TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Unlawful Eskom strike costing South Africa three stages of load shedding

      1 July 2022

      Striking Eskom workers will face consequences: De Ruyter

      1 July 2022

      The AI tool that has changed my life as a developer

      1 July 2022

      Google.co.za is down and the domain is pending deletion

      1 July 2022

      US files charges over South African bitcoin fraud scheme

      1 July 2022
    • World

      Meta girds for ‘fierce’ headwinds

      1 July 2022

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022

      Bitcoin just had its worst quarter in a decade

      30 June 2022

      Samsung beats TSMC to 3nm chip production

      30 June 2022

      Napster plots crypto comeback

      29 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Sections»Cryptocurrencies»Old Mutual will no longer insure crypto miners

    Old Mutual will no longer insure crypto miners

    Cryptocurrencies By Staff Reporter10 June 2019
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Christelle Colman

    Old Mutual warned on Monday that it will no longer insure computer equipment used for mining cryptocurrencies.

    “Old Mutual Insure has opted out of insuring computer equipment used for cryptocurrency mining due to the unregulated nature of the industry, which is often associated with cybercrime, and its penchant for using modified electronic infrastructure that operates on a 24/7 basis, making it highly prone to overheating and other malfunctions,” the financial services company said in a statement.

    It said it has begun advising its branches not to insure any businesses involved in crypto mining “following extensive industry research as well as an in-depth review of claims from clients that have already incurred losses to equipment used for cryptocurrency mining”.

    It is a highly volatile industry that attracts a lot of speculators, so there is no proper risk-rating structure in the local market for this type of risk

    “We have chosen not to provide cover for this type of risk as it is quite tricky to conduct a proper risk analysis of an unregulated fledgling industry that is already on the radar of financial authorities due to the unfortunate association with money laundering and cybercrime,” said Old Mutual’s insurance expert Christelle Colman.

    “It is also a highly volatile industry that attracts a lot of speculators, so there is no proper risk-rating structure in the local market for this type of risk.”

    Colman said doing a comprehensive inventory of the insured equipment is difficult “because the value of the highly modified computer equipment is typically inflated and almost impossible to verify as it is usually imported from obscure suppliers in the Far East”.

    ‘Comprehensive risk analysis’

    Old Mutual said crypto-mining operations typically use devices that are not only expensive but can overload the CPU or graphic processing unit “as they are usually run at 100% capacity”.

    “There is also the added complication that cryptocurrency mining is often associated with highly speculative trading activities, meaning the businesses involved can be prone to going bust,” said Colman.

    “Old Mutual is currently conducting a comprehensive risk analysis of all clients involved in computer-heavy business activities as well as third-party service providers such as software developers and Web designers to ensure that they are not involved in cryptocurrency mining.”  — (c) 2019 NewsCentral Media

    Christelle Colman Old Mutual Old Mutual Insure top
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleAmazon tries to sell us a fantastic future
    Next Article BEE deal, forex losses push MultiChoice into the red

    Related Posts

    Unlawful Eskom strike costing South Africa three stages of load shedding

    1 July 2022

    Striking Eskom workers will face consequences: De Ruyter

    1 July 2022

    The AI tool that has changed my life as a developer

    1 July 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Billetterie simplifies interactions between law firms and clients

    30 June 2022

    Think herding cats is tricky? Try herding a cloud

    29 June 2022

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.