The severity with which global financial markets were upended over the past 18 months has increased complexities for many businesses. The transformation is particularly palpable at Frank Crystal & Co, a boutique US financial insurance broker.

Last year’s events have led many fund managers and their directors to be more concerned about their insurance coverage with respect to scope of coverage, adequacy of limits and premium increases upon renewal. “Work’s intense right now,” says Mark Freitas, president of the 75-year-old New York boutique that pitches itself as the world’s largest hedge fund insurance broker with some 400 clients around the globe.