Blockchain-based Insurance
Global insurance giants are expected to apply blockchain technology to actual insurance contracts starting from next year, accelerating InsurTech.
During the “Fourth Industrial Revolution and InsurTech Utilization” seminar held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Jung-gu, Seoul, on June 28, Georgio Mosis, head of innovation Management at Reinsurance Group America (RGA) in Asia, said, “The global insurance blockchain consortium B3i is currently testing the application of blockchain technology to insurance. Blockchain powered solutions will be applied to actual insurance contracts and transactions next year.”
The Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative (B3i) was created by global reinsurer Swiss Re in October 2016 and is now participated in by other 15 global large insurance companies such as Allianz Group, Zurich Insurance and Munich Re. Mosis said, “Blockchain will make the whole processes, including insurance claim and receipt, faster and more efficient. When the blockchain technology is applied to the insurance industry, it will be able to cut down costs to retain records of insurance contracts and improve transparency and security.”
At the seminar, some experts said that the value chain of the insurance industry will change and insurance companies will continuously lose ground in the process when more and more technologies including blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) and peer-to-peer (P2P) network, are combined with the existing insurance industry.
Professor Park So-jung from Seoul National University said, “In the future, automakers, mobile carriers and starups, which can secure more customer data and contact points than insurance companies, will be able to take the advantageous position in the insurance ecosystem. An insurance company, which cannot catch up with such changes, will fail to secure its place in the changing ecosystem and ultimately die out.”