Who we insure
Space
For companies building spacecraft, launch vehicles, ground stations and the components inside them. The program is staged: build, pre-launch, launch, and in orbit, with a specialist market for the flight itself.
What coverage you need, and why
A space company needs the ordinary program first, because that is what leases, suppliers and investors ask for: general liability, property for the cleanroom and its contents, equipment coverage for flight hardware on the bench and in transit, workers' compensation, tech E&O when the deliverable is data, and directors and officers at the priced round. The space line itself arrives with the mission: pre-launch coverage once flight hardware exists, launch coverage for the flight and the first period in orbit, in-orbit coverage for the operating life, and third-party liability for harm on the ground.
Ten of the lines we place answer the ground. The flight is different. Launch and in-orbit coverage is quoted mission by mission by a small specialist market that reads the vehicle, the orbit, the bus and the flight history of the design, and we bring that market in for the flight.
Why space is staged
Flight hardware is exposed the day it exists. A satellite dropped in the cleanroom, damaged in a vibration test or lost on a truck to the integration site is a property or equipment claim, and neither policy responds if flight hardware was never described to the underwriter or the transit clause stops at the loading dock.
The launch itself is the concentrated risk: the whole value of the spacecraft rides on one event. Launch insurance, when bought, pays that value on a failure and usually runs through an early in-orbit period. In-orbit coverage follows for the operating years. Third-party liability for damage on the ground is separate, and for a licensed launch the FAA sets the amount.
We place the ground program with insurers who write hardware and labs, place the flight with the specialist space market, and read the interfaces between the two so a loss on the pad does not fall between a property form and a launch policy.
What launch providers, licences and customers require
A licensed launch or reentry carries a federal financial responsibility requirement. Under 14 CFR 440.9 the licensee must obtain liability insurance for third-party bodily injury and property damage and separate coverage for damage to United States government property, in amounts the FAA sets from its determination of maximum probable loss, capped at the lesser of $500 million or the maximum available for third parties and the lesser of $100 million or the maximum available for government property. The launch provider usually holds that policy, and a rideshare or dedicated launch contract says how the customer sits under it.
Launch contracts ask the customer for a waiver of claims among launch participants and for evidence of the customer's own liability program. Investors and customers ask whether the spacecraft is insured for launch, and the answer is a business decision: many small satellites fly uninsured, and a constellation may self-insure a share of its fleet.
On the ground, the asks are ordinary. A cleanroom lease wants general liability and property coverage; a component supplier's terms want products coverage; a data customer wants tech E&O; a test range wants a certificate naming it.
What it costs
We don't publish a number. Premiums come back from the carriers' underwriters for your operation, and any figure we printed here would be a guess dressed as a fact.
Launch and in-orbit premiums are quoted as a rate on the insured value, per mission, and the rate moves with the launch vehicle's record, the satellite bus, the orbit and the market's recent losses. Pages that print a rate range rarely date it, and we will not cite one here until we can. Ground-program pricing follows the same drivers as any hardware lab.
What to watch for in the wording
On the property and equipment policies, read the definition of covered property for flight hardware, the in-transit clause for the trip to the integration site and the pad, and the testing exclusion, which can remove a loss during vibration or thermal-vacuum testing. Flight hardware needs to be named at its value, and the schedule has to move as it is built.
On the launch policy, read the attachment point (intentional ignition is the usual one), the in-orbit period included, the definition of total and partial loss, and the exclusions for launch delays, which are not covered by a launch policy. On an in-orbit policy, read the loss triggers, the deductible expressed in capacity or performance, and any exclusion for the failure mode your design has already shown.
On third-party liability, read the waiver of claims you signed with the launch provider against the liability program you hold, and confirm the government property coverage and the third-party coverage the licence requires are in place before the launch date, since a licence condition missed on the pad is a launch not flown.
The lines that anchor the program
Click through the lines a company like yours usually carries, and what each one answers.
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Space
Your spacecraft is damaged before launch, lost on the way up, or stops working in orbit. This pays to replace it, and answers claims from the ground.
Comes up: Your first launch contract; the slot and the licence ask for liability cover first.
What it coversHow to buy it
Tell us what you build, what exists today, when it flies and on what, and what the launch contract and the lease require. The application builds the ground submission the way a hardware underwriter needs it, and a licensed broker places it and brings the specialist space market in for the mission itself.
Quotes come back with the forms. We read the ground policies and the flight policies side by side, show you where a loss on the bench, on the truck, on the pad and in orbit would land, and put the liability piece in place before the licence needs it.
Common questions
What does space insurance actually cover, and do we need it before a launch date?
It follows the spacecraft: pre-launch on the ground, the launch and early orbit, and the operating years in orbit, with third-party liability alongside. Ground and transit exposure begins as soon as flight hardware exists. The liability piece has a deadline set by the licence and the launch contract.
We build hardware, we don't launch. Is any of this for us?
The ground program is. Flight hardware in your cleanroom and in transit is exposed now, and a component supplier is asked for products coverage by every customer. The flight itself is the customer's placement.
Who holds the third-party liability for a launch?
The licensee, usually the launch provider, under 14 CFR 440.9, in an amount the FAA sets from its maximum probable loss determination. Your launch contract says how you sit under that policy and what you waive in return.
Should a seed-stage satellite company buy launch insurance?
It is a business decision. No rule requires it. Many small satellites fly uninsured, and investors sometimes ask for it and sometimes do not. Buy the ground program first, and decide on the flight when the launch contract and the spacecraft value are known.
Why is a launch quoted so differently from our other policies?
Underwriters price one mission at a time. They read the orbit, the propulsion, the launch vehicle and the flight history of the design, so the answer comes back per mission.
Is a launch delay covered?
Not by a launch policy. A delay is a contract and cash-flow problem, and the launch policy attaches at ignition. Read the launch contract for what the provider owes you on a slip.
Does a ground station need anything special?
Mostly the ordinary program: property for the antennas and equipment, general liability for the site, and tech E&O if customers rely on the data you pass through. Antennas on a roof or a leased site need the lease's certificate too.
Terms
See also
Sources
This page describes coverage in general terms. It is not an offer of insurance, and carrier appetite, policy wording, licensing, and availability govern every quote and every claim. Last revised 2026-09-12.