What Would It Cost To Insure The International Space Station?

Congratulations to Chris Hadfield for living the dream of space colonization and for serving as a Canadian representative in the most foreign jurisdiction humanly possible.  Chris has been very engaging with the rest of us Earth-dwellers – such as using Twitter to send photos of Earth from space to his followers, and speaking via satellite to schools and the media while floating around in zero gravity.

In an interview with Peter Mansbridge, Chris said that the International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth so fast that he sees up to 16 sunrises each day.  According to the Canadian Space Agency, the ISS weighs over 860,000 pounds, and that doesn’t even include the Soyuz shuttle docked at the station.

Many people are unaware there is such a thing as space insurance, and how coverage for launching satellites has been crucial to the development of space exploration.  The LowestRates.ca team was curious about space insurance and if the ISS should have space coverage – so we went looking for details in order to learn more about space insurance:

• Space insurance began in the 1970s when commercial satellites helped build the long-distance phone network
• The industry expanded in the 1980s when satellites were transferred from the space shuttle onto less secure and dispensable launch vehicles
• In 2001, the space insurance industry was worth over $2 billion, in part because insurance rates were increasing due to financial losses near the end of the millennium
• Average space insurance rates vary from 4 percent up to 25 percent depending on the satellite

An average annual car insurance plan can cost approximately $2,000 to $3,000 a year, depending on the model of the car and the driver behind the wheel.  But how much would it cost to properly insure the space shuttle or the ISS?

LowestRates.ca helps Canadians find the most affordable car, home and life insurance rates – no space insurance plans yet.  Most site users are found on the ground, but the team is always welcoming expansion opportunities – even from outer space if Chris would like to try the site.