Flying high with Azriel

Taking ‘making insurance personal’ to the next level

In an industry as technical and fraught with risk as aviation, you want people by your side who understand the market well and have the solutions that provide cover should something go wrong.

Just like you’d trust your pilot when you climb aboard an aircraft, you’d have the same trust in the experts who insure your aircraft, not so? Azriel Aviation Africa is just that – underwriters leading the way in aviation insurance with innovative, client-focused solutions for a wide range of aircraft.

Who are Azriel Aviation Africa?

Formed in 2010, Azriel Aviation Africa is a specialist aviation underwriting manager, providing client-focused, innovative insurance solutions for jets, turboprops, all fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircraft, and even hot air balloons. Azriel also offers cover in respect of airport operator’s and owner’s liability, deductible buy-down insurance, hanger keeper’s and repairer’s liability insurance, as well as turbine-engine breakdown cover.

At the controls is CEO Jan Coetzee, an aviation insurance expert who earned his stripes providing risk and insurance solutions for over three decades. Jan has been leading underwriting agencies since 1995 and is also a qualified private pilot, so he knows exactly what it takes to ensure that aircraft, passengers, and cargo on board are adequately covered.

The Azriel/Constantia relationship

Constantia and Azriel joined forces in 2018. Relationships are the cornerstone of Constantia’s success, who value collaboration and take great pride in co-creating solutions and unlocking shared value for partners. Always with a personal touch.

For Constantia, it made absolute business sense to partner with a specialist underwriting manager with the expertise and calibre of Azriel, and one that truly understood the local aviation insurance market. More than that, Azriel’s unparalleled service echoes Constantia’s ‘insurance made personal’ mantra: “Jan and his team go the extra mile by offering an around-the-clock service, providing broker training and accompanying brokers at potential clients to ensure all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. It doesn’t get more personal than that, and who better to co-create solutions and unlock shared value in aviation insurance than Azriel?” says Heidi Dias, Executive for Property & Casualty at Constantia.

For Azriel, partnering with an insurer that shared the same values of service and innovation would enhance its service capabilities: “We value Constantia’s support and commitment in establishing a formidable aviation insurer in Africa. Their turnaround times are superb, and they are responsive, manage expectations and communicate well,” says Jan Coetzee, CEO of Azriel Aviation Africa.

Understanding the aviation market

The global aviation insurance industry has experienced turbulence in recent years. Re-insurers were hit by global catastrophes and claims from the likes of wildfires in California and the incidents involving Boeing Max aircraft.

Subsequently, due to a focus on business optimisation and with aviation being a soft target due to low rates, some key role players exited the insurance aviation market with some insurers no longer writing 100% line on a risk. This resulted in rates hardening and in-turn, increased premiums

Locally, the game industry bubble had burst, with prices for trophy game falling to the lowest of lows in early 2019. Once a mainstay for aviation insurance business, the downturn in prices for prized wildlife resulted in low demand for game capture monitoring and transport by air and, in turn, low demand for cover.

The effect of COVID-19 on aviation

Then the COVID crisis forced flying enthusiasts and airline owners to ground their fleets and keep them locked down in hangars. Reduced incomes, requests for premium refunds and relief were the order of the day, with some even resorting to cancelling their aviation insurance.

Fortunately for Azriel, its operations weren’t severely impacted. Clients in crop spraying, surveillance, game work, and security work continued and clients in East Africa weren’t affected by localised lockdowns.

“When aircraft were allowed to take to the skies again, as many as 30 aircraft were involved in accidents across the country in January 2021 alone. These losses equated to approximately R100 million in South African risks, not to mention the lives lost. In certain cases the cause of the accident was pilots not being current, due to being unable to fly due to covid restrictions says Coetzee.

The importance of adequate aviation cover

The liability limit in terms of the regulations for what aircraft operators must carry, is grossly outdated. On a 5-seater aircraft such as a Beechcraft Baron 58 for example, the regulations require the Operator to insure for R 2,5mio in respect of Third Partly legal liability and R 1mio per passenger seat i.e. R 7,5mio in total. Legal fees, awards made by the courts plus passenger medical expenses can easily run into millions of Rand and the R 7,5mio limit required by law, may not provide adequate cover for the charter operator.

Due to the financial woes of SAA, SA Express and the grounding of other airline aircraft, the demand for chartered flights is on the rise, with more businesses and affluent individuals willing to make use of charter planes to avoid Covid exposure and any cancellations of flights. But how do you know the plane you’re about to charter, and board is correctly covered? This brings the question of pilot and passenger safety into focus.

“Because of this, a lot of our conditions are pilot safety driven,” says Coetzee. “We have strict terms and restrictions and only partner with aircraft owners and aviation training operators who comply with stringent pilot safety measures,” says Coetzee.

Along with pilot safety, a deeper understanding of risks, collaboration with brokers and highlighting the cold hard facts upfront form an integral part of Azriel’s business philosophy and the hallmarks of Azriel’s offering. “Jan and his team at Azriel have built trust on offering sound advice, providing training, walk a journey with brokers and approach every client engagement with a personal touch,’’ says Barry Du Plessis, Portfolio Manager at Constantia. “At Constantia, such practices chime with how we co-create solutions and unlock shared value for both us and our partners,” says Du Plessis.

What to look for when choosing an aviation insurer/underwriter

• Choose a reputable local specialist broker/insurer that understands the local aviation market and risks, are legitimate and can be easily contactable
• If they’re not local, they aren’t regulated in South Africa
• Ensure that your broker covers all the bases and advises you on all possible risks
• Your broker and underwriter must be willing to see you in person to understand your risks accurately
• Don’t just chase the cheapest premium
• Understand that there are risks if not insured/covered locally

Why Azriel?

• Work with specialist aviation brokers in South Africa
• Offer specialist aviation insurance solutions
• Walk the journey with brokers to provide a better understanding of the local market and risks
• Offer broker training
• Open to collaborate with brokers to co-create solutions
• Do all the homework upfront so that the right cover can be provided and for a better claims experience

At Constantia, we are driven by our purpose to enable our partners’ success and we have made co-creation central to the way we work. We firmly believe that through co-creation, and by building authentic relationships with our partners like Azriel Aviation Africa, together we can unlock shared value which ultimately helps ensure sustainable growth.