What level of insurance would be prudent?
That is for each airline to decide, but a figure of around $500m combined single limit for third party, passenger, cargo and mail would be quite normal for narrowbody aircraft, save for US operations which should carry higher levels. Widebody aircraft require higher level cover. The decision doesn’t always rest with the airline and now is a very good time to read the insurance clauses of loans, mortgages and leases. For the unlucky ones, these documents will spell out a minimum requirement as an absolute requirement, and they may already have defaulted. The luckier ones will be those who do not have an absolute requirement, but have to have what is available in leading insurance markets up to the minimum required amount. While the market is in a state of flux there is some scope for negotiation here based on the argument: “We can’t be excepted to buy insurance at any price and need time to negotiate a fairer market norm rate”. For aircraft that are not financed or leased, there is of c
