OUT OF REACH High cost deters Mars launch insurance

Mumbai: ISRO has decided against insuring its Mars mission, given the high cost of a cover. Insurers say that the cost of cover for the launch in the international market would have been very high and may have amounted to almost half the cost of the project.      The Mars mission aims to send a 1,350kg satellite to the red planet to analyze its atmosphere and surface and transmit information back to earth. Sources said that the other reason for not going for acover was that this is a scientific expedition, unlike the launch of a communication satellite which has commercial implications.      Speaking to TOI, G Srinivasan, chairman, New India Assurance, which has been the lead insurer for most of ISRO's launches, confirmed that the Mars mission was not insured with them.      "ISRO has taken a decision not to insure its own launches," he said.      The earlier mission to Moon, the Rs 386-crore Chandrayaan-1, was also not insured. The Chandrayaan-1 mission was considered a success although the satellite remained operational for only one year as against the intended two years. In satellite insurance, a mission is either a total loss or a success as what is covered is the launch process and not the operations of the satellite.      The market for satellite insurance is a highly specialized one and only a handful of international underwriters have the capability to provide cover.      Even though the policy is issued by an Indian insurer such as New India, the risk is placed with international underwriters through the process of reinsurance. Indianinsurance companies do not have the capability to cover satellite launches on their own.      In the past, ISRO had taken cover for satellites when the launches were undertaken from foreign locations such as Kourou in French Guyana by Arianespace. In these earlier launches, the premium had amounted to close to a third of the sum insured.      Insurers say that cover for launches from India would be more expensive than those by Arianespace because ISRO is a relatively newer player.