By Michael Jones

Feb 18 - (The Insurer) - The airline market could face another liability loss of more than $100 million from the February 17 Delta Air Lines crash at Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport, three senior aviation broking sources told The Insurer.

Two senior aviation market sources said the cover, which is associated with Delta’s Endeavor air subsidiary, is placed into a regional US market program known as the “Regional Buyers Group” by Marsh, with the airline all-risks program led by Allianz with an insured hull value of $8 million.

Liability claims associated with the incident could easily total $100 million given the number of injuries, three senior aviation broking sources said. One source on the placement said it was too early to comment on the liability element of the loss.

Losses of around $100 million would add further pressure on an airlines market that has seen a number of incidents bring 2025’s insured loss estimates close to the ~$1.6 billion annual net premium levels.

Flight DL4819 from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport flipped upside down upon landing at Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport following a snowstorm on February 18.

Three people suffered critical injuries, among them a child, a Canadian air ambulance official said, with 15 others also immediately taken to hospitals.

Delta said on Monday that some of the injured individuals have been released.

A factor that could exacerbate liability losses is claims associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, which senior aviation sources said has become a much more relevant issue over the past decade.

Canadian authorities said the cause of the crash is unknown and would be investigated.

Toronto Pearson fire chief Todd Aitken said on Monday that the runway was dry with no crosswind conditions. However, FlightRadar24 said that reported weather conditions at the time of the crash indicated a “gusting crosswind and blowing snow”.

The market has already suffered two sizeable liability losses from the Jeju Air and American Airlines disasters since December 29, 2024, alongside a number of smaller but still significant events including the Air Busan fire and Bering Air crash.

Given these events saw top end loss expectations sit around $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion, prospective losses from yesterday’s incident will compound expectations that the market will suffer a loss in 2025.

And this will add to very real concerns that the airline market could see withdrawals for the first time in a number of years, said two aviation market sources.

Allianz declined to comment. Marsh and Delta Air Lines were contacted for comment.