Definition:Hull all risks (HAR)
✈️ Hull all risks (HAR) is the foundational physical damage coverage in aviation insurance, protecting the insured aircraft against accidental loss of or damage to its hull, engines, and installed equipment from virtually any cause not specifically excluded. Unlike more limited named-perils forms, HAR provides broad, open-perils protection — meaning the policy responds unless the cause of loss falls within a stated exclusion such as war, wear and tear, or mechanical breakdown unaccompanied by an accident. The coverage typically applies while the aircraft is in flight, taxiing, or on the ground, and the insured value is usually agreed in advance on an agreed-value basis, eliminating disputes over depreciation at the time of a claim.
🔧 When a covered event occurs — whether a gear-up landing, a bird strike causing structural damage, or a hangar fire — the insurer pays to repair the aircraft or, if the loss exceeds the economic repair threshold, settles on a total loss or constructive total loss basis up to the agreed hull value. Policies carry a hull deductible, which may vary depending on whether the damage happens in flight, during taxiing, or while the aircraft is stationary. Salvage rights transfer to the insurer once a total loss is paid. Because individual hull exposures can be enormous — a single widebody commercial aircraft may be insured for several hundred million dollars — reinsurance plays a critical role in spreading risk, and major hull portfolios are often placed through the London and Bermuda aviation markets, as well as through specialist aviation pools in Continental Europe and Asia.
💡 For airlines, lessors, and corporate aircraft operators, HAR coverage is not optional — it is a prerequisite for financing and leasing arrangements, and aircraft lease agreements almost universally require the lessee to maintain hull all risks cover at stipulated values. Regulators across jurisdictions, while primarily mandating liability coverages, recognize HAR as essential to the financial stability of operators. The breadth of HAR coverage also means that underwriters must evaluate a wide array of risk factors, from pilot experience and maintenance programs to the geographic regions in which the aircraft operates. Any gap in this information — an instance of material non-disclosure by the insured — can jeopardize the validity of the policy, making transparency during the placement process vital.
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