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Airline Insurance Claims Drop As Accidents Decline
Airline insurance claims for plane accidents will drop below $1bn this year for the first time since 1991 as passenger fatalities and aircraft destroyed hit record lows, advisory firm Ascend estimates.
Claims for aircraft losses and legal liabilities this year will total about $980m, or $300m less than last year, Ascend said in a report.
The Tide source reported on Sunday, that claims are almost half the $1.8bn in premiums written in the period, it said.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said earlier this month that western-built jets suffered 0.19 “hull loss” accidents per million flights this year through November as the industry headed to its safest year on record.
IATA’s figures didn’t reflect the December 25 crash of an Air Bagan Fokker 100 jet in Myanmar in which one person on-board died and the out-of- production aircraft was destroyed.
“Airline fatal accident rates have been steadily improving and, on average, operations are now twice as safe as they were 15 years ago,” head of safety at Ascend, Mr. Paul Hayes, said in a statement. “With such a benign insurance claims year and increasing capacity in the market, we believe that premium income will continue to fall in 2013.”
There is concern premium levels are “too low to be able to maintain the market in the longer term,” Hayes said. Premiums have declined for three years and for 2012 were more than $800m below the 2003 level when they reached $2.7bn, the highest in the last 10 years.
In the first 11 months of this year, North Asian and North American carriers had the lowest accident rates and African carriers had the highest, according to IATA.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.