BURLINGTON, Vt. — Businesses are increasingly looking to captives to address emerging risks as commercial insurance market conditions remain difficult.
Demand is growing for innovative insurance programs for cannabis and cryptocurrency risks, among others, panelists said last month at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association’s 2023 annual conference.
“The search for capacity doesn’t end when your insurance broker says there’s no combination for you,” said Joseph Ziolkowski, co-founder and CEO of Relm Insurance Ltd., a Bermuda-based specialty insurer for emerging businesses.
“That’s the point at which the creative element should start kicking in,” he said.
Companies operating in emerging sectors such as digital assets and blockchain, cannabis and psychedelics face challenges getting insurance, Mr. Ziolkowski said.
“There needs to be a ton of collaboration with the operators of these businesses to put them in a position to reduce their dependence on the way insurance has functioned for the last 350 years,” he said.
New businesses face a classic “chicken and egg” problem where they need insurance to operate, but…
