Having a trade secret like KFC’s chicken coating recipe, a unique use for hydrogen or graphene in industry, or perhaps a way of detecting rogue balloons as they launch, rather than drift into your airspace, could be highly valuable knowledge worth protecting. In an online world where data is routinely hacked from companies, shared by bad actors within the company, or simply leaked via poor protocols, insurance for trade secrets could be a growing sector of the market.
Chaucer and Acrisure think so, as they partner up to boost their offer. Here’s the word;
The product is the first of its kind to offer protection for the potentially huge loss in value a business can suffer if its trade secrets are stolen and made public or leaked to a competitor. Chaucer will be providing lead underwriting capacity; and the programme will be brokered by Acrisure London Wholesale.
Crown Jewel offers a full ‘Trade Secret Asset Risk Management’ product, called Crown Jewel® Protector. As part of the underwriting process, Crown Jewel Protector identifies, values, and offers recommendations on how to protect a company’s trade secrets.
In addition to threat of industrial espionage or disclosure by a trusted insider, trade secrets are increasingly at risk of being misappropriated through cyber-attacks. Should theft occur, Crown Jewel will supply forensic and legal experts to determine how the theft occurred, gather evidence of any misappropriation of trade secrets, and pursue recovery of the asset, injunctive relief, or both. Under the insurance policy, should a loss of market share or income result from the misappropriation of an insured’s trade secret, the pre-agreed fair market value of the trade secret is payable.
Trade secrets make up a huge proportion of the value to most modern businesses. An estimated 90% of the value of the S&P500 is intangible assets, of which only 15% are protected by patents or trademarks. This means that of the S&P500’s current $32.1 trillion market capitalization, $24.6 trillion (77%) is made up of unprotected intangibles, such as trade secrets. Examples of trade secrets include proprietary algorithms, designs, software code, formulas, and unique workflows and industrial processes.
Without insurance, if risk mitigation such as Non-Disclosure Agreements and data security fail, the victim’s only recourse is litigation which can be extremely costly, time-consuming and has an uncertain outcome. Crown Jewel Protector helps secure a business’ trade secrets, which can prevent or minimize the loss and reduce the likelihood of protracted litigation.
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