Dana Air was Insured with N54.95bn and will start paying Victims Relatives

http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/crashed-dana-plane-was-insured-for-n54-95bn-underwriters/

The local underwriting firms that insured the crashed Dana Air plane have told the National Insurance Commission that the aircraft was insured for a combined limit risk of $350m (N54.95bn).

The local underwriters, who disclosed this to officials of the commission during a meeting on Wednesday, also expressed their readiness to commence the payment of initial claims of N4.6m each to relatives of the 147 passengers that perished in the disaster, which occurred on Sunday, June 3, 2011, at the Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State.

Although the underwriters of the plane did not release any official statement after the meeting, our correspondent learnt exclusively that the lead insurer of the aircraft, Prestige Assurance Plc, disclosed its plans on how to ensure prompt relief to the relatives of the passengers as well as six crew members.

Prestige Assurance, which led six other insurance companies to underwrite the policy, reportedly told the commission that the local underwriters only took 30 per cent of the combined risk limit of N54.95bn for which the plane was insured.

The amount, according to them, covers the premium for the insurance of the aircraft, passengers’ liability and the third party liabilities.

The underwriters said that the total claims to be paid as a result of the crash might, however, not be up to the N54.95bn when the loss adjusters finished their assessment.