03 July 2025
Space Insurance Market Update Q2 2025
The space insurance market has finally shown signs of having turned the corner with competition for attractive risks starting to exert pressure on premium rates.
While insurers assess their portfolios and premium income year to date, the continued slow stream of “blue chip” launches coming to market and ongoing delays with several key programmes is driving many to open up their portfolios to more diverse risks. As such we are seeing an increased appetite for newer launch vehicles alongside a push to secure bigger shares of in-orbit programmes.
The gradually emerging confidence amongst insurers to get back in earnest to rating and writing risk is underpinned by potential reductions in the size of several major outstanding claims; for example, the mPower and SARah losses previously reported. Additionally, new capacity has begun to enter the market, with a handful of start-up ventures lined up to begin underwriting space risks before the end of the year. Consequently, we expect to see this more favourable environment for insurance buyers gather pace as we progress through 2025 and move into 2026.
We sat down with space industry veteran and widely recognised authority, Chris Kunstadter - now President at Triton Space LLC and previously Global Head of Space at AXAXL - to get his views on the current market, the challenges and opportunities he anticipates in the next 2 to 3 years, and how the insurance market can look to continue to support the space industry.
A Q&A with Triton Space LLC
We sat down with Chris Kunstadter, President at Triton Space LLC and previously Global Head of Space at AXA XL, to get his views on the current market, the challenges and opportunities he anticipates in the next 2 to 3 years, and how the insurance market can look to continue to support the space industry.
Q) For those readers who may be unfamiliar, could you please give a brief introduction and overview of your prior role at AXA XL and what you do now at Triton space?
I spent 40 years as a space insurer, managing a team of underwriters and a portfolio of space risks. At AXA XL, we had a team of six people, with strength in technical evaluation and expertise in policy wording construction. In 2024, I left AXA XL and set up a consultancy, Triton Space LLC, to help clients across the space industry and government agencies navigate the landscape of space risks and evaluate policy and regulatory issues.
Q) Based on your experience at both AXA XL and Triton Space LLC, how would you describe the last 3-5 years in the space insurance market?
As the market became increasingly competitive from 2012 to 2018, market premium declined by over 50%. Losses in 2018 and 2019 resulted in the market hardening, with several insurers leaving this class of business due to its volatility. Nonetheless, the annual premium from 2018 through 2024 did not recover to adequate levels, due to some clients electing to forego insurance, decreasing sums insured as satellites and launches became less expensive, and the market not maintaining the rate increases following 2019. The level of losses that the market then incurred in 2023 had not been seen in over 20 years, with more insurers leaving the market and rates once again increasing.
Q)Noting these challenges you outline, what do you feel are the areas that the market does well in, and which areas do you feel the market could improve on going forward?
The two dozen space insurers around the world represent a broad spectrum of insurance companies, from large, multi-line insurers to small MGAs specialising in space. Responses to recent market results have likewise been varied, with most leading insurers adjusting their appetite and their pricing. Insurers are in the business of accepting risk in return for appropriate premiums, and each insurer’s appetite and view of rate adequacy are different. In summary the market has done well in responding to the results and volatility, however going forward as the industry develops, insurers and brokers alike should look to develop new offerings to match the industries changing dynamics.
Q) Noting the recent hardening of the market (and the last hardening back in 2019 which then quickly softened in the years after) do you feel the market reacts appropriately in the event of poor results, and are these recent pricing increases sustainable?
The dynamics of the space insurance market are the result of a number of forces – changes in the underlying space industry as a result of fewer GEO satellites, cheaper satellites and launches, and more constellations with their inherent redundancy; increasing interest rates offering better and more stable returns than volatile lines of insurance; and the general insurance market response to pandemics, climate change, cyber threats, and geopolitical instability. The reduction in market capacity since 2018 has certainly given the market more headroom for rate increases, though some insurers are unwilling to commit capacity due, perhaps, to their managements’ reluctance to pursue volatile lines of business.
Q) One of the biggest challenges we see for the market is the slowdown in large GEO communication orders with the industry moving towards smaller satellites and LEO constellations. How do you feel the insurance market will adapt to this, do you expect that LEO constellations will look to purchase more insurance as the products available become more suitable?
In the early days of commercial constellations, some operators developed “system” coverages that kicked in after a certain number of losses. Today, constellations have inherent redundancy, so operators often do not feel the need to manage their risks through insurance, opt instead for additional capacity on orbit. The bifurcation of sums insured (a smaller number of large, high-value satellites and increasing numbers of small satellites with low values) has resulted in a market portfolio with a lack of balance. There is no single solution to this changing market profile; rather, individual insurers must continue to seek out a broader portfolio while maintaining a balance of risks.
Q) Looking forward to the future, which areas of the space industry do you feel will benefit the most from insurance and risk management, and how will they benefit?
In the future, we will see more government procurement of commercial products and services, which may bring more civil and national security business to the insurance market. Additionally, in-orbit servicing will bring new opportunities for satellite inspection and repair, life extension, and much more. Many of these services have the opportunity to benefit insurers and clients and potentially mitigate insurance claims.
Q) How do you foresee the regulatory landscape impacting the space insurance market in the coming years?
In the U.S., there is no statutory requirement for satellite operators to insure their liability on orbit. While there have been proposals for such a requirement, and while many countries do have such requirements, in-orbit liability insurance remains rare. Given the planned number of satellites to be launched, as well as the increasing risk of collision in orbit, policymakers may finally decide that the time for a liability regime in orbit has arrived.
Q) Are there any innovative insurance products or solutions you foresee emerging in the space industry to address new risks?
Q) There are a number of very large projects such as commercial space stations and space solar energy that, if insured, may require significantly more capacity than is currently available. With this contrasting with the increase in small sat projects requiring only a fraction of the available capacity, how do you feel the market may change to accommodate both of these very different project types?
I am working with several clients to develop new risk management solutions, including insurance for new and emerging risks. For example, one area of focus for me is working with government agencies to increase their understanding of risk management from a commercial viewpoint and work through potential solutions, including space insurance.
With commercial programs in Earth orbit as well as in cislunar space and beyond, I imagine that there will be an increasing need for insurance for these large, complex, one-off projects. The insurance capacity requirements of some of these programs will certainly exceed today’s market capacity, which may result in development of new sources of risk capital and, perhaps, government involvement in risk-sharing in pursuit of national goals. The issue, though, is that these programs will be few and far-between, further skewing the insurers’ portfolio of risks.
Q) Over the last few years, the broader commercial space industry seems to be much more willing to embrace new technology both with satellite technologies and newer launch vehicles. How could the insurance industry evolve so that insurance for these projects is much more accessible?
Insurers have been quite responsive and willing to insure new technologies. Nonetheless, they recognize that early deployment of new technologies carries more risk than mature systems. As with all lines of insurance, there is a compression of pricing such that the best (e.g. mature) risks pay more than their calculated technical failure rate would suggest, while newer, untested risks pay less than experience would indicate.
Q) From an insurers point of view, what would you recommend to a policyholder who is looking to approach the space insurance market for the first time?
Start early, be thorough and transparent, and work with key partners - such as an insurance broker - to develop a firm understanding of available capacity and pricing.
Q) Do you believe there are any areas in the space industry which are currently underinsured, if so, what cover should policyholders be considering more and/or the insurance market be offering?
The space insurance market has been quick to offer solutions for all types of space risks. With the changing dynamics of the space industry, we have seen potential clients consider alternatives to insurance, such as reduction (e.g. through redundancy) and retention (e.g. through self-insurance). Through my four decades in the market, I saw many attempts to create new ways to write space insurance, but the volatility and the changing applications and technologies always brought us back to the underlying fact that space is risky.
As the space industry evolves and the space insurance market completes its recovery from a turbulent period, an exciting journey lies ahead characterised by an abundance of both opportunity and challenge.
Echoing Chris Kunstadter’s comment, Gallagher fully agrees that those entering the space insurance market should engage early, maintain transparency and work alongside a qualified insurance broker with the required experience and knowledge to understand and deliver the best cover and pricing available from the market.
We believe Gallagher is the ideal partner to support in this endeavour, offering comprehensive assistance and a proven track record in securing the innovative and cost-effective solutions needed to meet a range of different risk management profiles.
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