Aviation Insurance: War Hull and Liability Coverage and the Russian Aviation Insurance Litigation

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Course Details
- smart_display Format
Live Online with Live Q&A
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Commercial Law
- event Date
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Live Online
On Demand
This CLE webinar will discuss coverage under hull war and allied perils risk policies and new case law, universally characterized as a “landmark” and a watershed moment in aviation and insurance law, that addresses seminal issues about policy coverage, exclusions, and how to interpret war-related risks.
Faculty

Mr. Gold has represented numerous corporate and non-profit policyholders in various industries, with recoveries for his clients well in excess of $1.5 billion. His practice involves matters ranging from international arbitration, data security, directors and officers insurance, business income/property insurance, commercial crime insurance, admiralty, cargo, and marine insurance disputes. Mr. Gold has been lead trial counsel in multiparty bench and jury trials, and has negotiated and crafted scores of settlement agreements including coverage-in-place agreements. Mr. Gold has a regular column in Risk Management Magazine and has been published in numerous business and legal periodicals, covering a variety of insurance, commercial and consumer issues. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law at Brooklyn Law School and is a frequent lecturer on insurance coverage issues speaking at conferences nationwide and internationally.

Ms. Hinckley is board certified in Texas as an aviation law specialist. She advises clients on corporate matters and transactions, with a particular focus on airline enterprise risk assessment and management, as well as emergency response and preparedness. Ms. Hinckley's clients include airlines and high-net-worth individuals who own or operate personal aircraft, as well as charter operators, transportation management companies and flight departments of national and international companies. She also advises aviation repair and maintenance companies and businesses that require transportation regulatory oversight.

Mr. Horkovich has obtained over $8 billion in settlements and judgments from insurance companies for his clients. He is a trial lawyer with substantial experience in trying complex insurance coverage actions on behalf of corporate policyholders and governmental entities. Mr. Horkovic’s victories include one of the top 10 jury verdicts in the United States, the top insurance recovery jury verdict in the United States, seven landmark state Supreme Court decisions, eight jury verdicts and nine bench trial decisions in favor of the policyholder including engaging on several significant projects by the United Nations as its general insurance counsel and the state of California where Anderson Kill served as lead trial in the state's suit against dozens of insurance companies over coverage for cleanup of the Stringfellow Acid Pits (what a federal court described as the most complex environmental clean-up in the world). Mr. Horkovich is a frequent author and lecturer on insurance recovery topics.
Description
Hull war and allied perils risk policies offer coverage for many but not all claims arising from war, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, hostilities (whether war be declared or not), confiscation, nationalization, seizure, restraint, detention, appropriation, and requisition for title or use by or under the order of any government. Until the last few years, actual losses from and litigation over coverage of claims from these risks were limited. Then, on June 11, 2025, an English court issued a mammoth ruling in the Russian aviation insurance litigation that clarified fundamental issues about coverage and paved the way for recovery up to $4.5 billion for aircraft stranded in Russia after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Airlines and aviation companies can no longer downplay the increasing likelihood of claims and losses from political violence and international confiscation. Insurers rank these types of losses in the top five areas of concern. There is no shortage of reasons for concern: the war in Ukraine, civil wars in Myanmar and Sudan, Israel’s conflicts against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, U.S. and Israeli action against Iran, China's claim to Taiwan and territories in the South China Sea, plus numerous "lone wolf” and stateless terror organizations.
Waiting until after aircraft are lost is not the optimal time to start figuring out what the hull war and allied perils policy covers or excludes, whether coverage is likely to exist, and what claims and defenses will get traction. Coverage issues are difficult. Policy language may be ambiguous. The facts and situations in which losses occur are volatile and accurate information scarce. For many different reasons, perpetrators of acts triggering coverage may well attempt to disguise or mischaracterize their actions.
Listen as this expert panel offers guidance on this increasingly important type of coverage and the groundbreaking new decisions interpreting fundamental policy language.
Outline
I. Overview of hull war risk insurance
II. Russian aviation insurance litigation
A. Claims
B. Insurer defenses
C. Reinsurers defenses
D. Lessor contingent and possessed insurance
III. Key takeaways
Benefits
The panel will review these and other important questions:
- What is "permanent" loss of aircraft?
- Does the existence of indemnity obligations of foreign operators allow insurers to avoid payment?
- What risks are never covered?
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