Insurance is the only effective shield protecting the aviation industry from the financial consequences of accident. In this, the aviation industry is not much different from many other industries. However, the London aviation insurance market, consisting of Lloyd’s underwriters and companies specializing in the necessary covers, was the first to provide them. It is now only a part of a globalized aviation insurance industry providing capacity for this class of business through primary and reinsurance contracts. London was, however, and remains, the centre and London-drafted aviation insurance contract terms and London market practice still form the basis of the great majority of covers placed worldwide.

Until the first edition of Margo appeared in 1980, there had been no statement in any organized form of this branch of the law and practice. Aviation Insurance provided a complete, coherent and easily read guide which was useful to insurance professionals, insurance buyers and lawyers alike in bringing together all the standard statutory and case material and referring it directly to the aviation environment. The shortcomings of the first edition were that it was, perhaps, too summary, leaving the reader with questions of great detail to answer to research further in the specialist insurance textbooks in which issues of general principle