Shares in Allianz have dropped 1.6 per cent after it emerged that Germany’s biggest insurance company was the lead re-insurer of the AirAsia airliner that has disappeared off Indonesia.

It is the third major aviation accident of this year for Allianz, which also re-insured Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which vanished over the Indian Ocean in March, and MH17, which was downed in eastern Ukraine in July.

• Who is AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes?
• AirAsia search finds oil slick
• The faces of QZ8501: how they met their fate

“We can confirm that as Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, we are the lead re-insurer for AirAsia,” it said in a statement on Monday, adding that the policies covered both the plane hull and liability.

“It is too early to comment on the incident,” the company said.

“We can only say that our thoughts and prayers are with all the people affected by the disappearance of AirAsia QZ8501.”

Allianz said it was co-operating with brokers and other re-insurers in the consortium that backstops AirAsia’s insurers, but could not give out more details because of confidentiality of contracts.

Kuala Lumpur-listed shares in AirAsia shed 12 per cent at one point on news of the crash but they recovered slightly to be down 8.50 per cent at the close.