In-orbit insurance
Cover for satellite failures during its operational life in orbit, after the launch phase.
In-orbit insurance covers the failures and losses affecting a satellite during its operational life, once the launch and positioning phase is past. It protects against technical anomalies: payload failure, solar panel failure, premature propellant depletion, component degradation, or destruction by a debris or collision. Generally renewed each year over the satellite's life, it represents a different risk from launch insurance: the frequency of total losses is lower, but partial failures, which degrade capacity without destroying the satellite, pose complex damage-assessment questions. The proliferation of objects in orbit increases the risk of collision and debris damage, a long-term issue illustrated by the Kessler syndrome. For the underwriter, in-orbit insurance requires monitoring the technical health of insured satellites, assessing feedback by platform and component, and incorporating the growing degradation of the orbital environment. With launch insurance, it forms the core of space-asset cover.
Hypothetical case: a payload failure halving a telecommunications satellite's capacity triggers a partial indemnity under in-orbit insurance.
in-orbit insurance, in-orbit cover, operational satellite insurance
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