The aviation market appears to have stabilised following years of softening as underwriters appear to be holding a firmer position, according to London-listed broker JLT.

"From our analysis, it is evident that premium and/or rate reductions have slowed and in some cases are no longer obtainable," JLT said in its latest Plane Talking report.

"Looking ahead, with knowledge of a number of these future renewals that are in the early stages of negotiations, it would appear that for the moment at least the market is holding firm," the broker continued.

It said that the early indications of change that it witnessed at the end of 2016 appear to have had some weight. “From our experience the market has certainly hardened to some degree, although perhaps not as much as some would have hoped or feared,” the broker continued.

According to JLT, although ‘Tier A’ carriers are still most likely to receive the better renewal results, it would appear that the high double-digit rate reductions that were once considered normal for these risks are now few and far between. This in turn has filtered through to ‘Tiers B and C’ and these renewals are now also experiencing tougher pressure and subsequently less favourable outcome than they might have expected 12-24 months ago.

There were few significant aviation claims in the first four-and-a-half months of 2017. The only hull total loss came from a Turkish Airlines-operated Boeing 747 cargo plane that crashed in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and killd 39 people. However, as this was a cargo plane, JLT said the value of the claim is set to be "relatively low".