March 29, 2024

Insurance Claims US$110 mln paid for Malaysia Airlines MH370 which ‘ended’ in Indian Ocean

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has already been handed US$110 million by insurers over the loss of its missing Boeing 777 on Flight MH370 which Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced late last night had "ended" its journey in the southern Indian Ocean.Speaking at an emergency press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Najib said that fresh data gleaned from British satellite firm Inmarsat confirmed that the plane flew along a southern corridor ins

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has already been handed US$110 million by insurers over the loss of its missing Boeing 777 on Flight MH370 which Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced late last night had “ended” its journey in the southern Indian Ocean.Speaking at an emergency press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Najib said that fresh data gleaned from British satellite firm Inmarsat confirmed that the plane flew along a southern corridor instead of along a northern arc, which was one of the possible routes previously identified.“Its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth. This is a remote location far from any possible landing sites,” he said of the aircraft which disappeared on 8 March when it was scheduled to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.Before Mr Najib’s announcement, The Telegraph, a UK newspaper, had reported that the US$110-million payout was made in accordance with standard air travel industry policy which says that if a plane has been missing for more than two days, then it is assumed it has been destroyed.The policy was originally taken out in Malaysia but, as is common practice in the industry, it was reinsured with a group led by Germany’s Allianz. The other reinsurers include GIC Re, Hannover Re, Lonpac Insurance, Malaysian Re and Eurasia.The primary insurance cover for the aircraft is written 100 percent by Etiqa Insurance & Takaful, a domestic Malaysian carrier with the majority of the risk ceded to the global panel of reinsurers, reported Inside FAC, a publication which provides news of the global facultative markets. Sources said that Etiqa retained only around 4.5 percent of the risk.The payout could also cover hardship payments to families of passengers on board the ill-fated flight. For the next-of-kin of the MH370 passengers, an international aviation treaty — the Montreal Convention — allows them to seek up to US$175,000 (RM573,475) each without proving any fault with MAS.Depending on the reason for the disappearance of the plane, the insurers could pay out tens of millions of dollars more to bereaved families of the 239 people on board, reported The Telegraph. If terrorism or negligence is found to have played a role, it could alter the size and liability of the payouts.

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