COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A company based in the Short North says it’s the first to offer travel insurance to ordinary people who want to go to space.

Space travel is projected to grow by $1 trillion by 2040, says Sasha Gainullin, the CEO of battleface. At the moment, the space travel plan covers accidental death and disablement.

“What we are starting out with,” Gainullin explained, “is benefit for accidental death and disablement.

“I would think the travel insurance industry will evolve along side with the space tourism. And that depends on the types of trips that are going to be taking place over the next five to ten years, and alongside with that, the benefits will continue to increase.”

The new product was launched last week, underwritten by Lloyds of London. Although they haven’t had anyone sign up for it yet, Gainullin says that one person from Columbus has shown interest already.

“Surprisingly enough, we’ll se a lot of people coming out of Ohio.”

Gainullin says the policies will also help people travelling to remote areas to catch their flights to space.

“[Space travel] is just an additional experience that many travelers are going to be embarking on.

“Certainly nobody knows is it in 10 years or 50 years that space travel is going to be more affordable, but just as air travel and travel in general has evolved over time…yes, I see that it’s an industry that’s going to be affordable to many,” he said.