Trillion-yuan Blue Ocean Takes Off! In the Commercial Space 2.0 Era, How Can the Insurance Industry "Reach for the Stars"?

The Era of China’s Commercial Spaceflight 2.0 Begins! By December 2025, there will be over 90,000 related enterprises in China’s commercial space industry. Represented by “China Star Network” and “Qianfan Constellation,” more than 10,000 low Earth orbit satellite internet constellations are accelerating network deployment, creating a massive demand for large-scale transportation capacity.

At the industry positioning level, the 2026 government work report designates aerospace as a new pillar industry. With policy support, the rapid development of the commercial space industry urgently requires the insurance sector to provide comprehensive, full-lifecycle protection services, leveraging financial strength to ensure high-quality growth of the industry.

What insurance needs exist in the commercial space sector, and how will the insurance industry embrace opportunities and face challenges? A relevant executive from Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance recently told the “Daily Economic News” that China’s commercial space industry is currently entering a golden growth period with an annual compound growth rate exceeding 25%. Insurance demand is expected to surge, especially for customized insurance products targeting large-scale constellation networking and commercial crewed spaceflight, which will become new growth drivers.

Trillion-Yuan Industry: Significant Protection Gaps Remain

Currently, China’s commercial space industry has reached a trillion-yuan scale, with an annual compound growth rate of over 25%, entering a golden development period. The insurance industry has also built a basic protection system for commercial space enterprises.

At present, insurance can provide three core protections for commercial space companies: first, asset loss coverage, including accidental damage to physical assets like rockets and satellites during R&D, testing, launch, and in-orbit operation; second, liability risk coverage, including third-party damage during launch, signal interference, or debris fall during satellite operation; third, contract performance coverage, such as risks of breach due to supply chain disruptions or launch delays.

Although a preliminary protection system has been established, the commercial space insurance market still lags behind. Industry data shows that current space insurance premiums are only about 800 million yuan, with severely inadequate coverage and low demand satisfaction, leaving multiple rigid protection gaps along the entire chain.

Insiders point out that the main gaps are in four areas: first, experimental risks and prototype losses during R&D are not widely covered; second, insured amounts during launch and in-orbit phases are often below actual asset values, especially for high-value satellites and constellation projects; third, third-party liability insurance has high premiums, reducing companies’ willingness to insure; fourth, indirect risks such as supply chain disruptions and revenue losses lack coverage. From R&D, manufacturing, launch, in-orbit operation to third-party liability, there are still rigid protection gaps, such as risks of key component supply interruptions and premature satellite decommissioning.

On the top-level design front, in November 2025, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) established a Commercial Space Office. In the same month, the “Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality and Safe Development of Commercial Space Activities (2025–2027)” proposed establishing a mandatory insurance system for commercial space activities, bringing policy support to fill protection gaps and expand insurance coverage.

High-Risk Sector: Challenges in Risk Pricing

Space insurance features the “three highs”: high coverage amounts, high value, and high risk. The characteristics of the commercial space industry pose multiple industry challenges for the insurance sector, becoming significant obstacles to developing space insurance business.

Specifically, industry insiders note that rapid technological iteration in commercial space leads to difficulties in risk assessment due to a lack of historical data, affecting pricing accuracy. The “high coverage, high payout” risk limits the capacity of individual insurers. Additionally, fluctuations in the international reinsurance market may transmit to the domestic market.

To address the issues of low insured amounts and high premiums, a relevant Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance executive said that the key to solving the “high risk—high cost” dilemma lies in expanding underwriting capacity and optimizing risk pricing. In practice, Ping An adopts several strategies: first, leveraging the global reinsurance network to introduce international underwriting capacity and increase single-project coverage limits; second, forming co-insurance groups with multiple domestic insurers to diversify risk; third, using technological tools to reduce risk and lower actual loss probabilities, creating conditions for premium reductions.

In product design, Ping An has launched customized “one enterprise, one policy” solutions that dynamically adjust premiums based on technological maturity and historical launch records. As commercial space launch frequency increases and data accumulates, pricing models will shift from static to dynamic, incorporating machine learning algorithms for precise underwriting.

Notably, establishing a commercial space insurance co-insurance consortium—integrating multiple underwriters and professional resources—has become a practical path for sustainable industry development. In March 2025, under the guidance of the Beijing Financial Regulatory Bureau, 17 property insurance institutions, 2 reinsurance companies, and 1 insurance intermediary in Beijing jointly formed the country’s first commercial space insurance co-insurance organization—the “Beijing Commercial Space Insurance Co-insurance Group.” According to data released by the Beijing Financial Regulatory Bureau on December 30, 2025, since its establishment, the group has provided risk coverage for nearly 7.7 billion yuan across 17 launch projects.

Multi-Dimensional Innovation: Full Lifecycle Protection

Facing various challenges in this emerging field, the space insurance industry urgently needs to deepen integration with the industry chain, transforming from simple “post-claim” compensation to comprehensive risk management throughout the entire lifecycle.

On March 12, China Ping An announced the industry’s first integrated financial solution combining “insurance protection + capital infusion + capital promotion.” For the full lifecycle risks of commercial spaceflight, Ping An Property & Casualty offers insurance coverage across “R&D—Testing—Launch—In-Orbit,” covering core risks such as launch failure, in-orbit malfunction, and third-party liability, precisely matching the full lifecycle risk protection needs of commercial space enterprises.

This comprehensive financial solution employs a service model that coordinates insurance, banking, and securities ecosystems for one-stop, full-chain service. Ping An Bank, relying on the “Nebula IoT Plan,” offers project loans, working capital loans, and employee stock ownership financing; Ping An Securities leverages its investment banking expertise to support IPO guidance on the STAR Market, refinancing, mergers, and acquisitions throughout the enterprise development cycle, providing customized “one enterprise, one policy” services tailored to different growth stages. Additionally, Ping An Leasing can support equipment financing.

Industry insiders generally believe that the healthy development of commercial space insurance depends not only on innovation within insurance institutions but also on a supportive policy framework. Accordingly, industry calls and proposals include:

1. Establishing national or local space risk compensation funds to cover excessive claims risks and boost market confidence;
2. Supporting the formation of industry-wide co-insurance groups or alliances to expand underwriting capacity and establishing reinsurance priority channels;
3. Developing a commercial space risk database to integrate launch and in-orbit operation data for actuarial pricing, while strengthening data security;
4. Relying on the Shanghai International Reinsurance Center to streamline international reinsurance transactions and attract more global capital, enhancing domestic underwriting capacity.

Cover image source: Daily Economic News Media Library