November 6, 2014
By Alwyn Scott
New York: While private pilots and skydivers (click here) have to take out extra life insurance to cover the added risk of their pursuits, space tourists do not need special policies on their high-flying rides.
That loophole is likely to disappear, slowly, after the fatal crash last week of a test flight of a Virgin Galactic space plane designed to take tourists into space.
The loophole existed because United States life insurance policies didn't ask about space tourism or exclude it from coverage, meaning insurers most likely would have to pay if the holder died on a space trip, insurance industry veterans said....
January 30, 2014
Before you fork out $250,000, (click here) you better beware: you can't get travel insurance for that yet.
And the policies tipped to go on the market soon are unlikely to cover G-force injuries, the effects of zero gravity and possible hearing damage caused by tornado-like sounds on the journey.
Sir Richard Branson and his kids are preparing to blast off on the first Virgin Galactic space flight, launching the era of commercial space travel.
And so far, about 580 wannabe space tourists have forked out $70 million in deposits to secure their place on a space flight.
But only one travel insurer, Allianz Global Assistance, has started to think about offering insurance for space trips.
Allianz is still nutting out its prices, but policies are likely to cost up to about $11,000 - and probably won't cover some of the major health hazards of space travel....
