Lufthansa’s insurers are putting aside $300 million to cover the costs of last week’s fatal Germanwings plane crash, the company said Tuesday.
Its main insurer, Allianz, together with co-insurers, will be responsible for a variety of payments including the costs associated with the recovery and compensation for victims’ families.
The lion’s share of what’s been set aside is likely for the families, said Brian Alexander, partner at aviation law firm Kreindler & Kreindler.
Authorities have said that copilot Andreas Lubitz purposely crashed the plane, killing all 150 people on board.
The airline is initially paying victims’ families up to $50,000 per passenger to deal with the immediate costs.
It’s too early to tell how much the crash will end up costing Lufthansa and its insurers.
Final payouts to survivors will vary widely depending on a victim’s nationality, age and employment status.
French prosecutors are already considering a charge of manslaughter. They have found that Lubitz, 27, had been treated for a mental illness. He told his Lufthansa flight training school in 2009 that he had a “previous episode of severe depression.”
–Alanna Petroff contributed reporting for this story.
