BitGo To Offer $100 Million Crypto Insurance Through Lloyd’s of London

BitGo is a blockchain security firm which offers crypto financial services. According to a press release published on Feb. 19, the firm is planning to facilitate crypto insurance by offering $100 million of cover against loss of cryptographic keys or theft through Lloyd’s of London. The press release stated that Lloyd’s of London had nearly $43.8 billion in the year 2017 and insured eccentric items like Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richard’s hands. The crypto insurance facilitates following situations like damage or physical loss of private keys and the loss of private keys caused by a hack or theft by insiders or third parties.

The announcement made after QuadrigaCX debacle, where the exchange was not able to access its cold storage wallets (holding $145 million in digital assets) due to the death of its founder and CEO, Gerald Cotten in December on a trip to India. That happened because he was the sole controller who knew its private keys.

The clients of BitGo Business Wallet will be able to secure insurance for their cryptocurrencies held on BitGo’s Business Wallet service, BitGo Trust Company and Custodial offering. Clients can purchase key recovery service and theft insurance dubbed as Lost Key Cover through Digital Asset Services. It is an insurance provider which operates under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). FCA is the financial services regulator in the United Kingdom. The Lost Key Cover service can be purchased on an annual subscription basis or whenever needed.

The CEO at BitGo, Mike Belshe stated that “this is the most complete insurance offering in the industry.” He further added:
“It is not always easy for some clients to understand under what circumstances their investments are insured and to what extent their loss would be covered. We are changing that by being more transparent than any other company about the terms of our coverage. Transparency and accuracy are essential for building trust in the market.”

The head of fine art & species at AmTrust, Nicholas Edwards said, “We have been working hard to tailor a bespoke insurance product for BitGo, in this new, rapidly developing and complex sector.” On the other hand, the CEO of Digital Asset Services, David Janczewski said that the company was “delighted to pre-announce the launch of our specialist digital currency insurance and lost key cover.” He further added:
“Our goal is to make digital currency safe and accessible to all by providing total peace of mind for anyone who is currently holding cryptocurrency, or anyone who might be on the outside looking in and just needs that extra bit of reassurance before investing.”