Possessed or contingent, war risk or all-risk? Helen Biggin examines the fallout from the Russian aviation insurance claims
- The English Commercial Court has ruled that Russian Government Resolution 311 was the proximate cause of loss, triggering war risk insurance payouts for lessors deprived of aircraft following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- The court confirmed coverage applied if the peril began during the policy period and led to permanent deprivation. Lessors were found to have taken sufficient steps to recover aircraft pre-GR 311.
- The judgment has application beyond the aviation industry as it provides clarity on the interpretation of insurance policies, causation, loss, and the grip of peril doctrine.
The English Commercial Court has recently handed down a highly anticipated judgment of six consolidated multi-billion-dollar insurance claims arising out of the failure by Russian airlines to return leased aircraft to Western lessors following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 (Aercap Ireland Ltd v AIG Europe SA and others and other cases [2025] EWHC 1430 (Comm)).
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