Insurance disputes over aircraft leased to Russia

After March 2022, Western lessors lost more than 400 aircraft that remained with Russian airlines and brought claims against insurers in several multi-party proceedings. In AerCap v. AIG (disputes under the lessors’ insurance policies), the High Court of England and Wales held on June 11, 2025, that the aircraft were legally lost under the doctrine of constructive loss as of March 10, 2022 (the date of Russian Government Resolution No. 311 prohibiting the export of aircraft). The court gave judgment for AerCap for $1.035B under the war risks policies. In March 2026, the insurers were granted permission to appeal. In Zephyrus v. Fidelis, which concerns recourse claims of over $12B against reinsurers of Russian operators’ policies, the English court in March 2024 declined to enforce clauses submitting disputes to the Russian courts, finding that claimants from “unfriendly” states were unlikely to receive a fair trial in Russia. The trial on the merits was scheduled for October 2026. The Irish proceedings, with around €2.5B in dispute and six lessors involved, ended in settlements in 2025.

The largest insurance disputes in history. The English court treated Russian Government Resolution No. 311 as an insured event under the war risks cover and declined to enforce clauses submitting disputes to the Russian courts, finding the Russian courts an inappropriate forum (forum non conveniens).