The international insurance industry is targeting the digital assets world and launching a series of products to offer coverage to crypto investors and custodians.
The new policies have been inspired by the growing involvement of institutional participants who demand robust asset servicing and safekeeping, along with the rise in crypto scams.
Insurance broker March has launched a digital asset custody insurance product aimed at the asset servicing market.
The new business line will be supported with US$825 million in capacity, making it the largest product of its kind, according to Marsh.
It is designed to support companies with digital assets held offline in cold storage and other custody services such as multiparty computation.
“Marsh’s facility provides custodians with protection for the key operational risks they face in the management of digital assets; we look forward to supporting clients globally in aligning their risk financing and evolving commercial strategies, as they focus on building their operational resilience and market presence in this fast-growing sector,” said Jacqueline Quintal, global digital asset leader, Marsh Specialty.
Meanwhile, UK-based boutique insurer M2 Recovery has issued what it claims is the world’s first cryptocurrency legal expenses insurance policy for investors.
The product has been launched in the face of a rising tide of crypto fraud, according to M2 Recovery. The number of blockchain transactions affected by fraud more than doubled between 2022 and 2023.
However, victims of crypto investment scams are typically faced with costs upward of £250,000 to investigate and recover lost crypto assets.
“Our insurance policy is the first of its type globally, which provides policyholders with legal expenses following crypto fraud,” said M2 Recovery founder Neil Holloway.
“We can insure legal expenses relating to crypto assets collectively worth tens of millions for investors, neobanks and in-play betting companies.
“This includes digital assets invested through the metaverse, utility tokens such as Freeway Tokens, and crypto assets appropriated through man-in-the-middle attacks,” said Holloway. “And with more investment scams in play than ever before, reducing your exposure to risk on large crypto investments has never been more important.”
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