Lloyd’s Of London to Insure Custody Platform for Digital Currency

U.K. insurance market leader Lloyd’s of London will insure a crypto custody platform by U.S.-based custodial firm Kingdom Trust, according to a press release published August 28.

Founded in 1686, Lloyd’s of London is a British insurance firm that is active in over 200 countries. The company reportedly paid claims in the amount of £68 billion ($87 billion) between 2011 and 2016.

Kingdom Trust, which serves over 100,000 customers and has $12 billion in assets under custody, is the reportedly the “first” regulated financial institution to offer qualified custody for digital asset investments. Kingdom Trust provides digital currency storage services for more than 30 different assets.

The company is now launching insurance coverage for digital currency to protect investors against theft and destruction of assets. Matt Jennings, CEO of Kingdom Trust, said:

"Qualified custody by a regulated, insured financial institution is a top priority and critical hurdle for institutions to invest in the digital asset markets. By adding another trusted specialist like Lloyd’s to our platform, we’re ensuring that current and future clients will have access to a highly-secure, complete safekeeping solution tailored to meet the challenges of institutional finance.”

In an interview with Reuters, Jennings declined to disclose the identity of the insurer that underwrote Kingdom Trust’s coverage through Lloyd’s marketplace, or the cost or terms of the policy. However, he noted that Kingdom Trust “received a ‘drastic discount’ because of its technology, a type of ‘cold storage,’ in which digital coins are stored offline.”

Last month, Cointelegraph reported that insurers such as AIG, Allianz, Chubb, and XL Group are increasingly offering coverage options to protect businesses in the crypto space. Aon, a major insurance broker that claims to occupy 50 percent of the crypto-insurance market, is reportedly seeing more crypto-specific protections catering to the new industry.

Marsh & McLennan, said that 2018 has been “brisk” for crypto-insurers, revealing that it formed its first-ever dedicated team to brokering policies for blockchain startups.