For 50 years, I have been a Star Trek man. I own a phaser (a ray gun), although sadly it’s only a facsimile. I have a machine that makes whooshing noises when you open the kitchen door, in the style of the doors on the starship USS Enterprise.

In case you’ve been in a coma since 1966, the Enterprise toured the universe on TV under Captain James T. Kirk’s command on a five-year mission of interplanetary discovery.

I mention all this in the interests of full disclosure. You now know I’m a nutcase. Good. Let’s move on.

Almost every week, one or more starships owned by Starfleet, the humanitarian and peacekeeping armada operated by the United Federation of Planets, are damaged or destroyed. Watching the latest, umpteenth series of Star Trek, my mind turns from time to time to insurance. The fleet wouldn’t dare fly without insurance, would it?