Associated Airlines Was Not Insured In Nigeria But Florida.

The Senate Tuesday summoned the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, and the chief executives of the aviation parastatals to appear before it. They are expected to brief the chamber on the state of the aviation sector and the likely reasons for the high level of air disasters experienced in the country in recent times. Meanwhile it has been discovered that Foreign insurance and reinsurance firms will be made to take responsibility for the claims emanating from the ill-fated Associated Airlines’ aircraft that crashed in Lagos last week, investigation has revealed. The plane was directly insured by a foreign insurance company instead of passing through a local underwriter.
This, according to experts,  violates the Local Content guideline for the insurance sector, which states that such risks must be insured with a local insurance company with only aspects, which cannot be insured locally taken outside the country. The Spokesperson, Associated Airlines, Mr. Alex Emode, confirmed to our correspondent in a telephone interview that the aircraft had a foreign insurance cover before the crash. He said, “The aircraft was insured and all the documents are okay. We did not insure here, it was insured by Sema Insurance Company, a marine and aviation insurance firm based in Florida. They have local solicitors in the country and have come to meet the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, they have confirmed the policy.” According to him, the decision to insure the aircraft abroad was not the choice of Associated Airlines because the firm was dealing with a broker and the broker was responsible for determining where the aircraft was to be insured.
Thisday Live/Punch News.