out, but there are lots of complex, vexed negotiations still to come.

Danny Hubbard and Richard Stockley both have decades of insurance market experience under their belts and have been named as divisional director and associate director, respectively.

The landmark settlement was approved by the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of the Treasury and was not in breach of any sanction regimes, AerCap said.

The news comes two months after this publication revealed that UIB was exploring the acquisition of the Lima-based aviation-focused reinsurance intermediary.

Harker was previously global chairman and CEO of Marsh Aviation.

Recent filings show that 25 new cases regarding Ukraine aviation losses from plane lessors have been lodged against insurers in the UK High Court.

David Langran joins from Inigo, where he served as head of aviation war since April 2022.

Mark Sperring’s promotion comes just a few months after AIG’s former head of global aerospace, Steve Eccles, left the carrier.

Some insurers argued that there is valid coverage under the airline operators’ policies, in line with the lessors, while other insurers argued the contrary.

Insurers argue that, because the contracts were signed in Russia, the reinsurance claims should be heard in Moscow.

The aviation war segment is also proving ‘treacherous’ to buyers, according to the latest Plane Talking report.

As part of the deal, 12 Piiq employees will join Gallagher bringing with them a handful of US-focused clients.

The increase takes the carrier’s total reserves for the conflict to $145.6mn.

Tokio Marine has told cedants that it will discontinue its aviation retro book as the effects of the mammoth Boeing loss continue to ripple through the market, this publication can reveal.