Air India invited bids from Indian companies on Wednesday for renewal of insurance for its entire 105 aircraft fleet worth a whopping $ nine billion, even as it is in the process of acquiring the remaining 13 of the 27 Dreamliners it has ordered.
The bids, invited from Indian insurance firms on stand alone basis or as a consortium, would have to be submitted by June 4, officials of the national carrier said here.
The process has begun now in order to firm up the companies which would provide the insurance cover for the fleet which is due for renewal from October 1, they said.
Two years ago, two consortia had bid for the insurance coverage of the airline’s fleet. One was a grouping of New India Assurance (as the lead insurer), Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance, while the other one was the consortium of HDFC Ergo General Insurance, SBI General Insurance and ICICI Lombard.
The Finance Ministry has made it clear that there would be no purchase preference support given to public sector insurance companies in order to provide a level-playing field to their private counterparts who bid for Air India’s fleet.
The 105 aircraft fleet would be covered by insurance for aviation risk, hull all risk and hull war risk among other areas, they said.