The disappearance of Malaysian Airline flight MH370 could cost insurers up to $600m, Credit Suisse AG has reported.
Credit Suisse said the insurance loss for the aircraft hull is currently estimated to be $100m, while liability payments for passengers could reach up to $500m depending on the nationality and actual cause of the incident.
Total insurance losses could reach between $500m and $600m, the Switzerland-based financial service firm said.
The Malaysian flight disappeared last Saturday on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and investigators have yet to locate the aircraft or understand the cause of the loss.
Credit Suisse said: 'Air traffic controllers had lost communication shortly after the take-off and the pilots did not send an SOS call from the plane before it disappeared from radars.
'As certain information had indicated that the plane may have turned back after contact was lost, search efforts spanned from the Andaman Sea/Malacca Strait (west of Malaysia) to the Gulf of Thailand/South China Sea (east of Malaysia). Dozens of ships and planes from several nations have participated in the search.'
The Boeing 777-200 was carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers of 14 nationalities, the Credit Suisse report stated. Two thirds of passengers were Chinese.
The firm added: 'While initial information hinted at a possible terrorist plot due to two passengers on board with stolen passports, this was not confirmed and the cause of the disappearance is still unknown and will remain so until debris of the wreckage can be found and examined.'
