How does space technology relate to insurance? A European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and an ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) team took the opportunity to connect the dots at Insurtech Insights, the largest gathering in Europe of insurance and technology innovators, and to showcase both the opportunities for space-based solutions in the insurance sector and the BASS funding available.
At the event in London, 18-19 March, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti delivered a keynote speech highlighting the approach to managing and understanding risk shared by the space and industry sectors – and the important two-way relationship they have.
The key message to event delegates was not only that insurers can significantly benefit from satellite data, but also that space itself offers interesting insurance opportunities.
"What exactly can an astronaut contribute to a conversation about insurance?”, asked Ms Cristoforetti.
"Space and insurance actually have quite a lot in common. Both identify, assess and try as best as possible to quantify risk,” she explained. "Astronauts are often portrayed as people who love danger. The reality is almost the opposite. Spaceflight is probably one of the most carefully risk-managed activities humans undertake.”
“As insurers I think it is safe to say you love data. And some of the most valuable data in the world is only available from the orbital perspective. When risk becomes more measurable, it becomes more insurable,” Ms Cristoforetti said.
Delivered objectively and continuously, the potential for space technology to add value for insurers is indeed broad, providing global, independently verifiable data that supports risk assessment before and after the event. The infrastructure is already there, and space-derived data is already being leveraged for example to detect drought stress far earlier than ground statistics can, and to design insurance products that trigger payouts based on objective requirement.
It is in this context that, the BASS team delivered a workshop on “Unlocking Space for Insurance with ESA: From Demand‑Driven Needs to Supply‑Side Innovation”, explaining to attendees – most of whom were new to using space-technology - how space-based solutions can support risk modelling, underwriting, event-monitoring and claim management, opening the door to new commercial opportunities for sustainable growth in these sectors.
"What we saw throughout the conference was a shift toward smarter, data‑driven risk solution-from satellite‑enabled parametric insurance that can trigger support exactly when people need it, to automated underwriting and new ways of insuring autonomous mobility,” said BASS Finance and Insurance Lead Ana Raposo. ”Together, these developments showed how innovation is not only closing protection gaps in sectors like agriculture, tourism, and energy, but also strengthening wider societal resilience as climate risks and technological change accelerate.”
Ms Cristoforetti concluded by emphasising the two-way relationship between the insurance and space sectors, challenging those in the audience to think about the significant new challenges – and opportunities – that are now presenting themselves in the space sector.
Citing examples such as the expanding commercial space economy, mega-constellations, commercial space stations, space-based computing and orbital manufacturing, Ms Cristoforetti said: “Just as space helps insurers understand the risk on Earth, the insurance industry has historically helped make the space industry possible – and it is going to be asked to do much more of that in the coming years.”