Biography
Biography: Robert P. Whearty
Abstract
Despite the reliability of launch vehicles and the mature nature of many commercial satellites, getting a satellite to its intended orbit remains a risky proposition. The recent Proton failure of the Mexsat-1 satellite has already had a negative impact on other service providers due to the likely delay in the Proton return to flight following a failure review board. Commercial satellite operators such as SES, Iridium and Eutlesat, to name a few, typically manage this risk through risk transfer (insurance) contracts. As there is no “standard satellite” each policy is bespoke and each risk must be marketed to the approximately 40 underwriters globally who underwrite such risks. To help them in the development of a suitable insurance program based on the company’s risk tolerance, they typically hire a broker. The broker as a go between to commercial operator and the insurance underwriting community works to develop a coverage design tailored to the specific company and then translate that design into an insurance policy wording. As can be expected, the marketing and underwriting of these risks tends to be very technical in nature with most underwriters and brokers employing former satellite engineers.