HDI Global Specialty well armed to shoot down aviation claims: CEO

HDI Global Specialty is well armed for a series of court battles over aviation claims from aircraft lessors for aircraft appropriated by Russian airlines after the invasion of Ukraine and imposition of sanctions, the CEO of HDI Global Specialty Ralph Beutter (Pictured) has said.

“We’ve done a good job in underwriting,” Beutter told analysts during the investor day presentations for HDI Global’s parent Talanx. “We clearly see that with the restrictions we have in our policy wordings, we believe that the impact on us on aviation will not be too severe.”

The group took EUR 30 million in reserves, he claimed “and we believe we are on the safe side with that.”

Beutter admits to “some uncertainty” given the recent onslaught of court cases filed by leasing companies, “but we believe we are in a reasonably safe place.”

Of the major cases we've reported, HDI Global is present in all save the largest claim placed to date, the $3.5 billion claim by AerCap.

But HDI Global figures heavily amongst defendants in other leading cases, including those brought to court by CDB Aviation, Dubai Aerospace Enterprises (DAE), a DAE financing unit Falcon 2019-1 Aircraft, BOC Aviation and SMBC Aviation Capital.   The bulk of those cases were filed only in November.

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