Some Baffling Insurance Policies Issued by Lloyd’s of London

20. Lloyd’s began insuring space exploration in 1965

Lloyd’s (as well as other insurers) began issuing policies on satellites launched by the United States in 1965, and since has insured satellites against loss for the civilian and commercial entities that own them. When satellites have malfunctioned or “gone dark” prematurely the company has paid its owners. It has also paid to retrieve the malfunctioning devices, in the hope that they could be repaired or refurbished, modernized, and sold to recoup the cost of their recovery (as well as some or all of the amount paid out to their original owner). In 1984 the US space shuttle Discovery flew on a mission in which part of the expenses was paid by Lloyd’s, for the task of recovering two such satellites.

The two satellites were the Palapa B-2, a communications satellite owned by Indonesia, and the Westar VI, a GPS satellite owned by the United States. Discovery recovered the satellites and they were sent to the original builder, Hughes Aircraft. In the end, with the costs for refurbishment included, Lloyd’s recovered about two-thirds of the money it spent when it resold the satellites, both of which returned to space in 1990. Lloyd’s was a pioneer in providing insurance to space missions, though the venture has continued to lose money as the cost of recouping losses has continued to increase over the history of space flight.