You can insure a flight to space only in part. Satellites and rocket launches are covered by a small specialist market worth about 550 to 600 million US dollars in premium a year. There is no standard policy for space tourists: a suborbital ticket costs 750,000 US dollars, and whether your accident or life insurance pays depends entirely on its terms.
Prices and market figures around space flight and space insurance, October 2026.
Example
Typical range
Suborbital ticket with a US provider, per seat
750,000 US dollars
Seat on a private space station mission, 2025, per press reports
about 70 million US dollars
Worldwide gross premium for satellites and launches, 2025
about 550 to 600 million US dollars a year
Good private accident insurance for adults on Earth, Warentest 2026
from just over 100 euros a year
Ticket prices are published figures from providers and the press.
There is no fixed premium for covering a single space flight;
extra cover is a guide value from quoting practice and priced individually.
Norman Nammert, an insurance broker, can check what your existing policies cover.
Worked example
Suborbital flight, ticket 750,000 US dollars, family with two children
What to clarify before the flight and where gaps can open up.
Ticket per seat
750,000 US dollars
Private accident insurance
only if spacecraft are not excluded
Term life insurance
depends on terms and application answers
Extra cover from specialist underwriters
on request, no fixed price
Without written confirmation from your insurers you are effectively flying at your own risk. Sort out accident and life cover at least three months before launch.
What space insurance actually covers
Space insurance mainly covers hardware: a satellite at launch, in its first year in orbit and in operation, plus liability towards third parties. The market is small. For 2025 an industry data service expected 550 to 600 million US dollars of gross premium worldwide and capacity of only about 600 million US dollars per risk.
2023 shows how risky the business is: space insurers lost over 1 billion US dollars that year. For 2025 a broker expects around 500 million US dollars of profit again, and rates are slowly coming down.
Flying to space as a tourist
As a private person you buy a ticket from a space company. One US provider of suborbital flights has charged 750,000 US dollars per seat since March 2026; a seat on a private mission to the space station cost about 70 million US dollars in 2025 according to press reports.
Under US federal rules (14 CFR section 460.45) the operator must inform you in writing about the risks and tell you that the US government has not certified the vehicle as safe. You sign that your presence on board is voluntary, so the risk largely stays with you.
Will German accident insurance pay in space?
The German insurance industry's model accident conditions (AUB 2020, June 2025 version) exclude accidents as pilot or crew of an aircraft, but not as a passenger. Under section 1 (2) of the Air Traffic Act, spacecraft count as aircraft while they are in airspace.
Some sets of conditions, for example for group accident insurance, expressly exclude accidents while using spacecraft. Whether your own accident policy (Unfallversicherung) pays on a flight to space therefore depends only on your terms; get written confirmation before you fly.
Life insurance and your family
Term life insurance (Risikolebensversicherung) protects your family if you die. For a space flight, what matters is what the policy says about hazardous activities and how you answered the risk questions when you applied. Hiding a planned space flight when asked can cost you the whole cover.
The market offers no standard tariff for private space flights. Extra cover for a single flight to space is only available on request from specialist underwriters, assessed case by case with no fixed price.
Space law in Germany
Germany has no space act in force yet that sets licensing and compulsory insurance for operators. The federal cabinet adopted key points for a space law in September 2024, and in January 2026 a Bundestag committee debated a motion calling for one.
For tourists this changes little: a future space law would mainly bind rocket and satellite operators, not passengers.
When you do not need to worry
If you are not flying yourself, you need no space insurance. If space debris lands on your house, that is a matter for buildings or contents insurance (Wohngebäude, Hausrat), depending on whether the policy covers falling aircraft or parts of them.
If you really plan a space flight, review every existing contract: accident, life, disability and travel health cover for training and the launch site.
Step by step
Read the ticket contract: cancellation, postponement, liability waiver.
Check your accident policy for aircraft and spacecraft exclusions.
Check your life policy for rules on hazardous activities.
Ask your insurers in writing whether this specific flight is covered.
If there are gaps, have extra cover requested from the specialist market.
Checklist
Written confirmation from your accident insurer
Written confirmation from your life insurer
Travel health cover for training and launch site
Ticket cancellation terms understood
Family informed about contracts and contacts
Common mistakes
Assuming accident cover applies anywhere in the air
Leaving out the space flight when answering risk questions
Thinking about insurance only after paying
Forgetting training and travel to the launch site
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Can I insure a space flight ticket against cancellation?
Standard travel cancellation policies are not designed for prices at this level.
The provider's own cancellation and refund terms are what count.
Who is liable if a satellite crashes?
Under Article II of the UN Liability Convention the launching state is liable without fault for
damage on Earth.
Operators insure their own liability in the specialist market.
Is there space insurance for private people?
No standard tariff exists.
Cover for a single space flight is only available on request after individual review.
Who can check my policies?
Norman Nammert acts as an insurance broker.
The commission is paid by the insurer, so the service is free for you.
