Jan 26, 2022
Richard Parker is the Divisional President and Co-Founder of Assure Space, an underwriting agency that provides insurance for all aspects of the space industry including traditional launch and in-orbit launch vehicles and satellites. He’s been in the space industry for the last 35 years and shares what’s happening in this exciting industry in this week’s episode!
Key Takeaways
- How does someone get into space insurance?
- Richard shares his extensive background and what he’s up to today with Assure Space.
- In this context, space insurance is covering the asset in space and how it got there.
- Most of Richard’s business is in the commercial sector and not in the public/government sector.
- When would an insurance claim be fulfilled in this industry?
- In a good year, a satellite company might only sell 4‒5 spacecraft in a year.
- Quality control is incredibly thorough in this industry. There can’t be room for error, which is good for the space insurance industry because it means there is a very small failure rate.
- What questions do you ask before insuring a spacecraft?
- Where is this industry headed in the next five years?
- Richard shares his thoughts on how the insurance industry can be more exciting for young talent.
- So many people do not know space insurance even exists. Education and publicity are key.
- What does Richard wish he’d known sooner about his industry?
Keep Getting Better
Quotes
“When we talk about space insurance, we’re really talking about first-party insurance.”
“When I think about space insurance, I think we’re really lucky to be covering satellites and rockets. The satellite manufacturer industry is very competitive.”
“This is exciting. It’s never stopped being exciting. We were the first insurer to provide hardware on a space station. It’s never ending, the space station insurance business.”