Cover does not extend to war risk, but no firm evidence as yet of terrorism as being the cause of the tragedy (294 words)

Published: 10/5/2001

The insurance risk for the ill-fated Sibir Tu-154M was carried by Russian insurer AFES, according to the airline and was re-insured with several insurance companies, including Swiss Re, Partner Re and Allianz. AFES confirmed that the company had insured the Tu-154M that crashed in the Black Sea on 4th October 2001 and said that talks were currently taking place to begin the process of assessing payments. To that end, the General Director of AFES had gone to Sochi to discuss the situation. The company's spokesman also said that the loss was reinsured and would not cause the insurer financial problems, adding that the beneficiaries of those on board would be paid regardless of the cause, although Sibir may not be compensated for the loss of the aircraft if it was terrorist action, as it was not covered for war risk. At present, there are two main lines of thought regarding the destruction of the aircraft. The first suggests that the aircraft was downed accidentally by a S-300 anti-aircraft missile system belonging to Ukraine during exercises that had wrongly identified the airliner as a target. This scenario has been denied by Ukraine after earlier reports had mooted this as the cause. The second theory is that the aircraft was subject to terrorist action, with little evidence to support the theory until the aircraft flight recorders are recovered. As the aircraft's wreckage has been located, according to local reports, this should be imminent. The recovery of the recorders will also open up the possibility of the explosion being caused by a cataclysmic mechanical failure on the aircraft.

Article ID: 2808