WTW acquires Redefind platform offering non-custodial crypto insurance with cryptographic proof of ownership. UK launch first, global expansion planned. Alastair Swift comments on shifting digital asset risk landscape.
Alpha Score of 41 reflects weak overall profile with moderate momentum, weak value, moderate quality. Based on 3 of 4 signals — score is capped at 90 until remaining data ingests.
Insurance broker WTW (Willis Towers Watson) completed the acquisition of Redefind, an end-to-end web-based platform designed to facilitate access to insurance products for crypto and digital assets. WTW said this investment reflects its long-term strategy to expand into next-generation protection solutions for clients exposed to digital finance, crypto ecosystems, and tokenized asset environments.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The proposition launches as a non-custodial, cost-of-recovery insurance solution intended to support digital asset owners in the event of theft or loss. Coverage is designed to support expenses associated with forensic investigation, asset tracing, and legal recovery of stolen digital assets.
As part of the acquisition, Redefind’s founders, Richard Daws and Connor Edward, joined WTW upon completion.
The service will initially launch in the UK, with broader market and product expansion planned as capabilities continue to evolve.
“As digital assets continue to move further into the mainstream, demand for credible regulated protection solutions is increasing,” commented Alastair Swift, head of global specialities at Willis. “Through this investment, WTW is taking a leading position to shape the future of risk transfer and protection in the digital economy.”
Redefind is a proprietary, end-to-end crypto insurance platform enabling individuals and institutions to purchase cryptocurrency and digital asset insurance across all forms of custody. Its enterprise-grade web application uses cryptographic proof of ownership to make previously uninsurable digital assets insurable.
This mechanism is the key innovation. Most crypto insurance policies are limited to custodial wallets managed by exchanges or third-party custodians. Redefind’s non-custodial approach allows owners to retain control of their private keys while still securing a policy – a feature that addresses the largest gap in digital asset risk transfer: the inability to recover stolen assets from self-custodied wallets.
Alastair Swift added: “We are committed to supporting clients in navigating emerging financial and technology risks and to delivering trusted, regulated solutions backed by our global insurance expertise.”
The UK launch is the beachhead. WTW’s Affinity practice, led by Anthony Borgman (head of GB Affinity), will support the initial distribution. The broader expansion plan targets additional markets and product lines as the Redefind platform matures.
Anthony Borgman commented: “We are delighted to have acquired Redefind and welcome its founders to WTW. Under Richard’s stewardship the business will continue to evolve with support from WTW’s Affinity practice and for wider distribution.”
For institutions holding crypto assets, this deal lowers a critical barrier: the lack of regulated, non-custodial insurance. Before this, policyholders had to either surrender custody to a qualified custodian or forgo coverage entirely. The Redefind platform bridges that gap, making large-scale institutional allocations to digital assets more tenable from a risk management perspective.
WTW currently carries an Alpha Score of 41 (Mixed) on AlphaScala’s proprietary scale, reflecting a measured stance in its core broker business. This acquisition adds a growth vector that could lift the score if market adoption accelerates.
Africa Specialty Risks (ASR), the developing markets-focused re/insurance group, announced it has entered into an agreement to receive a strategic investment from London-headquartered Vitruvian Partners, a private equity firm. Terms were not disclosed.
In partnership with Vitruvian, ASR will continue its mission of enabling sustainable economic development by fulfilling unmet insurance needs. The firm aims to be the reinsurance platform of choice for developing markets, adding new specialty lines, access to global A-rated capacity, advanced technology capabilities, expanded underwriting at Lloyd’s, and geographic expansion outside of Africa and the Middle East.
Founded in 2020, ASR has doubled its premium base every year since inception, having de-risked over $60 billion of risks across more than 90 developing countries. The group provides policies in all 54 African countries, the Middle East, select CIS states, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. It is forecast to write approximately $500 million in gross written premiums (GWP) in 2026.
ASR primarily writes facultative reinsurance across property, casualty, and specialty classes, as well as direct insurance – especially political risk and trade credit, where it is a leader in de-risking investment into Africa. The distribution model allows access to risks both on the ground in-country and in global wholesale markets. The company also writes treaty reinsurance and provides parametric and captive solutions for corporate clients.
ASR24-7, an automated underwriting platform launched in 2025, offers automatic quote and binding capabilities for standardized risks.
ASR has offices in London, Bermuda, Mauritius, Dubai, Morocco, and South Africa. New hubs in East and West Africa are soon to open, alongside offices in India, Asia, and Latin America. This reflects the group’s ambition to move beyond its African and Middle Eastern roots and become a truly global developing-markets reinsurer.
Mikir Shah, CEO of Africa Specialty Risks, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Vitruvian Partners as our new lead investor. Since launch in 2020, ASR has enjoyed a significant growth trajectory, and this new partnership will help us realise our ambition to be the go-to reinsurer for developing markets.” Shah thanked Helios Investment Partners, the majority owner since ASR’s founding, for their support.
Tassilo Arnhold, partner at Vitruvian, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Mikir and the broader ASR team, who have built an impressive business to date by solving a critical and increasing re/insurance gap in developing markets. We look forward to working with ASR to further expand across various product lines and across developing market regions globally.”
Jamie Hollins, partner at Helios Investment Partners, noted that ASR “exemplifies Helios’ strategy of partnering with outstanding founders to build market-leading platforms that address critical gaps in African and developing market ecosystems.” He added that the firm scaled at an exceptional pace, combining underwriting discipline, technological innovation, and global reach.
The transaction is expected to close later this year, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
For institutional investors exposed to emerging market risk, ASR’s scaling is a positive signal: more capacity for political risk, trade credit, and property/casualty reinsurance in regions traditionally underserved by the global re/insurance market. The Vitruvian investment provides both capital and operational expertise to expand underwriting capabilities.
What this means: increased availability of A-rated capacity for developing market risks, which could lower premium pricing over time and enable larger infrastructure and trade flows. Conversely, the concentration of risk in volatile jurisdictions remains a concern – watch for any deterioration in underwriting performance as ASR expands its geographic footprint beyond its core Africa/Middle East base.
Both the WTW and ASR moves signal that the global specialty insurance market is actively innovating – one in digital asset protection, the other in developing market coverage. For traders and risk managers, tracking these developments offers early read-throughs on where insurance capacity is expanding and where pricing dynamics may shift.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.