Chaucer will provide core subscription capacity for the programme, which will be brokered by Acrisure London Wholesale.
Crown Jewel offers a complete trade secret and risk management product, Crown Jewel Protector. As part of the underwriting process, Crown Jewel Protector identifies, assesses, and provides recommendations on how a company can protect its trade secrets.
Trade secrets can be threatened by industrial espionage or disclosure by a disgruntled employee or trusted person. Trade secrets are also increasingly at risk from cyberattacks, the companies said.
In the event of trade secret theft, Crown Jewel will provide legal and forensic experts to determine how the theft occurred, gather evidence of any trade secret misappropriation, and pursue asset recovery, injunctive relief, or both. Under the insurance policy, the pre-agreed fair market value of the trade secret will be paid in the event of a loss of revenue or market share as a result of misappropriation of the insured’s trade secret.
Trade secrets account for a sizeable proportion of the value of most modern businesses, Crown Jewel said. It is estimated that 90% of the value of companies in the S&P 500 are intangible assets, of which only 15% are protected by patents or trademarks. That means that of the S&P 500’s $32.1 trillion market capitalization, $24.6 trillion is made up of unprotected intangibles, such as trade secrets.
Trade secrets include things like proprietary algorithms, designs, software code, formulas, and unique industrial workflows and processes, according to Crown Jewel.
“The launch of this product is the result of a multi-year passion project that should enable a trade secrets protection ecosystem to develop, including not only insurance protection for a company’s most unique know-how, but also monetizing those assets that will allow lenders and investors to support and finance innovation with backing that hasn’t been available before,” said Mary Guzman, Founder and CEO of Crown Jewel. “Chaucer’s deep experience in the marketplace will be a valuable asset to Crown Jewel as we launch this innovative solution.”
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“Prior to the launch of this product, there was no insurance available for companies’ trade secrets, leaving the vast majority of their value unprotected,” said Hayley Maynard, Chaucer’s chief innovation officer. “Crown Jewel Protector provides significant additional peace of mind for businesses that their most valuable secrets are safe.”
“Chaucer is delighted to be partnering with Crown Jewel in this insurance industry for the first time,” said Zak Mallen, US reinsurance underwriter at Chaucer. “Crown Jewel Protector fills a real gap in the market, which we are sure will be highly sought after by publicly traded companies and mid-markets alike. This will be a huge benefit to all companies, but for those who could not afford litigation in the event of their trade secrets being misappropriated, it has the potential to be transformative.”
“Acrisure London Wholesale is proud to have secured capacity for this innovative, first-of-its-kind product, which addresses significant trade exposure that has previously gone unsecured,” said Tom Quy, Senior Vice President, Acrisure London Wholesale.
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