Initiative B3i - Insurance companies see sustainability boost
Through the so-called blockchain initiative B3i, insurers and reinsurers see an alternative. Aegon, Allianz, Munich Re, Swiss Re and Zurich launched B3i (Blockchain Insurance Industry initiative) in 2016, an initiative that aims to make the industry not only safer but also more sustainable.
The insurance industry's B3i initiative is exploring ways to use shared technologies to provide faster, more convenient and safer services for customers. Insurer Allianz, like many others in the industry, is focusing on sustainability. The investment volume will now be combed strictly according to environmental criteria, according to a media release from Allianz.
Targeted blockchain technology
If blockchain technology can be used appropriately, it could considerably reduce the effort required for documentation and administration of (re)insurance contracts and accelerate information and cash flows, while at the same time improving verifiability. Allianz Switzerland relies on an independent research company to check investments for sustainability opportunities and risks, it added.
The company continues to focus on investing customers' premiums for the long term and with high returns, Allianz Switzerland announced in August 2017. However, the existing selection criteria would now be expanded to include environmental, social and ethical standards. A few weeks ago, reinsurer Swiss Re also announced that it would only invest the group's entire assets sustainably.
Decentralized insurance platform
Ehterisc, the blockchain startup specializing in building a decentralized insurance platform is entering into a close partnership with Zug-based Lakeside Partners and inacta and moving its headquarters from Germany to the so-called Crypto Valley in Zug.
Etherisc has also developed a concept for crop failure insurance for agriculture that works according to the same principles: Risk calculation, premium payment and claims processing are automated and transparent. This not only reduces operational costs.
The cooperation with the Zug-based companies opens up a wide range of growth opportunities for the startup: As an early stage investor with a focus on blockchain technologies, Lakeside Partners is the ideal partner with broad experience in the startup environment of central Switzerland.
Read more about the enormous potential of blockchain technology in insurance at this Link
