InnovationGuard®
Insuring your investment in R&D, AI and the know-how that gives you a competitive advantage.
Limits & Deductibles
Your policy has one overall limit that applies to all covered losses.
Full loss (indemnity) limits can go up to $13.5M, though most companies choose limits in the $3M–$5M range. If you need higher limits, we can assist in procuring those outside of our pre-arranged authority.
Investigation & Recovery costs count toward that overall limit, and the standard limit is $250,000. A second per Incident limit for Insuring Agreement A is negotiable.
There is a higher deductible for Insuring Agreement B, but if both apply, you only pay the higher one.
Deductible for Insuring Agreement B are based on a percentage of the value of the insured trade secrets, with options to adjust depending on the amount of coverage purchased.
What’s Covered
Insuring Agreement A: Investigation & Recovery
If you suspect that a covered trade secret has been stolen - either by a former employee, a third party where a business deal went sideways, or by hackers - we bring in legal and forensic experts to help you figure out what happened and try to get your trade secrets back and/or preserving its status as your trade secret, preventing further loss or damage from occurring.
We cover investigation and recovery costs above your deductible, up to a $250,000 for most insureds; $500,000 for others.
Insuring Agreement B: Indemnity (Agreed Value)
If a covered theft or misuse of a trade secret happens during the policy period and recovery isn’t possible, we pay the pre-agreed value of the affected asset. This applies once reasonable recovery efforts have failed, and the loss meets our proof standards.
Key Benefits of the insurance:
The existence of this coverage takes off the table many of the hardest issues in trade secret theft cases. Namely, we are already agreeing that you:
a) had a trade secret to begin with
b) that it had value and we agreed on what that was, and
c) that any “trade secret loss”, including unjust enrichment of a third party, constitutes damages.
AND we will fund subrogation if the facts of the case lead us to that action, then allow for you (the Insured) to participate in the winnings if we collect over and above what we already paid out. There is likely no need for litigation funding…we want our money back too, so incentives are aligned.
Finally, by valuing and insuring an asset that has been “validated” as a trade secret, you have created an ASSET from what was otherwise sunk cost in many cases. Undocumented and unprotected innovation expense is NOT a trade secret. Insured trade secret assets can be monetized and loaned against, and increase the valuation for any potential sale or M&A transaction.
"Mary Guzman is an insurance guru, who thinks outside the box and disrupts the status quo...Mary is now focused on the biggest insurance "gap" in existing insurance policies=trade secrets. Mary has launched Crown Jewel to provide a revolutionary new suite of risk management services and insurance protection for trade secret assets. The trade secret asset insurance puzzle, 80 percent of the value of companies in the New Economy, has now been solved"
— R. Mark Halligan, Jury Trail Lawyer, IP, Author, Best Lawyers: Lawyer of the Year, Trade Secrets Law- Partner Fisher Broyles
Who and Where We Cover (ask us if you fall outside the below):
Who: U.S.-based private and public companies.
Where: Trade secrets located anywhere in the world, except in sanctioned countries.
Target industries: Tech/software, Green Energy/Clean Water, Aerospace, Manufacturing/Robotics, Logistics/supply chain, MedTech/BioTech, Financial Services
Target account size: $10M to $1Billion in revenue
How Value Is Determined
You can opt for one of three valuation options:
A) Cover only the cost of your R&D to get where you are today
B) Cover the cost of R&D 2X if you want to cover some of the expected sales or savings (either can be valued) without going through formal valuation process, or
C) If you want coverage that reflects the full market value of a trade secret (the cost plus the future value of the asset), an independent valuation is required. Valuation costs are paid by the insured but at a significant discount.
How This Works in Real Life
A mid-size technology company discovers that a former employee may have taken confidential product designs and shared them with a competitor. As soon as the issue comes to light, the company notifies Crown Jewel.
First, the policy helps cover the cost of investigating what happened, including forensic analysis, outside counsel, and efforts to stop further use of the information via injunctive relief and/or other remedies. The company pays its deductible, and the policy covers the rest of the investigation and recovery costs up to the policy’s investigation limit.
Despite these efforts, the trade secret can’t realistically be recovered or protected going forward. Because the asset was insured at an agreed value, the policy then pays that agreed amount, lets’ say 5M, helping the company stabilize operations, invest in replacement innovation, and move forward without absorbing the full financial hit on its own.
If CJI decides to litigate via subrogation, using the data and information we collect during underwriting due diligence and the forensics report, and win…say $10M in damages. Once we collect on that we pay ourselves back $5M plus expenses, pay the recovery team a success fee, and the overage goes back to you, the insured, allowing you to gain perhaps more than the limit you purchased. It’s a win-win-win.
Take a short, confidential Trade Secret Protection assessment to get your score and schedule a free advisory call with CJI senior leadership.
OR
Contact Us to discuss your company