Yes, but ...

Both astronauts of Shenzhou VI have personal insurance, but unlike the international practice, the insurance company has not signed a reinsurance contract with the reinsurance company. Therefore, this insurance business was accused by peers of violating the rules of the insurance industry.

The safe return of Shenzhou VI (hereinafter referred to as Shenzhou VI) did not dispel the fog about the insurance of Shenzhou VI astronauts.

China Life Insurance Group Company (hereinafter referred to as China Life Insurance Company) and Pacific Insurance Company (hereinafter referred to as Pacific Insurance Company) both announced that the two astronauts of Shenzhou VI had personal insurance. At the same time, China Reinsurance Holding Group (hereinafter referred to as Zhongzai Group) pointed out that China Life violated the insurance rules in this insurance.

Why does Zhongzai Group have the above accusations? Why is there only personal insurance in the insurance business involving Shenzhou VI, but there is no direct property insurance for Shenzhou VI?

No reinsurance

On October 12th, the day of the launch of Shenzhou VI, China Life announced to the outside world that as the only life insurance underwriter for the launch of Shenzhou VI, China Life designed a special insurance policy for astronauts. The insurance policy is a "package" plan, covering the whole process before and after launch.

However, on the same day, Taibao also announced that it had insured personal accident insurance for the two astronauts of Shenzhou VI and property insurance for the ride of Shenzhou VI's long scroll Ode to Peace.

The Financial Times has learned that China Life is a legal insurer in the legal sense. Because there is no signature of the insured, that is, two astronauts, on the policy of Taibao. At the same time, the China Manned Space Engineering Office, which is in charge of the Shenzhou VI spacecraft, said that they only signed an insurance agreement with China Life.

Previously, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission announced that the insurance amount of Shenzhou VI was RMB 1 million.

Surprisingly, this 1 million yuan has not been reinsurance according to international practice.

the international common practice of commercial insurance is that after the insurance broker and the insurance company agree on the basic conditions of the insurance contract, the insurance broker will contact the reinsurance company, and the direct insurance company will sign a reinsurance contract with the reinsurance company.

The process of insuring the Shenzhou VI astronauts is obviously not consistent with this.

The reporter learned that Zhongzai Group had contacted China Life Insurance about astronaut reinsurance before the launch of Shenzhou VI, and Zhongzai Group felt that "China Life Insurance was not very willing"; In the end, Zhongzai Group did not reach any intention with China Life Insurance because the reinsurance amount was too small, only 2, yuan.

Li Liangwen, deputy general manager of China Life Insurance Company, explained that "reinsurance was not considered at all". In Li Liangwen's view, China Life can bear the risk of this launch, and there is no need for reinsurance.

compared with other insurances, aerospace insurance is known as "three highs", that is, the highest risk, the highest rate and the highest scientific and technological content. Failure to apply for reinsurance means that risks cannot be effectively dispersed, and once problems arise, the insurance company can only bear huge compensation alone.

under normal circumstances, insurance companies will only consider reinsurance when their operations are unstable, their solvency is problematic and they cannot fully bear risks.

As of the first half of this year, China Life's net assets reached 7 billion yuan, and its solvency was 2.89 times that stipulated by the CIRC. This is exactly where China Life's bull lies-"Even if something unexpected happens, we can afford it, and it will not affect the company's operation".

At the same time, people in Zhongzai Group also accused that China Life's insurance for Shenzhou VI violated China's insurance regulations. The premium of this insurance was donated by China Life Insurance. According to the current laws and regulations in China, the premium must be paid by the insured or related organizations.

China Life explained that "Shenzhou VI" was a special case.

Non-market-oriented operation

Perhaps this accusation of Zhongzai Group has something to do with not getting the share of "Shenzhou VI" insurance.

In the survey, Financial Times found that some non-market issues in manned space insurance are more worthy of attention.

Previously, China Life has always claimed that the insurance business of "Shenzhou VI" was obtained through bidding. However, the Financial Times has refused to give a positive answer to this question. Finally, under the reporter's questioning, the relevant people faltered and said that there was no bidding process.

At the same time, the reporter also learned from China Life Insurance that in the future, life insurance related to Shenzhou VII and Chang 'e Plan will be exclusively operated by China Life Insurance.

Some insiders attribute China Life's privilege to the strategic arrangement of China Life.

As early as 2, China Life applied to become a member of the board of directors of China Manned Space Fund before it was reorganized. This status makes China Life unique in obtaining insurance policies.

As a national strategic project, the insurance of manned space flight should belong to government procurement. This means that insurance needs a bidding process. Omitting this process now may lead to artificial monopoly.

most people in the industry believe that manned aviation insurance is a new thing at present, and whether it is reasonable to isolate more competitors prematurely is worth pondering.

aerospace insurance needs to introduce risk bonds

In fact, Shenzhou V didn't apply for reinsurance when it went to heaven.

As aerospace engineering is a major scientific research project involving state secrets, once commercial insurance is applied, a lot of technical information must be made public for actuaries to determine the insurance amount. This is the reason why neither "Shenzhou V" nor "Shenzhou VI" can involve property insurance.

In a similar situation, it is an international practice that the state finances contribute and provide compensation. The space shuttles Challenger and Columbia launched by the United States have not purchased commercial insurance.

because there is basically no statistical law to follow in the accident rate of launching the space shuttle, it is difficult for insurance companies to underwrite it because the traditional laws of the insurance industry can hardly play a role in the launch of the space shuttle.

Huang Lubin, a former director of the Aerospace Insurance Division of China China Life Insurance Department, said that it is impossible for an insurance company to underwrite the hull of a spaceship with a huge amount of insurance.

American space shuttle insurance is also going through a process from scratch. When Challenger was launched, there was no commercial insurance, but when Columbia was launched, it had insured the laboratory lunar module for $67 million.

If China's insurance industry wants to have more commercial underwriting space in space flight insurance, issuing risk bonds or setting up self-insurance companies will be the way out.

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American life insurance for astronauts

The United States is the country with the most advanced manned space technology, but it has not set up special life insurance for astronauts. In the event of an accident, the reimbursement standard shall be subject to the previous insurance coverage of the astronauts.

Take the American Space Shuttle Columbia in 23 as an example. After the Columbia crash, according to the American insurance conditions, the astronauts who died were given corresponding insurance compensation, instead of being borne by an insurance company.

among the seven astronauts killed, five astronauts belonging to the U.S. army received death compensation of $25, each according to the provisions of the U.S. "Group Life Insurance for Servicemen", and the amount of compensation was no longer increased. Non-military astronaut Karpana Jonah received a compensation of $2, according to the "Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance". The only non-American astronaut, Ilan Ramon, an Israeli, was compensated by personal insurance during his service with Israel Aviation Administration.

Further reading: How to buy insurance, which is better, and teach you how to avoid these "pits" of insurance.