To boldly go where no cover has gone before

Lance Ewing, a former Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. president, told Canadian Underwriter magazine that alien coverage could fall under one or more existing coverage lines.

Should an alien encounter or invasion be termed an “Act of God,” insurers could deny coverage based on “force majeur,” exclusionary language.

Could an alien invasion be determined as an “Act of War,” or even terrorism, which might involve the Terrorism Reinsurance Act? “Someone in authority with a paycheque greater than mine would have to make that determination as to what that actual act was. And [whether] that determination would…trigger the policy, and we could argue that in the courts forever,” said Ewing.

A commercial property policy might cover some forms of accidental damage if a spaceship lands on the roof of a commercial business, damaging it. Home insurance policies could also be involved if the visit is personal.

Finally, should one actually suffer an “Alien abduction,” a kidnap and ransom (K&R) policy could be triggered, although hostage return negotiations could prove dodgy. “I don’t know how you hostage-negotiate with an alien,” Ewing said. “I’ve never done that, but does the K&R policy apply on that?… I think it does.”

Mr. Ewing said a U.S. insurer does in fact sell an insurance policy that covers alien abduction for a one-time payment of $24.95 with limits to $11 million but pays out at a rate of $1 per year, for 11 million years.