A Bermudian-based reinsurer has played a pivotal role in helping a revolutionary new crypto wallet insurance product get to market.

Relm Insurance Ltd has provided the necessary reinsurance backing for Crypto Shield, the first insurance product for crypto currency available to retail wallet holders.

Crypto Shield covers the theft of crypto currency while in the custody of a qualified custodian.

The launch of the product was announced by Boost Insurance alongside go-to-market partner, Breach Insurance, an insurtech that provides insurance technology and regulated insurance products for the crypto currency market.

The companies said Crypto Shield was the first product to allow individuals to purchase protection for their crypto wallets held by select custodians. If the custodian is breached or suffers a social engineering attack resulting in lost assets, individuals insured under Crypto Shield can be reimbursed for the value of their policy.

Crypto Shield is currently available in 10 US states, and provides individuals with up to $1 million of coverage for the theft of crypto while in the custody of qualified exchanges.

While there is some commercial insurance available to crypto currency institutions, Breach envisioned Crypto Shield as a solution to the protection gap that currently exists for individuals holding crypto currency, securing a partnership with Boost to assist in navigating the complexity of bringing Crypto Shield to life.

Boost’s insurance infrastructure-as-a-service packages the necessary operational, technological, compliance, and capital requirements for new insurance programmes into a white-label solution, enabling insurtechs such as Breach to more quickly launch new lines of business, the companies said.

Eyhab Aejaz, co-founder and CEO at Boston-based Breach, said: “Early stage insurtechs have foundational operational gaps and it’s been exciting to find relationships that complement one another as well as our partnerships with Boost and Relm.

“Boost’s deep expertise and insurance infrastructure-as-a-service platform, and Relm’s industry-leading crypto reinsurance capabilities, have positioned Breach to bring a highly complex insurance product to the market in a beautifully delivered customer experience.”

Boost’s team of insurance and technology experts worked with Breach to develop a product that met all regulatory and compliance standards in all applicable jurisdictions, the companies said.

To deliver that product in a seamless experience, Boost and Breach’s platforms connect via API, allowing Boost’s policy administration system to deliver back-end management for the Crypto Shield product.

Breach’s customers are then able to purchase and manage every part of their policy and claims process, all from within Breach’s proprietary crypto insurance platform.

Alex Maffeo, CEO and founder of Boost, headquartered in New York City, said: “Many of our insurtech and embedded partners have the deep market knowledge to identify and solve for gaps in the insurance market, but the insurance industry is often reluctant or unwilling to embrace emerging markets like crypto and traditional players lack the technology needed to support innovators like Breach.

“With Boost’s infrastructure-as-a-service platform, forward-thinking companies like Breach can launch and deliver innovative new insurance offerings, at a fraction of the time and cost required to build a full-stack insurance programme from scratch.”

Boost and Breach partnered to source and secure the necessary reinsurance backing from Relm, fronted by Trisura Specialty Insurance Company.

The companies said Relm was the world’s leading capacity provider to the crypto sector with a track record of insuring companies operating across the crypto ecosystem.

Joe Ziolkowski, co-founder and CEO at Relm, said: “Relm’s partnership with Boost and Breach to reinsure the US’s first crypto currency insurance product for retail wallet holders is a significant milestone in supporting the development of crypto and blockchain technologies.

“Relm’s reinsurance provides the capacity to take this revolutionary product to market and for the first time, enables individuals to achieve their own level of protection in the industry.”