The Shenzhou 16 manned spaceflight mission started the 11th Chinese journey into space. On May 30, 2023, Beijing time, three Chinese astronauts, Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, and Gui Haichao, successfully entered space under the escort of the “Shenjian” Long March 2F Yao16 carrier rocket and Shenzhou 16. , starting a sky survey tour lasting about 5 months.
Over the past 30 years, while the progress of scientific and technological strength has helped the aerospace industry, the role played by the insurance industry cannot be ignored. Aerospace insurance has played an important role in risk protection in China’s journey to pursue its dream of space. How is the current development of China’s aviation insurance market? Looking into the future, how to further meet the needs of more specialized and personalized aerospace support?
According to CCTV news, on May 30, 2023 Beijing time, the Long March 2F Yao 16 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft was ignited and launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The crew of the astronauts was in good condition and the launch was a success. success.
Huge scale, complex operation, huge cost, concentrated risk… have always been the labels of aerospace system engineering. With the continuous maturity of aerospace technology and new progress in space missions, China’s aerospace industry has become a proud national business card. Behind this, aerospace insurance has become an indispensable and important means to resolve the risks of aerospace projects.
Aerospace insurance refers to the insurance that the policyholder and the insurer shall be liable for compensation for various losses caused by accidents that may occur during the entire space launch process in accordance with the agreement in the insurance contract. There are two forms of co-insurance and reinsurance (reinsurance) in aerospace insurance.
Judging from the actions of various insurance companies involved in aerospace insurance, PICC signed the first domestic aerospace insurance policy in 1985, and has provided risk protection for more than 150 satellites. In 2021, PICC P&C Beijing Branch also exclusively underwrote the on-orbit life insurance project of the “Tianwen-1” Mars rover.
Not only PICC, but also insurance companies represented by Ping An Property & Casualty and CPIC Property & Casualty have also set foot in the field of aerospace insurance. From underwriting 3 aerospace insurance businesses in 1994 to more than 40 in 2020, Ping An Property & Casualty has provided aerospace insurance business for more than 120 satellites and rockets.
From the 1990s in the 1990s, CPIC Property & Casualty underwrote or participated in the four consecutive underwriting of the 14th to 17th launches of the Jianbing-1 satellite. In recent years, CPIC Property & Casualty has been the chief underwriter of Gaojing-1 01/02 satellite, Xingyun Satellite launch insurance projects such as No. 2, Qilu No. 1, and Beijing No. 3. CPIC P/C has also participated in almost all commercially insured national major satellite launch projects.
Industry insiders pointed out that spacecraft such as satellites, bombs, arrows, and ships generally have to go through multiple links such as research and development, testing, final assembly, and transportation before launch, and accidents may occur in each link. For example, a rocket may fail after ignition; a spacecraft and its components may also cause property damage and personal injury when entering the atmosphere. Space insurance can provide economic security for the launch party, and is an effective way to manage the economic risks of space activities.
Judging from the development history of China’s aerospace insurance market, it basically began to conceive officially in the 1980s, and entered the first year of marketization of China’s aerospace insurance in 2004. This year, the former China Insurance Regulatory Commission agreed that policyholders could arrange insurance and reinsurance business for satellite launches on the basis of their own choice and in accordance with commercial principles. Since then, the domestic aerospace insurance field has entered a period of “half policy, half market”.
Looking forward to the future, China will face an important historical juncture from a space power to a space power, and commercial space will also usher in greater development, all of which put forward new and higher requirements for space insurance.
“With the development of rocket and satellite technology, the functions of satellites are becoming more and more abundant, and the relationship between the production and life of the people is getting closer and closer, and the risks related to spaceflight will become more and more complex and diverse. Therefore, we will increase our efforts in product development and innovation. It is necessary.” Li Wenzhong, deputy director of the Rural Insurance Research Institute of Capital University of Economics and Business, said.
The core of aerospace insurance business is risk assessment, which directly determines the premium rate of the insurance contract. At present, the number of domestically launched spacecraft and the number of accidents are limited, and it is difficult to form credible statistical laws. In this regard, some insiders said that aerospace insurance has the characteristics of high single value, relatively concentrated risks, and a small number of risk targets, which does not conform to the basic principle of insurance, the “law of large numbers”.
This means that in order to effectively control aerospace insurance premium rates and ensure the development of emerging commercial aerospace companies, it is necessary to increase business model innovation and strive to develop risk management products that meet individual needs. However, in Li Wenzhong’s view, there is almost no necessary relationship between increasing product development and innovation and improving insurance product pricing. Because the basic rule of insurance product pricing is the law of large numbers, the large number here is the requirement for “dangerous units”. For most related insurance products, it is the number of spacecraft. No matter how innovative the insurance product is, the number cannot be changed in the short term. Insufficient reality.
“However, from the perspective of risk management, there are still many ways.” Li Wenzhong said, let the insurer as “big number” as possible, realize the spread of risk among more insurers, so as to avoid the loss of an accident Huge losses have an impact on the operating stability of insurance companies, and the common method is to use mutual insurance and reinsurance to achieve this goal. When necessary, the issuance of relevant bonds can also be considered to use the capital market to achieve risk diversification.
As for how to further expand the coverage of aerospace insurance and better provide insurance protection for China Aerospace, Li Wenzhong said that to improve the coverage of China Aerospace insurance projects is mainly to develop and design relevant insurance products according to the risk protection needs of relevant entities. For example, in addition to the traditional spacecraft manufacturing insurance, pre-launch insurance, and on-orbit life insurance, the insurance liability can be further extended to the personal protection of relevant staff, third-party liability protection from spacecraft manufacturing to launch, and space experiments. guarantee, satellite commercial service liability guarantee and other fields.
