Applied Underwriters Aerospace Names Richard Parker to Chair Growing Space Insurance Division, as Market Shifts Signal Sector-Defining Opportunities

Veteran industry leader will guide growth in both established and new areas amid competitors’ losses and disruptive challenges resulting in reduced marketplace capacity

New York, New York -- Tuesday, October 15, 2024 -- As the space insurance marketplace experiences dramatic change, in part driven by geopolitical issues and the well-known advances that Elon Musk’s inventiveness has introduced, Applied Underwriters Aerospace has strengthened its presence in the sector and will factor substantially in developing more flexible and customized coverage options for new technologies including small satellites and Moon and Mars missions.

Applied Underwriters Aerospace has named space insurance industry leader, Richard Parker, as Chairman of the Washington, DC-based group whose depth of experience has enabled it to sustain its position and engage current growth initiatives, according to Dan Malloy, CEO of United Risk, the group’s parent organization: “We have aligned the right product approach and the right people with the know-how to lead the field, and have just added a major talent, Richard Parker, as our Chairman of Space Insurance. Richard’s unparalleled experience and deep understanding of the space insurance sector, including reinsurance and coverage issues, will be invaluable as we meet the evolving needs of the commercial space industry.”

Mr. Parker observed that the commercial space sector is experiencing rapid transformation, notably the exiting of many insurers, all of which, he holds, spells opportunity for creative and flexible product design that match today’s projects and entities requiring coverage: “The evolution of the commercial space business is to the point where the commercial space insurance business must innovate or become obsolete.”

Mr. Parker continued: “Recent challenges faced by the global space insurance market include significant losses in 2022 which have caused many to exit the business, amidst a reduction of premium as the industry changes from highly insured large satellites in geosynchronous orbit to smaller satellites in low Earth orbit that require less insurance. We are positioning ourselves to serve the sector by navigating the emerging paths our clients are travelling.”

Mr. Jamie Sahara, President of Applied Underwriters, expressed confidence in the approach to this unavoidably disruption-prone, scientifically driven sector: “We at Applied and at United Risk live within a culture of innovation, so while many players are now leaving a field they see as unstable, they leave behind a growth area which, while demanding, holds great promise. I’ve been quoted many times, and I’ll state it again: ‘Expect that whatever we do might seem contrarian: we’re usually going when everyone else is coming… and coming when everyone else is going.’”

Richard Parker, Chairman of Applied Underwriters Aerospace, brings more than 35 years of experience in space insurance, satellite engineering, and satellite and launch vehicle procurement, with special expertise in the design, manufacture and test of satellites, and the business and financial aspects of commercial telecommunications satellites. Before joining Applied Underwriters, he served as Co-Head of Space at Canopius US where he managed the largest space insurance consortium at Lloyd's with $50 million in capacity, and was Divisional President & Co-founder, Assure Space, from 2011 to 2024. Prior to that he was Senior Underwriter & Technical Director at PartnerRe / AXA SPACE from 2005 to 2011 and was, before that, Major Programs Procurement Manager at Intelsat 2001 to 2005, responsible for all Intelsat satellite and launch vehicle procurement and contract management, where he managed commercial aspects for 10 new satellites and associated launch vehicles, in excess of $1.5 Billion. Mr. Parker’s experience also includes his work in France and the UK, doing payload assembly integration and testing (AIT) for comms satellites. He worked on the design and test of the EuroStar 2000 satellite Payload Interface Unit.

Mr. Parker was graduated with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master's Degree in Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire, UK, and holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. He has served as Chairman of the Seradata Space Conference and as President of the Washington Space Business Roundtable.

For further information, contact press@unitedrisk.global.

About United Risk Global (www.unitedrisk.global)
United Risk Global is an international property and casualty insurance underwriting and distribution platform independently owned and operated by its practice partners and affiliated with Applied Underwriters operationally and through its common and powerful brand identity. United Risk’s home office is located at 50 Rockefeller Plaza in New York.

About Applied Underwriters (www.auw.com)
Applied Underwriters® is a global risk services firm that helps businesses and people manage uncertainty through its business services, insurance and reinsurance solutions. As a company, Applied Underwriters has been distinguished by its innovative approaches to client care and by its strong financial strength. Applied Underwriters operates widely throughout the US, UK, EU and Middle East. Its operational headquarters is located in Omaha, Nebraska.