Page 31 - Insurance Times June 2021

has many benefits such as in help in reducing human error, said that blockchain adoptability would increase in the
detecting frauds claims, increase efficiency, better market, especially when the ledger is owned and moderated
communication between various insurance departments by a third party like the regulator or reinsurer.
and many more. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) can
be useful in sharing data with
each block contains a hash (a
digital fingerprint or unique
identifier), time-stamped
batches of recent valid
transactions, and the hash of
the previous block. The
previous block hash links the
blocks together and prevents
any block from being altered
or a block being inserted
between two existing blocks.
In this way, each subsequent
block strengthens the
verification of the previous
block and hence the entire
blockchain. The method
renders the blockchain tamper-evident, lending to the key Predictive Analytics
attribute of immutability. In this, anyone can write and new
blockchain and anyone can see it in that connected network. It is a tool used in collecting and analyzing data from various
The claims process will become more transparent. sources. This technology helps in managing the risk more
efficiently and effectively. It predicts the behavior of the
It has been adopted by the insurance industry as blockchain insured with the help of big data. Data can be collected
has improved transparency and reduced processing times: from various sources like smart devices, agents, customer
Tokyo Marine, a Japanese P&C insurer, tested blockchain for quotation, geographical tracing devices, criminal records,
marine cargo insurance certificates. It reportedly reduced credit history, etc.
the time it took a shipper to receive an insurance certificate It also helps in determining fraud claims. It analyzes various
by 85 per cent. Insurers can unlock trapped value by factors in determining the type of loss for example location,
combining blockchain with other technologies, too.
sum insured, tenure of the policy, age, income, nature of
Accenture has developed a blockchain-based proof of
injury, education etc. This will help in scoring the claims with
concept that leverages data from smart sensors to enable
the help of flags or numbers based on the chances of risk
smart-vineyard insurance. Bajaj Allianz recently launched a involved. This will give second chance for claimant to assess
blockchain-based travel insurance app Travel Ezee, which the claim of any with the help of similar outcome that
pays out claims automatically when there are flight delays. happened in the past. It is also helpful in expense
Like for example, if you have a travel insurance and you are management and trend analysis. This kind of technology
going to the airport, and suddenly you get the information helps in collecting, analyzing and accessing the data.
that your flight has been cancelled. Now there is no need
to lodge a manual claim and fill up a claim form, the claim For Example, Mutual Liberty Insurance investing in various
amount will reach your account as soon as your airline technologies to manage the risk. They invest in infrared
operator informs you about delay or cancellation of your cameras to better understand and access the extend of
flight. damages.

Some of the key blockchain use cases explored by insurers Artificial Intelligence and Machine
across the globe include death claims management,
reinsurance contract management, parametric products Learning
(event-based insurance products) and identify Text Analytics and Natural Language Processing are two of
authentication. Roughly, 60% of the insurers interviewed the major AI changing the way insurance companies provide

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