Air India Plane Crash: Difficult To Ascertain Limit Of Liabilities At Present, Says Pru Insurance

It is difficult to ascertain limit of liabilities in the Air India crash of Ahmedabad, according to Chetan Kashyap, head aviation and specialty, Pru Insurance Brokers. The limit can change drastically depending on the cause of accident, he said.

Air India flight AI-171, operating from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick, crashed on Thursday afternoon, shortly after takeoff. The 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew.

The airline confirmed 241 fatalities, of the 242 people on board in a statement. One survivor is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Kashyap highlighted that insurance in such incidents primarily works in two segments—one is hull segments which covers the insurance claim because of the damage to the aircraft. The other one is liability.

"The liability includes the passengers, the third party, people affected on the ground, the baggage which is lost which was carried on board. All this put together translates into a liability claim," he explained.

The aircraft would be valued at around $80-90 million. "As a lot of people have spoken to a lot of hull values, it should translate into $75-80 million. It's very difficult to comment anything on liabilities right now. It primarily will be driven by the cause of loss," he further said.

"The liabilities in this case will be governed by Montreal convention, to which India and UK are a party. The convention limits can be breached and be relooked by the courts," he said.