Insurance companies must compensate aircraft lessors and owners for planes that Russia seized when it took counter-sanction measures after the invasion of Ukraine, a UK judge ruled potentially leaving insurers on the hook for billions in payouts. The verdict comes after a years-long legal stand off between aircraft lessors and owners including AerCap Holdings NV and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd., who sued the insurers, such as units of AIG and Lloyd’s of London, over allegations they failed to cover the hundreds of leased planes that were held by Russia after sanctions forced termination of the deals. The ruling relates to 147 planes and 16 engines that had insurance claims worth $4.5 billion attached. While it’s a victory for the lessors, the judge clarified what kind of insurance policies covered the losses, meaning not everything would be covered. “The judgment concludes that the aircraft have been lost” after Russian legislation that banned the export of the planes and equipment in March 2022, Judge Christopher Butcher said in a summary of the ruling. The lessors can claim compensation for the lost jets from their policies that covered war risks but not under policies that covered all risks, the judge said. The UK High Court ruling could set the tone for other similar high-stakes legal battles in the UK as well as Ireland and the US. Russia transfered hundreds of foreign-owned jets to its own aircraft register after contracts were terminated. But a number of insurers and lessors reached settlements for some aircraft before and during the trial. AerCap’s initial case for $3.4 billion was cut to around $2 billion after settlements and claims by other lessors ran into hundreds of millions of dollars, according to court filings. Aercap’s cover under war risks is limited to $1.2 billion, according to the judgment. Until February last year, AerCap’s 116 jets and 15 engines remained in Russia, used by 15 airlines including Aeroflot. Insurers denied the claims during the hearing. The planes weren’t lost as Russian airlines continued to use them and specific exclusions in the policies applied, lawyers for some of the insurers argued. “It’s a reassuring outcome,” said Julian Acratopulo, a lawyer for aircraft lessors, including Dubai Aerospace. Vladimir Putin’s “invasion of Ukraine and subsequent restraint of over 400 commercial aircraft was the paradigm scenario the owners thought that they had insured against.” AIG declined to comment while spokespeople for Aercap and LLoyd’s of London didn’t respond to requests for comment. ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. Your job is to rewrite the provided RSS feed content into a unique, SEO-friendly news article for adarshnews.com. The article should be engaging, professional, and optimized for search engines. Follow these steps: 1. **Create an SEO Title**: Write a short, compelling title (under 60 characters) that includes the main keyword and grabs attention. 2. **Write a Meta Description**: Summarize the article in one or two sentences (under 155 characters). Make it engaging and include the primary keyword naturally. 3. **Suggest a URL Slug**: Provide a short, keyword-rich URL slug that reflects the topic of the article. 4. **Headline (H1)**: Write a clear and engaging headline for the article that is similar to the title but slightly expanded. 5. **Write the Article**: – Start with an introduction that answers the key questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. – Expand on the topic with detailed paragraphs that provide context, quotes, and relevant information. – Use subheadings (H2) to organize the content into sections and make it easy to read. – Include related keywords naturally throughout the article. – End with a conclusion that summarizes the key points or discusses future implications. 6. **Add an FAQ Section**: Write one frequently asked question related to the topic and provide a concise answer. Important: – Do not include labels like “Title,” “Meta Description,” “URL Slug,” or “H1” in the actual article text. – Keep all SEO elements separate from the main content. – Ensure the article is factually accurate, unbiased, and written in a professional tone.
A UK judge has ruled that insurance companies are required to compensate for jets that have been confiscated by Russia.
