The International Union of Aerospace Insurers (IUAI) announced the creation of a new reinsurance and data working group aimed at filling a long-standing gap in the aviation sector’s statistical resources. By establishing a collective effort, the union hopes to generate a reliable baseline that can be used by insurers and reinsurers alike when assessing risk and pricing coverage.
The inaugural roster of the Reinsurance and Data Study Group (RDSG) features a mix of senior executives from leading firms. Ulrike Ohlmer represents Munich Re, while Jens Jaeger brings the perspective of Germany’s industry association GDV. Simon Murbach joins from PartnerRe, Wolfgang Vogel contributes on behalf of SCOR, and Christophe Graber speaks for La Réunion Aérienne. Together they will coordinate the development of aviation-specific market statistics and provide educational sessions for IUAI members on how reinsurance mechanisms function within the aerospace environment.
Aviation Reinsurance Market Challenges
Historically, the aviation reinsurance market has operated without a set of standardized, publicly available data points, which makes it difficult for participants to validate their pricing models. Recent attention has turned toward ground handling and maintenance-, repair-, and overhaul (MRO) attritional losses, as the severity of these claims has risen in line with broader inflationary pressures and ongoing supply-chain disruptions.
According to WTW, inflation in U.S. claims emerges as the most pressing operational hurdle for aviation reinsurers, surpassing concerns about market conditions and the adequacy of rates. The absence of a shared historical record further complicates attempts to estimate future claims inflation with precision.
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RDSG’s Objectives and Expected Outcomes
The working group’s mandate focuses on delivering practical market data that can serve as a common reference point during renewal negotiations. By moving beyond the production of position papers, the members aim to create statistics that are directly usable by both sides of a contract. If successful, the output will enable insurers to price claims inflation more accurately and will give the industry a unified statistical foundation.
A recent IUAI Cyber and Emerging Risks survey highlighted U.S. claims inflation as a major concern for aviation reinsurers. The questionnaire gathered input from 106 professionals active in aviation insurance and reinsurance across the globe. The findings reinforce the need for the new group’s statistical work, which is designed to address the identified challenge by supplying a shared data set.
Initial plans call for the five founding participants to expand the membership to roughly eight to ten entities as the initiative matures. IUAI president Ulla Norrhäll explained that the group creates “a dedicated forum to combine knowledge, develop analysis and share insights that are useful to the market.” The first formal gathering is scheduled for London in January 2027, and the group intends to present its early findings at the IUAI’s annual conference in Atlanta in June 2027.
