Insurance and reinsurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London has launched a new space policy for the emerging private spaceflight industry.
The solution, called Llift Space, is backed by a consortium of 18 syndicates, led by Brit and Hiscox MGA, with a $25 million capacity per risk.
Only available in the Lloyd’s market, Llift Space will provide coverage for customer assets from the pre-launch phase, including transit and placement on the launch vehicle, through to the launch phase and in-orbit operation.
It is designed for satellites that weigh less than 300kg, and is targeted at the NewSpace sector.
NewSpace is characterised by lower cost, easier routes to space, which has opened up the sector to private enterprise and start-ups, and driven more demand for space insurance products.
Lloyd’s believes that the global space market could increase in value from $300 billion today to $1 trillion by 2040, driven by Newspace companies entering the sector.
“New aerospace companies and ventures are emerging all the time,” said Trevor Maynard, Lloyd’s Head of Innovation. “They are looking to develop faster and cheaper access to space and spaceflight. As they do so, they want access to easily scalable insurance that fits their needs and can be arranged quickly to support technological development and business growth.”
“Our new space consortium allows Lloyd’s to do this better than ever,” he continued. “The breadth and depth of space insurance knowledge among Lloyd’s underwriters and brokers means that Lloyd’s is the number one choice for both traditional and NewSpace insurance.”
Gary Brice, Head of Marine and Space for Lloyd’s managing agent Brit Global Specialty, which manages Llift Space with Hiscox, also commented: “Llift Space takes away the complexity of traditional space insurance and allows customers, in particular those in the NewSpace sector, to insure all the phases of their project with one policy.”
And finally, Pascal Lecointe, Head of Space for Hiscox, added: “Having two leading markets in the sector come together in a way that’s never been done before to create a genuinely innovative Lloyd’s product for this dynamic new industry, highlights the place Lloyd’s retains at the forefront of the global space insurance market.”
