Blockchain is set to break new ground in the development of “smart” insurance policies as American International Group (AIG) and IBM collaborate to carry out the process.
The intention is to create an insurance policy that uses the cutting edge technology to manage international coverage, a task that is currently highly complex.
Moves have already been made towards bringing this project to reality, as the duo have conducted and completed a pilot of a multi-national policy for Standard Chartered Bank PLC.
AIG and IBM have said that this is the first instance of the use of blockchain in this specific way; this marks another stride towards blockchain becoming a practical and trusted method that can revolutionise traditional processes.
The pilot policy built upon blockchain for Standard Chartered is able to share real-time information for a main policy from the company’s headquarters in the United Kingdom.
Insurance is a space that blockchain could make a significant difference to due to complex and arduous processes. Multinational insurance coverage is often a challenge because of numerous and varying international regulations.
The financial services sector has been pursuing blockchain with perhaps the greatest energy of the major industries, with figures such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs contributing to consortiums pursuing the implementation of the technology. The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is a prime example, along with the R3 blockchain consortium.
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IBM have also made solid progress with blockchain, partnering with logistics giant Maersk to revolutionise the massive and convoluted processes behind shipping. A major target of this project is to eliminate the vast amount of paperwork that is weighing down progress.
READ MORE: IBM and Maersk work together to use blockchain for logistics
IBM and Maersk are also working to enhance transparency and security within shipping, as a great deal of information is shared with trading partners. By streamlining these processes, there is speculation that billions of dollars could be saved.
