Category: Loss adjusting · Reviewed by Jake Leat, Associate Director · Last reviewed 2026-06-11
An aviation loss adjuster is a loss adjuster specialising in the investigation and settlement of claims under aviation insurance policies, including aircraft hull, passenger and third-party liability, war and aviation products.
Category: Loss adjusting Also known as: Aviation adjuster, Aerospace loss adjuster, Aircraft loss adjuster Related concepts: Loss adjuster, Marine loss adjuster, Lloyd’s of London, Reinsurance
An aviation loss adjuster is a specialist loss adjuster who handles claims arising under aviation insurance policies. The aviation market is one of the smallest and most specialised classes of global insurance, with the London Aviation Market — based around Lloyd’s and the IUA — historically writing a significant share of the world’s aviation business. Aviation loss adjusters typically work on a small number of large and complex claims, often in close cooperation with regulators, accident investigators and aerospace manufacturers.
The principal classes of aviation insurance handled by adjusters are aircraft hull (the airframe), aviation liability (passenger, baggage, cargo and third-party), aviation products (manufacturer and component supplier liability), aviation war and allied perils, general aviation (light aircraft, helicopters, business jets), aerospace (manufacturers’ all-risks), airport liability, and space (satellites and launch vehicles).
The work is highly technical. Aviation adjusters require knowledge of policy wordings such as the LSW (Lloyd’s Slip Wordings) and AVN (Aviation) clauses, the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (Montreal Convention 1999, and earlier Warsaw Convention 1929), the EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation (now retained as part of UK law), and the Air Navigation Order 2016. They must also understand aircraft systems, accident investigation reports and aviation operations.
Aviation adjusters typically work for international firms with a strong London presence — Charles Taylor Adjusting, McLarens Aviation, Crawford & Company’s specialty arm and Sedgwick — and frequently coordinate with adjusters and lawyers in other jurisdictions on incidents involving aircraft registered abroad, passengers from multiple countries and claimants worldwide.
Aviation loss adjusting is shaped by an unusual concentration of international law, statute, regulation and case law. The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, signed at Montreal on 28 May 1999 (the Montreal Convention 1999), is the principal international instrument governing airline liability to passengers and shippers. The UK is a party and the Convention is incorporated into UK law by the Carriage by Air Acts (Implementation of Montreal Convention 1999) Order 2002 (SI 2002/263). The Convention provides for strict (but limited) liability of carriers for passenger death or injury up to 128,821 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per passenger.
For domestic and intra-EU/UK flights, EU Regulation 2027/97 (as amended by Regulation 889/2002, retained in UK law) applies. Cancellation and delay compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004 (retained) sits alongside the liability regime.
Aircraft are governed in the UK by the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and the Air Navigation Order 2016 (SI 2016/765). Air accident investigation is conducted by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) under the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 2018. The AAIB’s reports, while not admissible in civil litigation as proof of fact (under Regulation 13), are nonetheless of central importance to adjusters in understanding the cause of an event.
For aviation insurance specifically, Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 sets minimum insurance requirements for air carriers and aircraft operators (retained in UK law). The compulsory minimum levels of cover for passengers, baggage and third parties are set by reference to maximum take-off mass.
The Marine Insurance Act 1906 applies by analogy to aviation insurance — many of its principles on disclosure, warranty and proximate cause are routinely applied to aviation policies, although the Insurance Act 2015 has modified some of these for post-12 August 2016 policies. The Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 gives third parties direct rights against insurers in defined circumstances.
The FCA’s ICOBS 8.1 applies to UK-authorised aviation insurers and their adjusters; Lloyd’s Claims Scheme and Lloyd’s Minimum Standards MS11 apply to Lloyd’s syndicates writing aviation business.
The aviation market handles a small number of very large losses each year. A major hull loss — for example, a passenger jet write-off following a runway excursion — may run to several hundred million dollars in hull value, plus passenger and third-party liability claims. The lead hull and liability underwriters at Lloyd’s typically appoint an aviation loss adjuster within hours of an event, often before the AAIB or equivalent investigator has reached the site.
The aviation adjuster’s first task is to coordinate with the airline, the manufacturer, the AAIB (or foreign equivalent), and the lead lawyers. Access to the wreckage is controlled by the accident investigator under Regulation 2018, and the adjuster must respect the priority of the safety investigation. The adjuster will obtain copies of the accident notification, the maintenance records, the flight crew records, the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder transcripts (where released), the weather report and the aircraft logbook.
For hull losses, the adjuster will work with a hull surveyor (often a former licensed aircraft engineer) to determine whether the aircraft is a total loss, a constructive total loss or repairable. Repair scopes for major airframe damage are typically prepared by the manufacturer or an approved maintenance organisation. Salvage of usable components is a significant feature of aviation hull adjusting.
For liability claims, the adjuster will work with the airline’s legal team to identify passengers and their dependants, coordinate medical and family liaison, and oversee the process of advance payments under Article 28 of the Montreal Convention. Liability quantum on fatal claims is calculated by reference to the law of the passenger’s domicile, which may result in significantly different values for different passengers on the same flight.
Reinsurance is a particular feature of aviation adjusting. Most large hull and liability programmes are heavily reinsured, often on a per-risk excess of loss basis. The lead adjuster’s reports form the basis of the cedant’s notification to its reinsurers and of the reinsurance recoveries.
Within aviation adjusting, several distinct sub-specialisms exist. Airline hull and liability adjusters work for the major commercial carriers and handle the largest individual claims, often in the hundreds of millions of dollars. General aviation adjusters handle private aircraft, business jets, helicopters, training aircraft, agricultural aviation and air ambulance work. The volumes are higher but individual values lower, with a wider variety of policy wordings.
Aviation products adjusters work on claims against manufacturers, component suppliers and maintenance organisations, often involving large numbers of co-defendants and complex contribution claims. The Boeing 737 MAX events of 2018-2019 generated significant aviation products work for the London market.
Aviation war and allied perils adjusters handle claims arising from war, hijacking, sabotage, confiscation and other “war risks” listed in the AVN.48B clause and similar wordings. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent detention of Western-leased aircraft in Russia generated very substantial war risk claims and a major test of policy wording interpretation, with several London Commercial Court trials underway by mid-2026.
Space adjusters handle satellite and launch vehicle losses, often involving claims of several hundred million dollars for failed launches or in-orbit failures. The space market is largely concentrated in London and Paris.
Airport liability adjusters handle claims arising from airport operations, including baggage handling, runway operations, fire and rescue and airport security. Drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) adjusters are a small but growing sub-specialism as the regulatory and insurance regime for drones develops under the Air Navigation Order 2016 (as amended) and the Civil Aviation Authority’s CAP 722.
Many aviation adjusters hold dual qualifications: a CILA grade combined with an engineering or pilot qualification, or with a law degree. The international character of the work means that English is the working language but knowledge of other major aviation languages (French, Spanish, Mandarin) is valuable.
A wide-body passenger jet operated by a European carrier suffers a runway excursion at a major European hub airport. The aircraft slides off the side of the runway and into soft ground, causing significant damage to the landing gear, lower fuselage and engines. There are no fatalities, but 35 passengers report injuries during evacuation.
The London market lead hull underwriter, with a 30% line on a $250 million hull value, instructs an aviation loss adjuster within four hours of the event. The lead liability underwriter, with a 25% line on a $2 billion combined single limit, instructs the same firm’s liability team.
Over the following weeks, the adjusters coordinate with the European accident investigator, the manufacturer (a major airframer), the engine manufacturer, the operator’s safety team, and the lawyers acting for each. A repair feasibility study concludes that repair is technically possible but uneconomic, and the aircraft is declared a constructive total loss at $230 million net of salvage. The hull claim is settled within nine months.
The liability claims, including the 35 injury claims and a small number of cargo and baggage claims, are handled under the Montreal Convention. Strict liability up to 128,821 SDRs per passenger is admitted; claims above that threshold are negotiated on a per-claimant basis, with quantum calculated under the laws of the various claimants’ domiciles. The total liability claim, settled over two years, is $42 million. The adjuster’s final report covers both hull and liability and forms the basis of the reinsurance recoveries from the operator’s per-risk excess of loss treaty.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-11. Next review: 2026-12-11.
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