Blockchain in Insurance | A Transparent Enabler for Efficiency

Blockchain holds immense potential for increasing transparency and productivity through the development of new technologies and processes for financial services. It is a decentralized and distributed transaction ledger that enables collective bookkeeping in an immutable ledger.

With blockchain-based insurance solutions development, companies can resolve multiple prevalent pain points across the value chain.

Why does the Insurance Industry Need Blockchain? 

Insurance firms are facing a range of challenges, including complex compliance problems, restricted growth in developed markets, fraudulent insurance activity, payment transactions by third parties, and dealing with large quantities of data. They can address them only if they have visibility into their data will, simplified processes, and stable, sensitive information mechanism. Blockchain is being analyzed from several viewpoints to identify viable use cases and resolve these challenges. There are several applications where blockchain can add value and solve those problems around the insurance domain.

• • • Digital transactions involving gateways from third parties
    • Theft and fraud of identity and personal information
    • Delayed claims processing because of inefficient systems
    • Handling multi-party insurance (TPAs, reinsurers, etc.)
    • Reducing regulatory burdens by automating the main processes

Also, read | Blockchain Smart Contracts in Insurance | Advantages and Applications

What is Blockchain | A Quick Overview

In essence, a blockchain is a ledger for recording digital events – one that is "distributed" or exchanged by several different parties. Only a consensus of a majority of system participants can modify it. And, once entered, it can never delete the knowledge. The blockchain includes a record of every single transaction ever made, definite and verifiable.

What are the Blockchain Use Cases in the Insurance Industry

Claims Management

Management systems of claims will benefit from blockchain, making sure that only payments happen to legitimate claims only. The primary benefit will be a reduction – if not a full avoidance – of fraud. It is because the network will deny multiple requests for the same case as the network itself already contains the information of the paid claim. Also, preserving information about past ones on the ledger would help insurers to detect suspicious activity and enhance scam evaluation.

Cars, electronic devices, or home appliances on the Internet of Things can have their insurance plans registered and managed by blockchain smart contracts. It can enable automatic identification of harm and then activate the repair process, as well as claims and settlements.

In a vehicle, an embedded smart car insurance policy can register a wide range of driving details like speed, driving time, driving style, environment, road danger, and traffic conditions. It will offer a reliable way to calculate premiums based on established terms.

Also, read | Game-Changing Potential of Blockchain in Insurance (Claims Processing Use Case)

Reinsurance

The cost savings for reinsurers could surpass $5 billion, according to a PwC study titled Blockchain: The $5 Trillion Opportunity for Reinsurers. It reduces waiting time and placement costs, time to settle claims, increasing efficiency to enforcement problems, like sanctions or cyber-security. The use of "smart contracts" blockchain technology may also improve productivity and reduce costs. Imagine a complete reinsurance agreement from the initial cession through retrocessional presumption on a single ledger. All the location, premium classification, loss allocation, and the entire transaction can be shared simultaneously among all parties.

PwC assumes that blockchain technology will reduce the manipulation of claims and enable ample productivity to remove 15 to 25 percent of current spending, such as by avoiding the need to rekey info. If the information is on the database, and each participant may navigate it, it need not be rekeyed into the system of the reinsurer and then into the system of a retrocessionaire, and not into the system of a broker.

Also, read | Blockchain Integration for Operational Excellence in the Reinsurance Industry

P2P microinsurance

Peer-to-peer (P2P) insurance requires a network with some degree of connection (family, colleagues, business partners, etc.). It enables each other to protect against failure. This pool, similar to a reciprocal one, will generate a lower loss ratio, and therefore, a lower cost to its members through rigorous selection.

Moreover, after the coverage period, funds available in the pool will be reimbursed to members who are both policyholders and users concurrently. Blockchain will increase this model's efficiency and transparency, and thereby, make it adaptable. Authorized premiums on a smart contract can be kept in an escrow account. When the correct digital signature is applied, a smart contract can pay out claims.

The code of the smart contract may suggest that the confirmation originates from a third-party assessor, it may also enable validations from several pool members to verify the claim. Members can have faith in the voting process, as the blockchain holds an unchanging record of votes of all.

Also, read | Blockchain in Insurance: Enabling New Opportunities

Underwriting

In the underwriting process, insurers measure the risk of providing a consumer with a policy, how much coverage the consumer will get, and how much they will pay for that. Insurance may be a gamble, but no insurance provider would play the game without scrutinizing the data and making sure the chances are favorable. Often, determining risk versus reward for broader corporate policies can take months to a year.

External data can exist on blockchain to reduce the risk liability and enable semi-automatic pricing. It can simplify, shorten, and automate the underwriting process, thereby reducing operating costs. Blockchains can offer accountability and increase trust in the underwriting process by allowing for mutual participation in complex multinational programs. Indeed, AIG, Standard Chartered, and IBM successfully designed and built the first global insurance scheme to use blockchain and smart contracts to provide access to local and master level underwriting coverage and premiums.

KYC/AML

For banks and insurance firms, know-how on your customers and anti-money laundering (KYC / AML) regulations are particularly cumbersome tasks. By using a shared database enabled by blockchain, financial institutions, particularly insurers, will streamline and lower the cost of their adherence to the KYC / AML. Onboarding a consumer only requires one organization to do it once. If the customer wishes to engage in a new institution, the institution may request access to already-on-chain documents to validate due diligence.

Encryption guarantees that an entity only has access to the records to which it is entitled. Also, any changes to the customer's file are transparent both as to when and by whom the change was made. Transaction checks and monitoring can also be more fully automated.

Which Industries can benefit from Blockchain Insurance Solutions

• • • Construction
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Food and Beverage Manufacturers
    • Healthcare
    • Hospitality
    • Manufacturing
    • Public Entities
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Transportation

Also, read | Simplifying Vehicle Insurance Processes with Blockchain Technology

How to Implement Blockchain in Insurance Business Model

Assess (Identify Use Case)

• • • Identify unique business cases intended for adoption
    • Commit to building strategic and practical know-how with Blockchain advisors
    • Evaluate enforcement and regulatory criteria
    • Find a partner offering a combination of consultancy, consulting, and integrating blockchain services

Engage (Develop POC)

• • • Define and communicate with relevant stakeholders
    • Build use cases to expand on the business issues found
    • Commit to strategizing the target architecture model with blockchain vendors
    • Build a proof of concept to show its functionality
    • Evaluate integration models, such as in-house, alliance, or off-the-shelf products

Develop and Collaborate (Develop on POC)

• • • Finalize plan strategy and execution
    • Use the proof of concept to enable the organization to envision the model and its benefits
    • Change methodology and establish feedback-based modeling
    • Baseline specifications and devise performance standards

Tap a partner with profound business experience, committed offers, and comprehensive technological expertise in blockchain development, while providing an inclusive atmosphere for developing and implementing a robust and value-yielding system.

Challenges in Implementation

• • • Insurers are facing increased pressure to reduce operating costs, an environment where blockchain could significantly impact by updating outdated legacy IT systems, augmenting performance, and boosting competitiveness.
    • The aging workforce of the insurance industry needs greater automation, which can be allowed by the capabilities of blockchain.
    • To realize the potential of blockchain as a tool for business transformation, insurers will need to be in tandem with innovations like data analytics, artificial intelligence, and IoT, as well as partner with a broad range of stakeholders.

Also, read | The Potential of Blockchain Solutions in Reviving the Complex Insurance Industry

Conclusion

While we should expect to see more POCs and use case growth across the insurance industry in the coming months, integration with blockchain is obviously part of the bigger step toward a first digital operating model. As experiments continue, we should expect greater activity linked to the blockchain.

Blockchain may well be part of the answer for insurers looking to address problems such as poor customer service, expensive manual administrative processes, and risks to privacy and data protection.