Insurance Industry Adopts Blockchain Technology

Blockchain Technology is gradually finding its way into almost every digital industry in the world. And the insurance industry is not an exemption as the power of the Blockchain technology has captured its attention.

Marsh,  a global leader in insurance broking and risk management, announced the invention of a new project that is focused on creating the first commercial Blockchain solution for proof of insurance, according to a report from Business Wire.

Marsh aims to use the Blockchain technology to transform the manual and complicated certificate of insurance process to a smooth and transparent one. According to the report, this will enable clients to improve business functions like transferring risk and hiring contractors with increased certainty of coverage.

Marsh, IBM, ACORD, and ISN are working together as partners to make this project a success. ACORD is a body that sets standards in the global insurance Industry.

The proof of insurance is being developed on the IBM Blockchain and an open source Hyperledger. Sastry Durvasula, chief digital officer and chief data and analytics officer at Marsh, shared his optimism about the partnership.

“Marsh sees great opportunity in leveraging Blockchain technology to better serve our clients by maximizing efficiency and creating new opportunities in the insurance value chain. We believe strategic engagements such as this one with IBM, ACORD, and ISN will help accelerate the adoption of further Blockchain applications benefiting our clients across industries.”

Proof of insurance is required by many industries and a Blockchain provides that opportunity on a broader scale. IBM’s general manager of Insurance Industry, Sandip Patel, explained: “Vastly simplifying the process for providing proof of insurance is a key enabler of business. IBM is committed to connecting emerging Blockchain networks to facilitate the next generation economy. This is an ideal example of how Blockchain can be used on a much broader scale to drive real business results.”

ISN, a global organization that helps to connect qualified contractors and suppliers with hiring clients, is listed as the first client that will utilize the service. ISN’s technical insurance lead, Brett Parker, mentioned that:

“The insurance industry has been dependent on paper certificates of insurance, manually populated by an insurance agent. By digitizing the policy information, we can streamline the process saving our customers time to focus on their core competencies.”

The Blockchain network is currently in its pilot version but scheduled to begin production before the end of the year. Another innovative project in the insurance industry is the  B3i Service AG, which aims to provide a Blockchain trading platform for the entire insurance industry.

This article was first published on: Apr 19, 2018