What the crash means for Air India, insurers & Boeing

Air India unlikely to get full value of claim for plane, will face liability for loss of life, property

- Anshika Kayastha

Air India's London-bound flight crashed minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon, causing tragic loss of life. For Air India, the disaster will result in significant losses as not only were most passengers killed, but the airline also lost a plane and might be held liable for the loss of life and property as the aircraft crashed in a residential area. Mint explores what the incident might mean for the airline, insurers and reinsurers, and other aviation players:

How does Air India insure its fleet? Till Air India was a government-owned entity, the airline sought tenders from multiple insurers. The lowest bidder was awarded a 12-month contract. After being privatized, it is now up to the Tata Group to issue tenders or seek insurers as it deems fit.

"For FY26, the group rolled over its existing policy—where the lead insurer is Tata AIG General Insurance, followed by New India Assurance and a few other PSU general insurance players and ICICI Lombard General Insurance. As a result, for Air India, any impact on insurance premiums will not arise immediately but only at the time of renewal of the policy next financial year," said Amit Agarwal, managing director and CEO of Howden India, the domestic unit of Howden Insurance Brokers.