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20 minutes ago
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Mosaic Insurance unveils new coverage for digital asset sector
Mosaic Insurance has introduced a new product suite targeting the digital asset market, combining cyber and financial institutions (FI) crime coverage to address the needs of this industry. The offering provides tailored protection for businesses navigating complex risks in a sector that has often faced limited insurance options, said Mosaic. Mosaic has partnered with Native, a specialist broker in digital assets, to support the launch. Through the Native Risk Collective, businesses that adopt approved vendors and services to enhance their risk profile can access improved coverage terms and more competitive premiums. The modular suite delivers stand-alone or integrated coverage for cyber, technology errors and omissions (E&O), and crime risks. It offers up to £/$/€10m in capacity for cyber and tech exposures and up to £/$/€5m for crime exposures, the insurer said. Mosaic cyber global head Brian Bonkoski said: 'Mosaic is bringing the first comprehensive Lloyd's A+-rated cyber, tech E&O and crime capacity to the digital asset space – it is a true differentiator, delivering a level of trust and financial strength that has been lacking in this space. 'With global regulatory licences and underwriting hubs in London, the US, Bermuda, Canada, Europe, Dubai, and Singapore, we offer seamless coverage to clients, regardless of domicile or the jurisdictions they serve.' Underwritten through Mosaic's global agency network on behalf of its Lloyd's Syndicate 1609, the product is said to be supported by its A+-rated global carrier partners. Designed to serve a wide range of digital asset businesses, the solution caters to entities such as blockchain analytics companies, custodians, exchanges, exchange-traded funds structures, miners, real-world asset platforms, trading platforms and wallet providers. These companies have historically encountered challenges in securing comprehensive coverage due to perceived market volatility or regulatory uncertainties, stated Mosaic. The product mirrors the line sizes and policy structures available to Mosaic's non-digital asset clients, providing seamless cyber, tech and crime coverage through a single underwriting platform to eliminate common coverage gaps. Mosaic cyber underwriter vice-president Kieran Quigley said: 'Digital asset clients have long needed insurance that understands their risks, offers meaningful capacity and brings a long-term view. 'We have listened to clients and brokers and built solutions that reflect the ambition and growing sophistication of this space. We are proud to support innovators driving the next wave of global economic change.' Cyber and financial institutions liability represent two of Mosaic's seven specialty business lines, alongside environmental liability, transactional liability, political risk, political violence and professional liability. "Mosaic Insurance unveils new coverage for digital asset sector" was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This Bezos-backed EV startup is betting you'll pay extra for a stereo in your petite pickup
By Kalea Hall and Nora Eckert (Reuters) -When Will Haseltine saw images online of a small, boxy electric pickup from startup Slate Auto this past spring, he got on the waitlist right away. The sparse interior and crank windows reminded him of the no-frills pickups he grew up around in Memphis, Tennessee – but he was most enamored with the sub-$20,000 price tag. That price, though, factored in a $7,500 federal tax break, which is set to expire Sept. 30, a casualty of the budget package U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law earlier this month. Now Haseltine isn't sure the truck will fit his budget when it comes out, expected late next year. 'The Slate was the first time that I looked at a car, wanted it, and could also really make it happen," said Haseltine, a 39-year-old musical instrument technician. Without the tax credit, he said: "That's just plain too much." Michigan-based Slate has raised $700 million from investors, including founder Jeff Bezos, and has racked up more than 100,000 reservations for its cars. But the company is launching into a tough U.S. market. A few years ago, the electric-vehicle space was awash in hopeful entrepreneurs looking to cash in on the global transition to electric cars. But U.S. EV sales growth has cooled as consumer interest has faded. The loss of federal tax breaks will further hurt demand, auto executives and analysts predict. Like other EV startups, Slate likely faces a long road to profitability. The EV business has proven to be a money loser for most industry players, partly because batteries remain relatively expensive. Even in China, where smaller, inexpensive EVs have proliferated and companies enjoy a cost advantage over Western automakers, most are unprofitable. Slate founders believe the company can overcome those obstacles by offering something that is in short supply in today's U.S. car market: affordability. The average new-vehicle selling price is above $45,000. 'We are building the affordable vehicle that has long been promised but never delivered,' Slate CEO Chris Barman said at a Detroit conference in July. The company has a chance to fill a void left by Tesla, which has backtracked on plans to introduce a mid-$20,000s electric vehicle. The startup has taken a bare-bones approach to its two-seat pickup, which is slightly smaller than a Honda Civic hatchback. How bare-bones? A stereo and power windows will cost extra. Slate hasn't disclosed the cost of such add-ons. 'IT'S A COOL IDEA' Slate's creation started with an idea from Miles Arnone, the CEO of Re:Build Manufacturing, a Massachusetts-based startup that includes several former Amazon employees. Arnone believed workers needed better access to affordable vehicles. Arnone shared his idea with Jeff Wilke, the company's chairman and a former Amazon executive, and eventually, a small team was formed. The group hired Barman, who spent most of her career as an engineering executive at Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis. Barman told Reuters recently that Slate will be able to absorb the loss of the $7,500 tax credit because the truck's price still will undercut competitors. The company plans to build the pickup at an old catalog factory in Warsaw, Indiana. Executives are taking steps to hold down costs, starting with a simplified design that uses about 500 parts in the truck's assembly, compared with a few thousand for a traditional truck. The plan to build all of its trucks in a basic package – what the company calls a 'SKU of one' – allows customers to choose to add a stereo, center console, special lighting, and other features later. The pickup will be built with composite body panels in gray, with an option for a vinyl wrap. That will sidestep the need for a paint shop, which is one of the most expensive investments in a typical car factory. Slate's minimalist approach is a leap of faith that Americans will forgo creature comforts they have been increasingly willing to splurge on. Last year, U.S. buyers spent 33% above the base price on average, springing for higher-end trim packages and extra features, according to . That was up from 28% in 2014. But there is mounting evidence that new cars are becoming out of reach for many Americans. That could worsen under the effects of the Trump administration's tariffs, which threaten to increase prices on popular budget cars imported from Mexico, Korea and elsewhere. From that standpoint, Slate's price-conscious pickup might be hitting at the right time, said Paul Waatti, director of industry analysis at AutoPacific. 'There's a growing appetite, especially among younger drivers, for vehicles that are more honest, more modular and less over-engineered,' he said. 'Slate taps right into that.' Traditional automakers and startups have found mixed success rolling out larger electric pickup trucks in recent years. Now, startups like Slate and California-based Telo are focusing on smaller electric pickups. In a town hall meeting in early May, Ford CEO Jim Farley and Executive Chair Bill Ford told employees they admired the company's customer-centered ethos and focus on affordability. Tim Kuniskis, Stellantis' head of American brands, called Slate 'super interesting' at a June event, while also questioning how affordable it would be for some shoppers once they added all the options they wanted. 'The idea behind it, we've talked about that idea a million times,' he said. "It's a cool idea.' Connectez-vous pour accéder à votre portefeuille
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Interactive Brokers considers launching new stablecoin for customers
By Anirban Sen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Interactive Brokers Group is considering launching a stablecoin for customers, joining a number of large financial firms that are betting big on the digital token boom as the U.S. eases regulations around the crypto industry. The deliberations come at a time when the underlying infrastructure of global financial markets is undergoing a once-in-a-generation transformation due to the proliferation of blockchain-based assets like stablecoins. In an interview with Reuters, Interactive Brokers' billionaire founder Thomas Peterffy said the company is working on potentially issuing stablecoins, but has yet to make a final decision on how that will be offered to customers. Interactive Brokers, which is one of the world's leading discount brokers with a market value of about $110 billion, currently has a partnership with crypto platform Paxos and is also an investor in crypto exchange Zero Hash. Through these tie-ups, Interactive Brokers offers trading in various cryptocurrencies to customers. The popular trading platform is now working on enabling instant, 24/7 stablecoin funding for brokerage accounts, as well as supporting asset transfers for commonly traded cryptocurrencies, said Peterffy, who also sounded a note of caution on the risks of rapid widespread adoption of crypto. "It's basically hard to grasp its fundamental value. If we see people adopting it and ascribing a value to it, I'm okay with that, but I'm still not convinced," said Peterffy. Among the options being considered, the Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm could allow customers to use stablecoins issued by other financial institutions to fund their accounts, depending upon the credibility of the issuer. Stablecoins are blockchain-based tokens acting as a proxy for an asset that allow people to move money across borders without interacting with the banking system. Critics have warned that this makes them useful for criminals who want to avoid banks' anti-money laundering checks. Online brokerage firm Robinhood recently launched a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar called the Global Dollar Network through a consortium that included other crypto platforms like Kraken and Galaxy Digital. The Global Dollar Network is based around a stablecoin called USDG, which is issued by Paxos. Interactive Brokers, which last year launched a predictions market called ForecastEx that allows investors to buy "yes" or "no" contracts in response to questions, is one of the largest U.S. trading platforms with about 3.87 million customer accounts at the end of June, a jump of 32% from last year. Like other brokerages, Interactive Brokers has benefited from elevated levels of trading due to market volatility this year that was triggered by U.S. tariff policy. Its shares have surged about 47% since the start of the year, outperforming the S&P 500 Investment Banking & Brokerage index, which has risen roughly 20% during the same period. "We view the two innovations (prediction markets and crypto investments) as an effective hedge to any disruption in the firm's core equity, futures, and derivatives businesses," Morningstar analysts said in a note dated July 18. Sign in to access your portfolio
