Aviation - The ES Risks Specialist Series

At ES Risks, our business is built around specialist insurance. The kind of risks that do not sit neatly in a box and cannot be placed without experience, judgement and strong market relationships.

In this series, our specialists share a personal view of their world. Not product brochures or market soundbites, but real insight into the risks they place, the challenges they navigate and what specialist broking actually looks like inside the Lloyd’s and international market.

Each blog is written by the specialist who does the work.

By Dominic Toogood When most people think about aviation insurance at Lloyd’s, they picture large fleets of passenger jets, major airlines and highly structured programmes placed year after year.

That world certainly exists. But it is only one part of the market, and not the part I spend most of my time in.

My day-to-day work is far more likely to involve a single aircraft or helicopter operating far from major airports, often in challenging environments and almost always doing something that does not fit neatly into a standard underwriting box. Alternatively, it may involve ground handlers, airports in far-flung parts of the world or product manufacturers whose materials and components could end up anywhere within an aviation environment.

That is where specialist aviation broking really begins.

How I Ended Up in Specialist Aviation

One of the things that drew me to aviation was the sheer variety of risk. Even early on, it became clear that aviation insurance is not just about the aircraft itself. It is about how it is used, where it operates, who flies it and under what conditions. Aviation also touches so many parts of our lives, especially when we are travelling. From moving through an airport to sitting on an aircraft, every action, every piece of machinery and every movement can be covered within our industry should the worst ever happen to us or to any of our diverse portfolio of clients.

At the specialist end of the market, every placement tells a story. A helicopter supporting offshore energy work. A fixed-wing aircraft flying humanitarian missions. Aircraft operating in regions affected by conflict, political instability or extreme weather.

These are not theoretical risks. They are real operations, often critical to the people relying on them, and they demand a very different approach from both broker and underwriter.

When the Risk Is the Mission

Specialist aviation risks are rarely routine. They might involve operations in war zones, remote territories or regions where infrastructure is limited and conditions can change quickly.

From an insurance perspective, this raises difficult and important questions. How does an aircraft operate when weather is unpredictable and margins are tight? What does risk management look like when geopolitical factors sit alongside technical exposure? How do you structure cover that is realistic, robust and actually works when it is needed?

There is no template for this kind of work. Each placement requires a deep understanding of the operation itself, not just the aircraft or the policy wording.

Why Relationships Still Matter Within the Worldwide Markets

In this part of the market, broking is not transactional. It is built on trust, experience and credibility. Underwriters want to know that the broker truly understands the risk being presented. They want clarity, honesty and detail. They want to know what could go wrong, not just what usually goes right.

My role is to bridge that gap. To take a complex, often unusual operation and present it clearly and accurately to the market, so underwriters can make informed decisions. That means detailed risk presentations, open conversations and a willingness to engage with difficult questions.

It is traditional Lloyd’s broking in the best sense of the word. Bespoke in the truest sense.

Why This Side of Aviation Is Often Overlooked

Specialist aviation does not always attract attention in the way large airline placements do. The risks are smaller in number, but not in complexity. In many cases, the consequences of getting it wrong are far greater.

What I enjoy most is that no two placements are the same. Each risk forces you to think, to ask questions and to apply judgement. That is increasingly rare in a world moving towards standardisation and automation.

More Than Just Aviation

Even for those outside the aviation market, this type of work will feel familiar. The themes are the same across many specialist lines: complex risk, unusual exposures and the need for human judgement alongside technical analysis.

At its core, this is what insurance has always been about.

Aviation at Lloyd’s is not just about passenger jets flying predictable routes at cruising altitude. Sometimes it is about one aircraft, one mission and operating in conditions where there is very little room for error, for pilot, operator, manufacturer and everybody else in between.

That is the part of the market I work in, and it is why I find specialist aviation broking so compelling.

This article forms part of the ES Risks Specialist Series, where our brokers and technical specialists share insight into complex, non-standard risks across the Lloyd’s market.

If you would like to discuss a specialist or unusual risk, or simply want to continue the conversation, please get in touch with the ES Risks team.