For those that do not know and are wondering what LTI is...
LTI = lifetime insurance...on the hull and basic systems. It means that if your ship is destroyed, you will get a ship in a similar condition back. That means you can't avoid repairs. If you don't repair it, when it gets destroyed, you will get a ship back that was just as beat up as the one you had. What we are not sure of is how far this goes back...5 minutes before your ship was destroyed, the last time you QDed, or the last time you landed/took off.
Oh, one other thing. The "free replacement" ship will have a timer on it similar to the timers in the PU at Port Olisar. If your ship is destroyed, it will take a while to get a replacement. The more often (or possibly times) you blow up the longer your wait time. Some ships like the 890J will have a significant wait time. This might be able to be reduced by...paying some fees with in game currency so you can cut through the red tape...but otherwise, you will have to wait for the ship to become available. That means if you have only one ship, it has LTI, but is also expensive and limited production, you might end up paying a pretty hefty sum to get a replacement pretty quick, even with LTI.
For a player with 3-4 smaller and more common ships (Avenger, Connie, Lancer and a Super Hornet for instance), LTI is probably not that critical. You should be able to knock out missions to keep those insured fairly easily. You will be able to buy insurance with the same coverage for the hull and systems with in game currency if you don't have LTI. We have been told that this should be as little the revenue of 1 mission in that ship.
NOTE - insurance covering upgraded equipment and cargo is available. These are more limited as they only work in areas up to the Risk Level you insure them to. There are also areas where you will not be able to get a policy for. In those places, or areas above the risk level you insured yourself for, you have now become self insured for the cargo and the upgrades on it. This must be paid for with in game currency and LTI does not cover upgrades or any cargo. From the information we have, Hull Insurance does not have risk level attached to it.
For those with a LOT of ships or some of the bigger ships, LTI will be critical. If your fleet is composed of 8 or more ships, or you have some very expensive ships, LTI will definitely give you an advantage. If you are thinking of having a large fleet in game either though ship sales or through in game purchases, you might want to consider getting some or all of your ships (except your game package ship) as CCUs to get LTI. If you are only planning on 4-5 total in game and buying and then selling some of your ships so you can buy others...then you would be ok with normal insurance.
Now, if you are at all concerned about potentially losing ships purchased with cash, then I recommend LTI. You won't have to worry about losing the basic ship.
One thing to remember. If you upgrade with a CCU, you won't get any of the other extras that come with the ship. So if the ship you were wanting to upgrade to comes with 3 in game posters and a Revel and York hangar, but your LTI CCU token only has an Aeroview hangar, you will not get access to the R&Y hangar. You will need to have that from another ship or buy it separately.
