Despite the recent Boeing 737 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, the global airline industry has had a solid safety record in recent years, particularly considering there are more than one million people in the air at any one time. The number of aviation-related insurance claims, however, shows no sign of abating. Human error, rising repair costs from composite materials and higher value engines, an increase in ground incidents at more congested airports, and a growing reliance on automation are just some of the main factors influencing loss activity.

Aviation claims by the numbers

AGCS analyzed more than 470,000 insurance industry claims over the past five years and found aviation collision and crash incidents are the second top cause of insured losses globally overall behind fire and explosion incidents. Aviation claims from this data set show collision/crash incidents account over half the value of all claims (59%) and more than a quarter by number (27%).  Such incidents do not just include major crashes; they also incorporate events like hard landings, bird strikes and runway incidents such as incursions and excursions (the average claim for which is now almost $1.6 million).