Late last year, the leader of a Bermuda insurance company specializing in coverage for emerging sectors, including the digital asset ecosystem and companies working in cannabis and psychedelics, confirmed reports that the company insured FTX companies.

In a website post titled “A Message From Our CEO,” Joseph Ziolkowski, co-founder and CEO, Relm Insurance Ltd., wrote: “As has been reported in the media, Relm provides insurance coverage to West Realm Shires Inc. (commonly known as FTX.US) and FTX Australia Pty Ltd. We also provide insurance coverage to companies that have been compromised due to their relationship with FTX and Alameda, and we are actively assessing the extent to which our coverage could be triggered.

For more about insurance implications of the FTX collapse, read related article: FTX Liability Tentacles Spread Far

Ziolkowski went on to report that the company has “allocated a portion of our general reserve for both known and unknown claims related to this market impact.” While not providing a dollar amount, he said, “We remain confident that we will continue to be well-capitalized to serve the needs of the industry as the fallout from this event evolves,” stating that the assessment was based on a detailed review of the entire portfolio.

“On the asset side of our balance sheet, we have remained highly conservative, with approximately 95 percent of our assets in cash or U.S. Treasury Bills,” he stated, attesting to the solvency of the company.

Ziolkowski began the message with a description of the company as “a regulated general insurance company [that] complies with stringent statutory and solvency reporting requirements imposed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and files annual financial statements audited by Deloitte” and also carriers an “A” (exceptional) financial strength rating from Demotech. He said the company has written a diversified book of $100 million in gross premiums since early 2020 (when it began deploying capacity), noting that a “material portion” relates to companies operating in uncorrelated innovative sectors outside of the digital asset and Web3 ecosystem.

Insurance products offered by Relm, according to the website, are digital asset custody insurance (insurance that is purchased by a custodian, such as a digital asset bank, to provide a source of indemnification for the loss of digital assets from a client account), as well as D&O, commercial crime and professional liability insurance.

“Relm is committed to the digital asset space, not just by issuing policies and collecting premiums but also by paying legitimate, covered claims,” Ziolkowski wrote in his December message. “We genuinely believe in the potential of distributed ledger technology, and that belief informs a major part of our underwriting appetite for innovation. Our commitment to the support and rebuilding of this sector during and following this trying time remains unwavering,” he concluded.

Related article: FTX Liability Tentacles Spread Far

Featured image: In this screengrab from an interview with ABC News is Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The interview, which appeared on the program Good Morning America, took place in the Bahamas island of Nassau where FTX was headquartered. (Good Morning America/ABC News via AP)