Aircraft leasing firm starts legal battle with insurers

Ireland-headquartered international aircraft leasing company Avolon, which lost 10 of its planes amid the Russia-Ukraine war, has initiated a legal battle with insurers by filing a plenary summons with the Irish High Court.

“We have always maintained that we will rigorously pursue our claim, and issuing proceedings now is the next stage in that process,” The Irish Times, which described the filing as the first step in taking court action, quoted Avolon as stating. “We are not in a position to comment any further on any ongoing litigation, but we are naturally taking all necessary steps to protect our position.”

According to the court information seen by Insurance Business, Avolon is moving to sue Lloyd’s Insurance Company S.A. (Lloyd’s Europe), Starr Europe Insurance Ltd, Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company, Chubb European Group SE, Fidelis Insurance Ireland DAC, HDI Global Specialty SE, Great Lakes Insurance SE, Swiss Re International SE, AXIS Specialty Europe SE, Generali IARD S.A., MMA IARD S.A., Helvetia Assurances S.A., SMA S.A., SCOR Europe SE, and AIG Europe S.A.

Avolon’s net loss from the aircraft seized by Russian airlines amounted to $261 million.

Other aircraft leasing companies that have taken insurers to court over their insurance claims include Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and AerCap, whose cases were filed in London.