© 2010 Rapid TV News
Chris Forrester ©RapidTVNews | 30-11-2009
Considering that every time a rocket launches with a satellite on board the combined cost of the launch is some $250m, and that they frequently fail, the need for insurance cover is crucial.
This year it seems the space insurance business might even make a profit, especially if no rocket suffers a catastrophic failure for the rest of the month. Aon International Space Brokers, a major supplier of insurance cover for the satellite industry, says those profits might top $400m this year, and making it another highly profitable year for the sector.
There have been losses this year, amounting to between $400m-$450m, but the overall premiums paid by satellite owners topped $800m for the first 9 months of the year. The insurance itself covers an ‘all risks' type of policy as well as premiums covering the actual life of the satellite (in case it fails during its early period in space, or during its life).
These past 3 months have seen five major launches (two aboard Ariane 5s, a pair of ILS/Proton launches and one aboard China's Long March 3B rocket. It seems Aon's clients were involved in four of these efforts), which according to News Insurances.com generated an estimated $154.6m of premium income for the space insurance market. "The Long March 3B launch fell short of the target orbit due to a third stage anomaly but engineers managed to manoeuvre the Palapa D spacecraft to the correct orbit which resulted in a loss of only one third of the spacecraft life," says News Insurances.
Clive Smith, Aon's space business unit leader, said: "Demand for satellite communication capacity continues to grow, from delivering broadband and television to surveying the earth for pollution, resources and disaster monitoring. The recession made it more difficult for some operators and particularly new projects to raise capital but nevertheless there are a number of interesting projects that are still progressing well. The health of the insurance industry means it's well positioned to support satellite programmes by providing sufficient capacity to satisfy investor requirements."
© Rapid TV News 2009
