Media Advisory: I.I.I. Has Information, Resources on Aviation Insurance Issues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York Press Office: (212) 346-5500; media@iii.org

NEW YORK, December 29, 2014 — Reporters can contact the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) with questions about aviation coverage in the wake of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 that went missing in bad weather en route from Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday morning, December 28. 

While this is the third crisis for a Malaysian-based carrier this year, nearly three billion people fly safely annually on more than 37 million flights, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).  In fact, the global plane accident rate fell to the lowest level in aviation history in 2012.

I.I.I. President Robert Hartwig, an economist who has a pilot’s license, can speak broadly to the issue of aviation insurance. To set up an interview with Dr. Hartwig, contact Loretta Worters, vice president, Communications I.I.I., at 212-346-5545, or via email: lorettaw@iii.org

The Montreal Convention (which modernized and replaced the Warsaw Convention of 1929), was adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 1999 and was ratified for European Union (EU) states in 2004.  It regulates compensation for the victims of air disasters, and provides, among other things, for:

• Unlimited liability in the event of death or injury of passengers.
• Advanced payments to meet immediate economic needs within 15 days.  The possibility of bringing a lawsuit before the courts in the passenger's principal place of residence.
• Increased liability limits in the event of delay.
• The modernization of transport documents (electronic airway bills and tickets).
• The clarification of the rules on the respective liability of the contractual carrier and the actual carrier.
• The obligation for air carriers to maintain adequate insurance.

Under the Montreal Convention liability limits are set in what’s known as Special Drawing Rights (SDR), which are a mix of currency values established by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The current value of an SDR in Euro is available on the IMF's website. Liability limits are reviewed every five years.

RELATED LINKS

Facts and Statistics: Aviation

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