Travelling to space? ... don't forget to take out travel insurance. Photograph: Corbis

It will be the ultimate in travel, and as such it will need the ultimate in travel insurance. When the first customers board the Virgin Galactic flight to space in 2009 they will do so at their own risk, which means they might want to consider some insurance.

This week insurer Bupa announced it was looking into providing cover for the new breed of space tourists. Head of travel, Nick Potter, said: "Obviously we have to take into account various issues, such as the effect such a journey would have on the human body, although clarity will come in this new area of travel within the next decade."

While Bupa's policy is still very much a work in progress - and yesterday's announcement seems nothing more than a bid for publicity (which, admittedly, has worked in this case) - the small number of space tourists who have already hit the skies have managed to find cover.

The world's first space tripper, Dennis Tito, was reportedly given a $100,000 (£69,000 at the time) policy before he took off in 2001. That's considerably more than most people pay to insure their annual holiday - and we don't even know if it covers loss of luggage. But when the trip costs $20m it probably pales into insignificance.