The decision referenced Universal’s insurance expert several times in its decision:

With regard to the record, Universal’s insurance industry expert stated that under insurance industry custom, “an underwriter cannot merge the two concepts and say that ‘an act of terrorism’ can be also an ‘act of war,’” because “if the policy does not contain a terrorism exclusion, there is a reasonable expectation that acts of terrorism by a known terrorist organization, regardless of however else they may be characterized, will be covered.” Atlantic did not rebut this argument; nevertheless, the district court did not consider Universal’s expert testimony regarding the special meaning of “war” in the insurance context. 

….

Third, Universal’s unrebutted expert testimony notes that the current customary usage of “war” in the insurance industry was developed gradually after the 9/11 attacks (and related litigation) to distinguish between acts of war and acts of terror in the insurance context. 

To view the full decision click here.

Last year, China made a decision to outlaw Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in the country. China’s main reason for this was the increase in cases of pyramid schemes masquerading as ICOs in the country. The government also considered the ICO structure of raising funds illegally.

What are ICOs and why are some governments (some) against them?

ICO (Initial Coin Offering) refers to a situation where a new cryptocurrency network offers presale of its own coins in exchange for other altcoins. The cryptocurrency uses the raised funds to develop its own platform. Investors, on the other hand, hold onto the new tokens until their value increases.
Here are reasons why some governments are against ICOs and how insurers are stepping in to solve the issues involved.

Scam ICOs

Lack of proper knowledge about the cryptocurrency industry has pushed millions of people to invest in ICOs that turned out to be scams. The ICOs promise revolutionary technologies on their cryptocurrency network to attract investors’ attention. In most cases, scam ICOs offer little more than a white paper. They then hype their networks to raise funds and later flee with investors’ money.

ICOs are seen as a threat

Governments like the Chinese government approach foreign investments into the country cautiously. Some governments have very strict financial rules and tend to create structures suitable for their people.

Risk for Investors

ICOs sometimes fail. Many ICOs have failed to attract enough attention to become valuable and pay back their financiers. Only ICOs with a highly innovative network have succeeded. Most of the less-known ICOs fail to raise enough money to develop their platform.

ICOs turn to insurance: Is it Interesting?

The insurance industry has already identified key areas in the cryptocurrency industry where their services are needed. Insurance against theft, for example, is one of the major issues in the industry they can cover. Next on their list is ICOs. To help legitimize ICOs and protect both the new cryptocurrency network and its financiers its, insurance groups are fast partnering with ICO founders.

The result of insurance firms covering ICOs

• “ICO reputation will improve-the stained reputation of ICOs is likely to improve if insurers accept to cover investors, https://www.coindesk.com/pboc-advisor-china-right-ban-icos/.
• Government focus on banning ICOs will reduce-if ICOs become legitimate, there will be less scrutiny and threats from governments.
• Investors will be more informed on where to invest. Every ICO will want to take insurance coverage in order to look genuine and attract more financiers.
• ICO security will improve-investors will become confident in ICOs as they beef up their security measures to attract the best insurance platforms.
• Insurers will act as regulators-it’s possible that insurance companies will play the role of regulators by guiding investors where to invest. Over time, scam-ICOs will reduce.
  Important points:
• Many insurance firms are still not confident in ICOs.
• However, insurers who back promising ICOs stand to win and benefit their partners in a big way.
• Covering ICOs with great potential may revolutionize the cryptocurrency industry.

Bitcoin thefts

Unfortunately, just like anyone else, hackers and thieves also want to have Bitcoins but for free. Set aside jokes, Bitcoin thefts are a major problem nowadays, however, as a Bitcoin owner you may avoid those through a number of methods. For instance, you should never share your wallet’s private address with anyone, you should use hardware wallets rather than online wallets. As a matter of fact, not only Bitcoin owners are at the risk of Bitcoin thefts but so are the miners.
Bitcoin theft incidents.

A rather well-known cloud mining marketplace called NiceHash, in December 2017, has become a victim of a hack during which the thieves managed to steal 4,736.42 Bitcoins, which at the time were worth more than $75 million. The main problem of similar thefts is that blockchain technology ensures its users with anonymity. In other words, the technology makes it impossible to find out whose wallet belongs to whom in order to trace the people who steal the cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, NiceHash is not the only company that suffered from similar hacks. Even earlier, in 2016, Hong Kong based exchange called Bitfinex has lost 120,000 BTC (back at the time 1 BTC was worth around $650). This theft resulted in a fall of Bitcoin price from around $650 to $550, due to public panic all over the Bitcoin platforms.

The issue behind the thefts and potential solutions

The list of similar accidents can go on but as a Bitcoin user or miner, you always have to avoid from storing your cryptocurrencies online and pay a lot of attention to its safety. Please note that similar accidents happen usually because the platforms or the online as well as software wallets those platforms offer are not secure enough and just like any other online platform can be easily hacked. In other words, these unpleasant theft incidents are not because of Bitcoin is a bad cryptocurrency but because of people and companies not storing their coins optimally enough. The good news is that the number of insurance companies that start considering to provide services for ensuring Bitcoins are increasing with the popularity growth of this digital money. Currently, there already are some such insurance companies, however, even before making a deal with the insurance companies you have to make sure that those are reputable, reliable and are not scams themselves.

Summary
The current structure of cryptocurrencies puts off many insurance companies from insuring ICOs. However, some companies are increasingly making bold moves on ensuring promising ICOs. This will likely determine the next phase of the industry. Do you want to gain an in depth understanding of ICOs? Check out this article to learn about ICOs.

The Court held therefore that the plaintiff assignee of the policyholder had no more rights than the policyholder “just as Dr. Allen would be unable to recover the damages sought by plaintiff, the plaintiff — who stands in the shoes of Dr. Allen — is unable to recover against the defendants … because Dr. Allen’s insurance policy does not include the type of recover sought by the plaintiff.” 

Favorably quoting a West Virginia case on defense within the limit restrictions, the court stated “the defense within limits provision in medical malpractice insurer’s tail endorsement to insured’s policy did not violate public policy; strong public policy of West Virginia was to promote affordable accessible tail coverage that balanced the interests of both patients and physicians, and foreclosing carriers of tail insurance from including defense costs within the available liability limits… would have increased the cost of tail insurance in West Virginia and run afoul of the legislature’s stated goal of promoting stable and affordable tail insurance premiums.”

Jennifer Edwards v. Market Corporation, ET AL

The Accelerating Change of the Insurance Landscape

17^th Annual TMPAA Summit  |  October 18 General Session  |  8:00am

With the changing landscape of the insurance industry fueled by new technology, additional capital and the reimaged approaches to the customer, what are the near-term and long-term impacts to Program Administrators. Our panelists will provide insights into the evolution of the customer experience, life cycle management, claims administration and the technology impact of the value proposition for customers and distributors. 

Key Discussion Topics:

• Where is InsurTech actively changing the insurance Value Chain?
• What opportunities does this create for the Programs space?
• What risks does InsurTech create for the Programs space?
• What are key InsurTech impacts to distribution? 
• What does the next 3-5 years look like?

Click here for panel member bios.

Don’t miss this special Summit presentation!

View full meeting information

April 20, 2015 (New York).  Advisen, Ltd, a well known leader in insurance education and insight announced their nominees for the 2015 Cyber Risk Awards.  Innovation Insurance Group along with XL Group was nominated as this year’s Cyber Risk Innovation of the Year for its new to the market BitCoin Theft Insurance policy, BitSecure™.

BitSecure was designed by Innovation Insurance Group and Bitcoin Financial Group to provide “first of its kind” coverage for policyholders and their customers for theft of bitcoins, whether by electronic or non-electronic means, regardless of whether by a “rouge employee” or an outsider.

BitSecure has been called a “Watershed Event” byCoinDesk, ”a first for the digital currency industry” according to the Wall Street Journal and, in the words of Bitcoin Magazine, the policy is “ushering in a new era in bitcoin security”. 

For more information, including a Voting Ballot, click here.

Day/Date:      Tuesday, 4/28/2015

Time:             11:30am – 12:30pm (60 minutes)

General Overview of Session:

There are more than 13 million bitcoins—more than $8 billion—involved in tens of thousands transactions every month. Bitcoins have been recognized as virtual currency by the U.S. Treasury Department and deemed taxable property by the Internal Revenue Service. They can be converted to and from international currencies and used to buy everything from gift certificates to hotel room reservations. But what are the risks of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies? This session is hosted by RIMS New York Chapter.

Moderator:           Ty R. Sagalow, CEO & Founder, Innovation Insurance Group, Bitcoin Insurance Agency
Speaker:                Robert Parisi, Managing Director, Marsh
Risk Manager:      James Kirtland, Risk Manager, Voya Financial

Building on the foundation of Bitgo’s $250,000 insurance policy, BitQuick, a peer-to-peer cash-for-bitcoin startup, however, is looking to reinvigorate this dormant sector. By offering some basic bitcoin protections, BitQuick aims to serve the underbanked market while positioning itself as more secure and convenient than competitors.

How it works

Using BitQuick is relatively simple: sellers list their prices on the marketplace, where the company says bitcoin sales go for a 5% premium, and wait for a matching buyer.

Once a match is made, the seller places the buyer’s bitcoin into a multi-signature escrow wallet.

The buyer then must go deposit cash using a provided account number into a local bank location such as a Bank of America branch.

Protecting users

BitQuick has a number of measures in place that bitcoin marketplace competitors like LocalBitcoins don’t possess.

For example, in order to ensure both sides of the transaction are protected, BitQuick utilizes BitGo’s multi-sig wallet technology, which is insured up to $250,000.

…..

For the complete article, to go http://www.coindesk.com/bitquick-us-cash-bitcoin-market/

Day/Date:      Tuesday, 4/28/2015

Time:             11:30am – 12:30pm (60 minutes)

General Overview of Session:

There are more than 13 million bitcoins—more than $8 billion—involved in tens of thousands transactions every month. Bitcoins have been recognized as virtual currency by the U.S. Treasury Department and deemed taxable property by the Internal Revenue Service. They can be converted to and from international currencies and used to buy everything from gift certificates to hotel room reservations. But what are the risks of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies? This session is hosted by RIMS New York Chapter.

Moderator:           Ty R. Sagalow, CEO & Founder, Innovation Insurance Group, Bitcoin Insurance Agency
Speaker:                Robert Parisi, Managing Director, Marsh
Risk Manager:      James Kirtland, Risk Manager, Voya Financial