One of Australia's largest aviation insurers, Allianz Global Corporate Specialty (AGCS), has announced it will withdraw from the Australian market. At almost the same moment, Agile Underwriters announced they would start taking aviation business.
In a statement dated 23 November 2016, Allianz's CEO of AGCS Pacific Willem Van Wyk said that the company would not be renewing existing insurance policies after the end of this year.
"AGCS Pacific will commence placing existing aviation business written out of Australia into run-off effective 1 January 2017," Van Wyk said.
"AGCS will however continue to write larger Australian and New Zealand risks through its London hub.
"The move comes as part of a strategic review of the local market and allows AGCS Pacific to focus on building on its successes in the global corporate segment."
It is believed that Allianz has been under continuing pressure from the general downturn in the Australia general aviation segment and the escalating costs of repair and spare parts, which have combined to make the Australian market less viable than it once was.
Allianz's withdrawal will leave hundreds of aircraft owners searching for new insurers in the near future.
Separately, on the same day, Agile Underwriters announced they had appointed former Allianz Regional Manager Michael Dalton to the position as General Manager - Aviation. Dalton is one of Australia's most experienced and respected aviation insurance professionals.
"I'm especially looking forward to building a business that is focused on providing a wider range of product than that currently offered by aviation insurers, and to delivering it via modern platforms to make the process seamless for both policyholder and broker alike," said Dalton.
"Importantly, Agile Aviation follows a business model that was successfully deployed by previous market participants in a bygone era, where the customer comes first and where the underwriting team truly understand aviation."