Condensed Ship Insurance Info

[Donut]

Everything we know about Insurance, so far, in Star Citizen. Enjoy  

 

How does insurance work in Star Citizen?

Spoiler

 

Insurance in Star Citizen works much as it does in real life. Ships have insurance policies that require regular fees to maintain in UEC (The currency in Star Citizen). If an insurance policy lapses and the ship is destroyed, players will not receive a payout or replacement ship.

Insurance fees will make up a relatively small amount of the total fees that you will have to pay in game that include docking fees, trade tariffs, fuel, hired crew, among others. This means that players should not be overly concerned about insurance costs (above other gameplay costs in Star Citizen).

 

 

Lifetime Insurance

Spoiler

 

LIfetime insurance “... protects the investment you made in the game in perpetuity.” - From Insurance FAQ & Update

Ships with lifetime insurance (LTI) will not have to pay the in game fees to maintain their ship’s insurance policy. Due to the fact that ship insurances range from a few months to years the frequency of payments will be low and thus almost a negligible expense in the game.

Insurance can be purchased for ship, modules, cargo, upgrades and modifications. Ships and ship hulls will be replaced when an insurance claim is made but any cargo and and modifications will be subsidized. Additional policies for upgrades and cargo will be rated based on risk levels. Different parts of the universe will have different risk ratings and traveling to dangerous places will cost a higher insurance premium for insuring valuables.

Insurance policies are attached to ship hull id and cannot be transferred from one ship to another. Ships traded from player to player carry the insurance with the hull id of the ship and will be transferrable.

It is also important to note that cross chassis upgrading a ship will retain any lifetime insurance attached to the hull. For example, if you use the cross chassis upgrade (CCU) from Cutlass Black with LTI to a Constellation Andromeda, the Constellation Andromeda will have LTI as the hull ID of the ship remains the same during a cross chassis upgrade. Note: It has been mentioned that the ability to upgrade the chassis from the RSI website could be removed before the game launches.

 

 

How do I get Lifetime Insurance on my ships?

Spoiler

 

If the ships a player has do not currently have LTI, then it is not possible to take out lifetime insurance on those ships. All options involve replacing the original ship with one that has LTI.
LTI is currently available for concept sales where players essentially back a new ship once the concept is announced and then some time in the future when the ship has been built they will be able to play it.

By purchasing a low price LTI concept ship, players are able to CCU the cheap LTI ship to another ship of their choice that is available for purchase on the RSI website. Cheap ships like the Drake Dragonfly or Argo that are used to upgrade to larger ships for the LTI are commonly called “tokens”.

By using tokens you can buy a larger ship with LTI after the concept sale by using the following method:

Step 1 - Buy an LTI token during concept sale (for example if a Drake Dragonfly was purchased during concept with LTI).
Step 2 - Use the CCU system to upgrade to the ship you want to have LTI on. (For example, using a Drake Dragonfly LTI to CCU to a Cutlass Black will give you a Cutlass Black with LTI).

It is important to note that this only works if you want an LTI ship without a game package. If you have a game package and want to turn the ship in the game package into an LTI ship this is currently not possible. Packages do not come with LTI and melting a package to purchase another ship means you lose the game package (SC & or SQ42).

Additionally, you can only upgrade the LTI token to another ship if the CCU for the upgrade you want is available and there are no other restrictions. For example, during the Hornet 20% discount sale it was not possible to apply the upgrade from a Dragonfly or Argo with LTI to the Super Hornet.

 

 

Can I get LTI for my Star Citizen Game Package Ship?

Spoiler

As mentioned above, if you have a game package there is no way to get LTI on the game package ship and keep the package. If you would like to start off the game with an LTI ship then you will need to have the game package and purchase another LTI token and upgrade to the ship you want. This will mean you end up with 2 ships, the one in the game package plus the LTI ship you plan to use. Remember, you will be able to sell the game package ship in game for UEC which you can then use to buy items or perhaps other vehicles like the Greycat PTV buggy.

 

How long will my Ship insurance last in Star Citizen?

Spoiler

 

The insurance policy will last as long as is stated with the ship. For example, if your ship comes with 3 month insurance this means that it will last for 3 months of equivalent in game time. In game time ticks only while you’re playing the game. At this time finer details are not set in stone. For example, the rate at which time ticks while you’re playing may or may not be equal to real hours and days. Please note that this will be defined by CIG in the coming months and years until release and is subject to change.

If your ship’s insurance expires and the ship is destroyed in Star CItizen (not Arena Commander) then you will lose the ship regardless of how much money you paid for the ship. However, there will probably be a warning in game that will alert you before you fly off in an uninsured ship.

 

 

How much will renewing the ship insurance cost?

Spoiler

The cost of renewing your hull insurance in Star Citizen has been stated by RSI to be comparable to other costs such as docking fees, refuelling, maintenance etc… This means that it will not be free to renew insurance policies but it will also not be a disproportionate cost compared to other expenses in Star Citizen. Expect more expensive ships to be proportionally more expensive to insure than cheaper ships.

 

What is the real value of LTI for ships in Star Citizen?

Spoiler

 

After the game launches it will no longer be possible to upgrade ships from one to another. Players will have to sell one ship to buy another if they cannot afford to buy a ship outright. This means that upon launch the LTI ships will be fixed and will become tradable assets in the universe. The number of Cutlass Blacks will LTI, for example, will be set when CCUs stop being available.

The limited availability of LTI means that eventually within the Star Citizen universe the market will set the price of LTI ships.

Despite a lot of debate and what has been officially stated regarding LTI, the truth is the market itself will dictate what players will perceive the true value of LTI to be once the game has a functional economy.

Some players have stated that since they are paying real money to buy virtual ships, it makes sense that they buy all the ships with LTI if the cost is approximately the same.

 

 

Giftability and LTI

Spoiler

 

The giftability of any ship depends on how it was originally purchased. If RSI Credits are used to purchase the original ship or game package it is not giftable. Only ships and packages bought with cash are giftable.

If you purchased your original LTI ship with RSI Credits and would like to make it giftable you can follow these steps:

1: Melt original LTI non-giftableship

2: Purchase LTI Token with cash (cheap LTI ship during concept sale)

3: Use RSI Credits from melted LTI ship to upgrade to the ship you want

4: Enjoy your new giftable LTI ship

 

 

 

Sources:

• Insurance FAQ and Update (November 2012)
• Insurance and losing ships forum thread (February 2014)
• LTI and it’s perceived value to you? Reddit post (September 2016)
• Will we be able to CCU when the game goes live? (May 2015)