23 December 2025
Safety: A Common Goal
During the latest Flight Safety Foundation International Aviation Safety Seminar (IASS) held in Lisbon, Portugal, between November 4 and 6, 2025, I had the opportunity to chair a session entitled “Risk Management Perspective from the Aviation Insurance Industry”.
The panel in this session consisted of industry leaders from the field of aviation insurance, including Dan Boultowood from AIG, Anthony Frankl from AXA/XL and Judith Connaty from Air Europa.
We had the opportunity to explore how insurers evaluate safety risks and incorporate SMS and operational safety data from their insureds into their underwriting decisions. It’s essential that the risk evaluation of both parties find common ground, as both the insured and the market try to focus on identifying hazards, assessing the probability and severity of outcomes and fostering the implementation of mitigation strategies.
It's worth noting that the insurance industry and the operators are increasingly aligned with promoting proactive safety cultures, investing in risk-reducing processes and technologies, and using data-driven approaches to enhance predictability and reduce uncertainty in flight and ground operations.
Similarly, it became clear that underwriters would like to see standardised safety metrics and information to assist their risk analysis. Currently, airlines will only provide data that they consider to be relevant regarding SMS implementation, key safety KPIs, snapshots from flight data monitoring programmes, and other safety initiatives. However, there is little consistency across operators, and even key indicators vary widely from Loss of Control in Flight (LOC-I) to unstable approaches and runway incursions. This lack of commonality makes it challenging for the market to assess the information in a uniform way.
There was also an open discussion regarding the contribution the market is making to each insured’s risk management and safety efforts. Typically, insurers agree to contribute a specific amount in the slip or contract of insurance, which can range anywhere between USD 10,000 to USD 150,000 depending on the type of client, premium being paid and size of the operation. There is no set amount, as this is subject to negotiations undertaken by each broker with the market. The bursary is generally intended to support safety programmes across operational areas of interest to the market, such as in-flight operations, maintenance, ground, cargo, dispatch, etc. The objective of this is to invest in initiatives that enhance safety and thus reduce losses. For insurers, the emphasis is that these contributions be used exclusively for safety improvements, not as a mechanism to offset premium costs.
As the panel concluded, the industry called for increased dialogue between insurers and all stakeholders, including airlines, airport operators, civil aviation authorities, and OEMs, to identify ways to reduce risk while improving resiliency and efficiency in all operating environments.
It was in pursuit of that desire that the Foundation convened a breakout session during the conference to discuss concrete ways of collaboration. The session was well attended, bringing together representatives from the Foundation, airlines, insurance companies, mission-critical operators and the broking community
The meeting focused on addressing attritional losses in aviation, particularly ground damage. Different figures on how much they are costing the industry were floated, with certain estimates hovering around USD 5 billion annually. Key points included the need for a common risk framework with standardised metrics, the distinction between retail and market values, and the challenges of categorising this type of event. The discussion also emphasised the importance of data sharing, technology, and cultural changes to improve safety. A proposal for a working group within the Flight Safety Foundation was suggested and approved to address these issues collaboratively, with a focus on ground handling and damage prevention. The idea is to fully understand this risk from all angles, particularly involving aviation operations staff, the insurance industry, third-party ground service providers and airline safety departments. One of the first areas of work may be around the nomenclature of the risk itself. There was broad agreement on the need for a common risk framework, including clearer and more consistent definitions of terms and potential metrics. This could lead to partial or full-scale risk assessments with key stakeholders and to the adoption of initiatives to reduce these risks, including Gallagher’s own Ground Training Risk Assessment solution.
In addition to establishing this group, there may be potential for organisations that are involved in it to serve on existing committees within the Foundation to help expand their capabilities in areas such as AI and the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions (GAPPRI), bringing a new perspective and emphasis on ground handling and damage prevention.
Furthermore, where there are insurance-hosted activities, the Foundation would like the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way to expand its knowledge on traditional risk management activities.
In short, a clear path has been set to bring all industry stakeholders together, this time with the participation of the insurance industry, to work collectively on mitigating ground losses. We should all rise to the challenge.
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