THE development, hundreds of years ago, of ship and cargo insurance was revolutionary. It marked the start of commercial insurance; protection against loss from looting, fire and the perils of the high seas fostered global trade. But in the 21st century the value of companies consists less of solid objects, such as boats and buildings, than of weightless, intangible elements, such as intellectual property (IP), data and reputation. “Today the most valuable assets are more likely to be stored in the cloud than in a warehouse,” says Inga Beale, chief executive of Lloyd’s of London.
As Western economies have shifted from making…
