Commercial Space Insurance Embraces Golden Period! Insurers Mobilize to Break Through Challenges

From communication and navigation to autonomous driving and space tourism, as commercial space applications continue to expand, the insurance industry for commercial spaceflight also faces broad development opportunities.

The 2026 government work report explicitly listed aerospace as a new pillar industry for the first time and specifically emphasized “accelerating the development of satellite internet,” opening up vast growth space for commercial space activities. At the same time, industry development faces challenges such as high R&D risks, substantial capital investment, and long return cycles.

Against this backdrop, the rigid demand for risk protection in commercial spaceflight is rapidly increasing. Industry insiders believe that China’s commercial space industry is entering a golden development period, with insurance demand expected to grow explosively. Customized insurance products targeting large-scale constellation networking and commercial crewed spaceflight are expected to become new growth drivers.

Demand for Commercial Space Insurance Will Grow Rapidly

In recent years, the global space economy has continued to grow. Statistics show that by 2025, China’s space economy will have increased by nearly 10% year-on-year, with commercial space activities accounting for nearly 80%. In 2025, approximately 315 orbital launches were completed worldwide, a record high, up about 24% from 2024.

China’s commercial space sector has also entered a rapid development stage. According to the statistical bulletin from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2025, there were 92 space launches, including 50 commercial launches. Commercial space has become a key driver of China’s increasing launch numbers.

From a market size perspective, CCID Consulting data indicates that China’s commercial space market reached 2.83 trillion yuan in 2025 and is projected to reach 3.5 trillion yuan in 2026, with annual growth rates exceeding 20%.

Xiangcai Securities analysts believe that under the guidance of the “14th Five-Year Plan” for a strong space nation, domestic policies, capital, and technology are forming a synergy, pushing commercial space from the technology validation stage toward large-scale, commercial operations.

Guosheng Securities analysts note that China’s space industry is entering an acceleration phase driven by both policy and market forces. Commercial space has become a key engine, with many companies working on reusable rocket technology and planning high-frequency launches to support satellite internet networking. Meanwhile, the country is actively promoting space station applications and crewed lunar missions, aiming to compete internationally. The industry ecosystem is shifting from lagging behind to leading the way.

As a crucial tool for risk transfer and loss compensation, insurance’s role in the rapid development of commercial spaceflight will become increasingly prominent.

Shihequn, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Group Business Unit at Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance, stated that this year’s government work report for the first time listed aerospace as a new pillar industry and proposed accelerating the development of satellite internet, creating broad opportunities for commercial space insurance.

From an institutional perspective, insurance can provide core protections for commercial space enterprises: first, asset loss coverage, including accidental damages to rockets, satellites, and other physical assets during R&D, testing, launch, and in-orbit operation; second, liability risk coverage, including third-party damages during launches, signal interference or debris falling during satellite operation, and legal liabilities; third, contract performance guarantees, such as risks of breach due to supply chain disruptions or launch delays.

Shihequn believes that future growth in the space insurance market will mainly focus on emerging fields such as satellite internet constellation construction, routine commercial rocket launches, in-orbit services and space applications, and deep space exploration.

“Currently, China’s domestic commercial space industry is experiencing a golden period with an annual compound growth rate exceeding 25%. Insurance demand will grow explosively, especially for customized products targeting large-scale constellation networking and commercial crewed spaceflight,” he said.

It is worth noting that in November 2025, the China National Space Administration issued the “Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality and Safe Development of Commercial Space (2025–2027),” which mentions establishing a mandatory insurance system for commercial space activities, including third-party liability insurance and other commercial insurances, to implement compensation responsibilities for space object owners, launch providers, and operators. The introduction of this policy further enhances the development prospects of commercial space insurance.

Opportunities and Challenges Coexist

Although the prospects for commercial space insurance are broad, many challenges remain. While China’s commercial space industry has reached a scale of trillions of yuan, the premium scale for space insurance is only about 800 million yuan, with coverage still insufficient.

Shihequn analyzes that potential gaps mainly lie in four areas: first, experimental risks and prototype damages during R&D are not yet widely covered; second, insurance coverage during launch and in-orbit phases often falls below actual asset values, especially for high-value satellites and constellation projects; third, third-party liability insurance has high premium rates, leading to low corporate willingness to insure; fourth, indirect risks such as supply chain disruptions and revenue losses are not adequately covered. From the entire chain—R&D, manufacturing, launch, in-orbit operation, to third-party liability—rigid protection gaps still exist, such as risks of key component supply interruptions or early satellite decommissioning.

Meanwhile, the commercial space industry features high risks, high investments, and long cycles, posing additional challenges for the development of space insurance.

Shihequn points out that first, rapid technological iteration makes risk assessment difficult, with limited historical data affecting pricing accuracy; second, high coverage amounts and high payout risks limit the capacity of individual insurers; third, fluctuations in the international reinsurance market could transmit to domestic markets; fourth, enterprises’ awareness of insurance is still developing, and mandatory insurance systems need time to implement.

Currently, the domestic commercial space insurance market is highly concentrated, with leading institutions like Ping An occupying dominant positions. Through co-insurance pools and reinsurance cooperation, the market supply structure is forming.

In March 2025, under guidance from relevant Beijing regulatory agencies, 17 property insurance companies, 2 reinsurance firms, and 1 insurance intermediary in Beijing jointly established the nation’s first commercial space insurance co-insurance pool—the “Beijing Commercial Space Insurance Co-insurance Pool.” By the end of December 2025, it had provided risk coverage for nearly 7.7 billion yuan across 17 launch projects.

Shihequn believes that as commercial space technology matures and application scenarios expand, the space insurance industry will evolve along the following trends: first, product systems will shift from single insurance types to comprehensive financial solutions, with closer integration of insurance, banking, and securities; second, data sharing mechanisms will be gradually established, promoting risk pricing from experience-based judgments to actuarial models; third, policy support will increase, such as mandatory insurance and premium subsidies, stimulating market demand; fourth, international reinsurance cooperation will deepen, with China poised to become an Asian hub for space insurance.

Multi-Dimensional Solutions to the “High Risk—High Cost” Dilemma

Faced with rapid technological iteration and diverse scenarios, industry expert Shihequn suggests that insurers need multi-dimensional innovation to enhance protection capabilities.

For example, in product innovation, insurers should develop comprehensive coverage across the entire lifecycle, such as R&D trial insurance, launch insurance, in-orbit operation insurance, and revenue loss insurance.

The key to solving the “high risk—high cost” problem in commercial space insurance lies in expanding underwriting capacity and optimizing risk pricing.

Ping An’s approaches include: first, leveraging international reinsurance networks to introduce global underwriting capacity and increase single-project coverage limits; second, forming co-insurance pools with multiple domestic insurers to diversify risks; third, utilizing technology to reduce risk exposure and lower actual loss probabilities, creating conditions for rate reductions. In product design, Ping An has launched customized “one enterprise, one policy” solutions, dynamically adjusting rates based on technological maturity and historical launch data.

Shihequn states that as launch frequency increases and data accumulates, pricing models will shift from static to dynamic, incorporating machine learning algorithms for precise underwriting. Additionally, Ping An is exploring inclusive insurance products linked to policy subsidies to lower entry barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Recently, Ping An announced the industry’s first comprehensive financial solution combining “insurance protection + capital infusion + capital support” to support commercial space development. Shihequn said that through this integrated financial approach, Ping An aims to connect property insurance, banking, securities, and other institutions, creating a “one-entry, full-response” collaborative mechanism to address the industry’s three major pain points: fear of failure, inability to wait, and slow growth, thereby promoting high-quality development.

Furthermore, industry experts advocate for improving the commercial space insurance system by: first, establishing national or local space risk compensation funds to cover over-claims and boost market confidence; second, supporting the formation of industry-wide co-insurance pools or joint ventures through policy guidance to expand underwriting capacity and prioritize reinsurance channels; third, building a commercial space risk database that consolidates launch and in-orbit operation data for precise actuarial pricing, while strengthening data security; fourth, leveraging Shanghai International Reinsurance Center to streamline international reinsurance transactions and attract more global capital, enhancing domestic underwriting capacity.

Layout: Liu Junyu

Proofreading: Pan Da