Virgin Galactic spaceship insured for $40-50 mln, lead underwriter AIG-sources

(Adds details of JLT as broker, quote, background)

By Carolyn Cohn and Richa Naidu

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Virgin Galactic spaceship which crashed on Friday was insured against losses totalling around $40-50 million and the lead underwriter was AIG, insurance sources said on Monday.

AIG declined to comment.

British insurance and brokerage services provider Jardine Lloyd Thompson confirmed that it was the broker on the deal.

"We act on behalf of Virgin Galactic and are providing every assistance, as is appropriate in these tragic circumstances," JLT said in a statement.

Virgin Galactic is the fledgling space tourism company of billionaire British entrepreneur Richard Branson.

The spacecraft crashed in California's Mojave Desert during a test flight, killing one pilot and injuring the other.

The estimated insured losses are similar to those for the unmanned U.S. supply rocket which exploded last week.

But the Virgin Galactic spaceship was insured under an aviation "hull and liability" policy, in contrast to the supply rocket which was insured in the space market, insurance specialists said.

The Lloyd's of London insurance market plays a key role in aviation insurance, with gross written premium at Lloyd's totalling more than $1 billion in 2013, according to the International Underwriting Association. (Editing by Susan Thomas)