The sky’s the limit

As the manager of XL Catlin’s space insurance program, Chris Kunstadter goes where few have gone before

The sky’s the limit

Business strategy

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As the manager of XL Catlin’s space insurance program, Chris Kunstadter goes where few have gone before

Chris Kunstadter is not a rocket scientist by training – his bachelor’s degree is in French literature.

But he does have a passion for the space industry and its insurance needs. As the long-time manager of XL Catlin’s space insurance portfolio, he gets to exercise that passion on a daily basis.
 
Like any kid growing up in the ’60s, Kunstadter watched the Gemini and Apollo launches on TV. “It was very exciting to watch; you really felt like this was pushing the limits of technology and human endurance,” he says. “I was certainly interested in space as a kid.”
 
The Chicago native was even more interested in airplanes. He got his pilot’s license when he was just 16, and worked as a pilot while in graduate school at UC Berkeley. Naturally, he thought he’d go into the airline business. However, by the time he got out of school, the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act had radically destabilized the industry.
 
So instead of flying airplanes, Kunstadter found a niche where he was able to use his background in statistical analysis to work with the airline industry – and not be laid off every six months. He spent five months in London working with Willis as a researcher in the early ’80s, which segued into a job working in the airline department of US Aviation Underwriters. “After a year, they saw I had this technical background and asked if I could take over their space business,” he says.
 
That was in 1984, and he’s been in space insurance ever since.
 
The final frontier
Over the course of his career, Kunstadter has been actively involved in all aspects of XL Catlin’s space insurance business, including technical, financial and actuarial analysis; policy wording construction; claims handling; and business development.
 
He has been responsible for developing and exploiting innovative satellite salvage opportunities, and has participated on numerous failure review boards for satellites and launch vehicles.
 
“I have learned a lot about what can go wrong and the types of things to be looking out for,” he says. “We usually know what questions to ask, but we’re always learning more.”
 
In addition, he has worked closely with satellite operators, launch providers and government agencies to enhance industry understanding of space debris and space situational awareness, and has participated in developing guidelines on the risk management aspects of space debris.
 
He spends a lot of time teaching commercial risk management methods to government agencies and organizations – including NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (which licenses launches in the US).
 
As NASA has shifted to become more of an exploratory organization, the commercialization of communications, earth imaging and even previously unfathomable pursuits like asteroid mining have fallen to the private sector.
 
“There is a tremendous interest now in space opportunities – a lot of money and excitement,” Kunstadter says. A lot of that excitement stems from the new space race that is unfolding between business magnates Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, both of whom are vying to become the leader in the commercialization of space through their respective Blue Origin and SpaceX programs.
 
“It’s a real boon to us,” Kunstadter says. “With new technologies come new risks. We have been preparing for this and watching closely.”
 
Even for a seasoned insurance pro like Kunstadter who has spent his working life in the aviation and space insurance sector, the possibilities are nothing short of thrilling.
 
“There is so much about the universe we don’t know and so much exploration aimed at how the universe works ... and very exciting stuff being done by NASA and the international community,” he says. “It’s a very exciting time in the space world, and by extension, a very exciting time in the space insurance world.”
 

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