Finance Desk – According to a report by The Times of India, Air India had increased the insurance cover on its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft from ₹750 crore to ₹850 crore in April 2025—just two months before it crashed near Ahmedabad on June 12, killing around 270 people.
Insurance and Expected Claims
The total claims from the crash are expected to cross ₹1,500 crore.
A group of Indian insurers led by Tata AIG will reportedly absorb only ₹100–150 crore of the losses.
Over 90% of the risk was passed on to global reinsurers in London and other international markets.
The crashed aircraft was part of a fleet-wide insurance cover worth ₹8,000–₹10,000 crore, for which Air India paid an annual premium of ₹250 crore.
India follows the Montreal Convention of 1999, which makes airlines liable to pay compensation in the case of death or injury of passengers.
Under this convention, airlines must pay up to 128,821 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per passenger (about $1.33 per SDR as of October 2024) regardless of fault.
Additional compensation can be granted if negligence is proven.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, hitting a doctors’ hostel near the airport, causing casualties on the ground as well.
The flight was carrying 242 people, including:
- 169 Indian nationals
- 53 British citizens
- 1 Canadian
- 7 Portuguese passengers
Air India’s Support
Tata Group-owned Air India announced compensation for the victims’ families:
₹25 lakh (around £21,000) for each family
This is in addition to ₹1 crore (around £85,000) compensation already announced by Tata Sons.
Finance Khabar has not independently verified this report.
