Charter Space Launches an Insurance Brokerage

Charter Space is done dipping its toes in the insurance market—opting instead to cannonball in.

Charter launched its own insurance brokerage this week—the Charter Interplanetary Risk Corporation (CIRC)—to help space companies secure coverage for their missions and underlying businesses.

The new nationally-licensed brokerage builds on years of developments Charter made in the space insurance realm.

Charter has spent most of its 5 years in business optimizing mission management software, aiming to help space companies build complex spacecraft and reduce manual admin time.
In 2024, the company announced that it would be using its data and expertise on spacecraft components and development to help inform insurance underwriters of the risks associated with various space missions. In partnerships with some of the world’s largest space insurers, Charter’s aim was to lower underwriting costs, and open the door for more space businesses to gain coverage.
Now, CIRC will act on behalf of businesses to directly facilitate policy placements, earning a commission on policies placed through the brokerage.

How it works: The process sounds as simple as your typical car insurance ad, with “quotes in just one-click,” according to Charter’s website.

Users of Charter’s Ubik mission management software can secure coverage in as little as two weeks, according to the company, while customers outside the system can expect the process to take two to six months.

CIRC will act as a full system of record, eventually taking all of that information to insurance providers to streamline quotes and coverage.

Like a good Charter: CIRC aims to provide space companies with access to full end-to-end policies, including:

Pre-launch coverage on manufacturing, integration, test campaigns, and hardware transport;
Launch coverage;
On-orbit policies, including property and casualty insurance to protect against in-space hardware failures or liability caused to customers or other third-parties.

CIRC has a minimum insurable asset value of $2M, but the brokerage isn’t just focusing on the sci-fi side of things.

CIRC also aims to offer space companies the full gamut of commercial coverage options, including workers compensation, property and equipment coverage, general liability, cyber liability, technology E&O, and directors and officers liability.

“By brokering faster access to better insurance options through CIRC, we’re removing friction, accelerating deals, and empowering more companies to pursue ambitious missions with confidence,” Charter CEO Yuk Chi Chan told Payload.

The bottom line: Charter has estimated that as many as 97% of operational satellites in orbit are flying uninsured. With tens of thousands of new sats projected to launch before 2030, there’s a lot of paperwork ahead.

CIRC has hired a team of space sector and insurance vets to churn out space-policies. The company expects that by handling all of the workload traditionally placed on satellite operators, and 90% of the manual work for underwriters, it can foster an influx of newly insured sats and drive down insurance premiums.

“CIRC is a space-exclusive brokerage with a singular focus on the space industry,” Charter’s new SVP of Insurance Operations Amanda Lipps told Payload via email. “This enables better advice…more competitive premiums, improved insurability, and comprehensive insurance coverage available that can grow and scale.”

All CIRC needs now is a catchy jingle.