Since then, Elliptic has made no announcement that its relationship with Lloyd’s had ended, or that by 3rd February it had engaged new insurers.CBC Insurance, who brokered Elliptic’s new insurance coverage, confirmed the new arrangement. Elliptic COO Tom Robinson said there was no gap between the two coverages.In blogposts on 13th March and 1st May, the company refers to its insurance offering, noting that it pays out in bitcoin as well as sterling, and boasting that Elliptic “uses a large, multinational insurance company with extremely strong financial backing and a diverse risk portfolio”, but neglecting to mention that the company was no longer linked with Lloyd’s.Robinson said his company “made the switch clear to those enquiring about our insurance, including in media interviews”.Underwriters and insurersA key part of this story is the difference between an underwriter and an insurer. An underwriter determines the risks around insuring a company, for example, and could be said to be doing the ‘legwork’ on an insurance offering. That offering is then presented to an insurer, who actually takes on the risk and provides the insurance.Insurance companies may do underwriting themselves, or they may hire underwriters operating within the Lloyd’s of London marketplace, for example.The phrase “insured by Lloyd’s of London” is sometimes used as shorthand, but it’s not the most accurate way to describe deals done through the Lloyd’s of London marketplace.The progression of bitcoin insuranceSince Elliptic Vault launched in January, other bitcoin companies have also insured customer deposits, notably Circle and Xapo. More recently, the Great American Insurance Group announced it would begin offering coverage for bitcoin.Robinson says the problems Elliptic has faced were partly “a symptom of the young nature of the bitcoin ecosystem”.“This is something that a lot of bitcoin businesses are experiencing, they launch bitcoin services in partnership with big brands and then those big brands have second thoughts when they receive a lot of publicity around it and then aren’t so keen.”Robinson’s colleague, Elliptic CEO James Smith, said the company is “enjoying fast-growing interest from financial institutions and other businesses both in the US and Europe”.“We are currently completing a funding round which will enable us to rapidly scale our team and customer base over the next couple of years, and look forward to helping many more companies engage with the digital currency ecosystem,” he added.EllipticInsuranceUKOriginal author: Kadhim Shubber