Aon has named Rupert Poland as Head of its Digital Asset Practice for the EMEA region. Based in London, Poland will report to Tom Davis, Executive Director of Aon’s EMEA Financial Services Group.
Poland joins Aon from Marsh, where he served as Digital Asset Leader for UK FINPRO. He brings extensive expertise in crafting insurance solutions for digital asset companies and in developing market-recognised risk quantification frameworks.
In his new role, Poland will collaborate with Aon’s global teams to strengthen and expand the firm’s digital asset capabilities across the EMEA region. He joins a global practice of over 60 professionals focused on designing risk transfer solutions and specialist insurance offerings tailored to the needs of the digital asset sector.
Aon has been steadily growing its presence in this space through its dedicated Web3 team, which works with insurers and blockchain infrastructure providers to mitigate sector-specific risks, including staking losses, slashing events, and smart contract vulnerabilities.
The firm continues to evolve its portfolio of digital asset insurance solutions, offering coverage for theft, loss, and destruction of digital assets. Aon is also innovating with emerging products such as staking insurance—an area seeing increased client demand.
Earlier in 2024, Aon completed a pilot insurance placement using blockchain and smart contract technology, in collaboration with Nayms SAC Ltd. and Copper.co. The initiative demonstrated the potential of distributed ledger technology to enhance insurance transactions by increasing transparency, reducing administrative burdens, and broadening access to alternative capital.
Aon’s recent market analysis highlighted a relatively stable insurance environment across key EMEA business lines, including cyber and directors and officers (D&O) coverage. Increased competition among carriers has led to broader policy offerings, presenting new opportunities for bespoke insurance solutions—particularly for emerging industries such as digital assets.
In a related leadership update, Aon announced the appointment of Erlantz Urbieta as Chief Broking Officer (CBO) for EMEA in April. Urbieta continues to oversee the firm’s Commercial Risk operations in Spain during the transitional period.
