Largest space cover placed with 20+ insurers

International

Insurance broker Willis claims to have placed the largest satellite launch insurance risk in the space insurance market shared between over 20 international space insurers. The cover is for Eutelsat, the third largest satellite operator in the world. According to Willis, the package will provide guaranteed premium rates for all the satellites Eutelsat will deploy in the next three years. Xavier Lacombe, deputy managing director of Willis Inspace, said that the cover provided a great deal of flexibility in terms of launch vehicles, allowing Eutelsat the use of most of the commercially available heavy rockets. The first satellite launched under this package will be the Hot Bird 9 satellite, which is currently scheduled for launch onboard an Ariane 5 rocket in the third quarter of 2008.