Affording Life Insurance: Apollo Astronauts' Financial Challenges

The Apollo astronauts were faced with a unique challenge when it came to securing life insurance for their historic and dangerous mission. With the Space Race in full swing, the US government was eager to achieve the milestone of putting a human on the moon and bringing them back safely. However, the astronauts' federal salaries were insufficient to cover the high cost of life insurance, and insurance companies were reluctant to offer affordable rates due to the perceived risk. As a result, the astronauts had to come up with a creative solution to provide for their families in the event of their deaths.

Apollo astronauts' salaries

The Apollo 11 crew are among the most famous NASA astronauts, but they didn't receive any special treatment when it came to their salaries. At the time of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong was the highest-paid of the flying astronauts, receiving a salary of $27,401. In 2019 dollars, this would be the equivalent of $190,684. Based on his salary and a 40-hour workweek, Armstrong would have been paid roughly $33 for his time on the moon. Accounting for inflation, he would have earned $230 for his historic moonwalk in 2019 dollars.

The second-highest salary went to Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, who earned $18,623, including base pay, quarters, subsistence allowance, and flight pay. In 2019 dollars, his salary would amount to $129,598.

The third astronaut on the Apollo 11 mission, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, earned a salary of $17,148 per year, including fringe benefits. This amount is equivalent to $119,333 in 2019 dollars.

The per diem rate for the Apollo 11 astronauts was $8 per day, both on the moon and back at the base. After deductions for accommodations provided by the government on the spaceship, this amount was approximately $56 in 2019 currency.

While the salaries of the Apollo 11 astronauts may seem substantial, it is important to note that life insurance was not included in their government-provided benefits package. As a result, they had to come up with creative solutions, such as signing autographs ("insurance covers") that their families could sell in the event of their death.

Autographs as insurance

The Apollo 11 mission was a risky endeavour, and the astronauts were aware of the dangers involved. However, standard life insurance policies were extremely expensive for such missions and would not have adequately supported the astronauts' families. The astronauts' salaries were also not enough to cover their lives. For instance, Neil Armstrong earned a salary of $27,401 by 1969, which was likely insufficient to secure his family's financial future in the event of his death.

NASA did not offer life insurance for in-flight missions, and private life insurance was out of reach for the astronauts. As a result, the Apollo 11 astronauts came up with a creative solution: they signed hundreds of autographs known as "insurance covers" or "covers". These were signed envelopes, known as postal covers, postmarked on important dates such as the day of the launch or the day of the lunar landing. The astronauts gave these autographs to a trusted friend, who then distributed them to their families.

The idea behind these autographs was that if the astronauts did not return from the mission, their families could sell the autographs to fund their day-to-day lives, their children's education, and other expenses. The demand for such autographs was high, as the astronauts were famous and people were eager to own a piece of history.

The tradition of signing autographs as insurance continued with the crews of Apollo 12 through 16 until 1972, although none of these crafts encountered any issues. In the 1990s, the insurance autographs from the Apollo 11 mission began to appear in space memorabilia auctions, fetching prices of up to $30,000.

Apollo 11 insurance covers

The Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, were unable to secure life insurance coverage before their historic mission. At the time, a life insurance policy would have cost $50,000, a huge sum compared to their $17,000 salary.

As a result, the astronauts came up with a creative solution to provide financial security for their families in the event of their deaths. They signed hundreds of postal covers, known as "Apollo insurance covers" or "insurance autographs", which were left behind for their families to sell if the astronauts did not return from their mission. These covers were signed while the astronauts were in quarantine before the launch and were postmarked on significant days such as the launch date and the day of the lunar landing.

The Apollo 11 insurance covers are highly sought-after by collectors and can fetch high prices at auctions. There are three varieties of the Apollo 11 covers, each with a different design: the large Apollo 11 mission emblem cover, the Project Apollo DowUnicover, and the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club cover. The crew signed about 1000 of these covers in total, which were divided equally among their families.

The idea of the insurance covers was to provide the astronauts' families with a tangible asset that could be sold for a considerable amount of money if the mission failed. This strategy was devised in addition to the basic insurance premium package that was secretly provided to the astronauts by third parties.

The cost of insurance

The cost of life insurance for astronauts is largely dependent on the risk of the mission. In the case of the Apollo astronauts, the risk was extremely high, as they were about to embark on a mission more dangerous than anything any human had ever done before. This meant that the cost of insurance was also extremely high.

At the time of the Apollo 11 mission, an astronaut earned $17,000 per year, and a life insurance policy would have cost $50,000, an exorbitant amount to pay. The federal salary was not enough for the Apollo 11 astronauts to cover their life insurance premiums.

The high cost of insurance was due to the fact that insurers were unwilling to take on the risk of insuring astronauts. The Apollo 11 mission was particularly risky, as it involved sending humans to the Moon for the first time. Insurers were unsure if the astronauts would return safely, which made them reluctant to offer affordable rates.

The Apollo 11 astronauts struggled to find affordable life insurance, and as a result, they had to come up with creative alternatives. They signed hundreds of postal covers, which were limited-edition envelopes commemorating the lunar mission. These covers were signed by the crew and postmarked on important dates, such as the day of the launch and the day of the lunar landing. The astronauts left these covers with a trusted friend, who would distribute them to their families in the event of their deaths. The families could then sell the covers to fund their day-to-day lives and future needs, such as their children's education.

The strategy proved successful, as the astronauts returned safely and the insurance autographs became valuable collectibles. Today, an Apollo 11 insurance autograph can cost as much as $30,000.

Insurers' publicity

The Apollo 11 astronauts' life insurance dilemma presented a unique challenge for insurers. The crew, consisting of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, faced a potentially deadly mission with no life insurance coverage. Their federal salaries were insufficient to cover the high cost of life insurance, and the risk associated with the mission made insurers reluctant to offer affordable rates.

The situation caught the attention of The Travellers' Insurance Company, based in Hartford, Connecticut. They stepped forward to offer a solution, with the premiums sponsored by the Austral Oil Company and the Cullen Central Bank. This offer, however, was politely declined by Neil Armstrong, who blocked any publicity surrounding the deal. Armstrong's modesty prevented the details of the policy from becoming public knowledge, leaving a gap in the historical record.

Despite Armstrong's refusal, the story of the Apollo 11 crew's life insurance predicament gained traction. It highlighted the challenges of insuring individuals embarking on high-risk endeavours, such as space exploration. The publicity generated by this incident likely influenced subsequent missions, as insuring the Apollo 12 crew became marginally easier with more details available.

The Apollo 11 crew's dilemma also sparked a creative solution in the form of autographed postal covers. These covers, signed by the astronauts before their mission, served as a form of self-insurance. The astronauts left these covers with trusted colleagues, and in the event of their deaths, the covers would be sold to provide for their families. This pseudo-insurance system continued until Apollo 16, the penultimate Moon mission.

The life insurance challenges faced by the Apollo astronauts brought attention to the difficulties of insuring individuals in high-risk professions. The publicity surrounding this incident and the innovative solutions implemented by the astronauts themselves contributed to a broader discussion about the role of life insurance in space exploration and other dangerous endeavours.

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