EXCLUSIVE: SpaceX's Starship Has a $650M Problem — Insurers Can't Cover the Cargo

SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) has a rocket big enough to carry a space station. The insurance market isn’t built to cover one.

Andrew Bonwick, VP of Product Development at Relm, told Benzinga that coverage for one launch tops out far below the value of a full Starship load.

“As things stand, the maximum insurance capacity in the market today is around $650 million for any one launch,” Bonwick said. “A 100T payload will be much more valuable than this.”

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A Station Worth Billions

Voyager Technologies Inc. (NYSE:VOYG) is the clearest test case. Its Starlab station is designed to launch on a single Starship flight. Voyager estimates Starlab will cost $2.8 billion to $3.3 billion to design, build and launch.

Its annual report expects a 2029 launch.

At that cost, $650 million would cover only about 20% to 23% of the station. The filing itself warns that “the insurance market for the launch and operation of a non-governmentally owned, crewed space station does not currently exist.”

Bonwick says outside capital could help. “For much bigger payloads, such as one Starlab worth several billion dollars, alternative markets, insurance-linked securities and derivatives could be used to top up coverage,” he said.

A Small Market

Specialty insurance provider Gallagher Specialty puts the market’s competitive capacity at about $300 million in 2026. A single loss can swing results. 

The total loss of SpainSat NG-2, insured for more than $400 million, pushed the market’s 2025 loss ratio from about 15% to about 75%, Gallagher said.

Starship Has to Earn Lower Rates

Starship reached orbit for the first time in September, even with an upper-stage engine shutting down during ascent. 

SpaceX self-insures Starlink, so the 26 satellites it carried were almost certainly not covered on the open market, Insurance Business reported. 

Bonwick said Starship will be “looked on favorably because it is SpaceX, but it is a completely different vehicle in terms of fuel, engines and size.” He expects “initial insurance prices will be high, although they will come down quickly if Starship proves to be reliable.”

Voyager shares trade near $27.28, about 45% below their May 28 close of $51.77. The stock fell 16% on Sept. 23 after Voyager launched what became a $402.5 million convertible-note sale.

SPCX Stock Price Activity: SpaceX stock was up 0.63% at $163.59 at the time of publication Monday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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