Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

Consulting firm Ernst & Young recently announced that it is collaborating with Microsoft, data security firm Guardtime, and shipping and logistics conglomerate Maersk to create a marine insurance platform based on blockchain technology. The companies anticipate that their blockchain-based product—to be implemented globally beginning in early 2018—will connect clients, brokers, insurers, and third parties to "distributed common ledgers that capture data about identities, risk and exposures" and integrate this information with insurance contracts. The platform's capabilities include: "the ability to create and maintain asset data from multiple parties; to link data to policy contracts; to receive and act upon information that results in a pricing or a business process change; to connect client assets, transactions and payments; and to capture and validate up-to-date first notification or loss data."

As discussed in prior posts, blockchain technology presents industry-altering potential that commentators expect to be implemented in all types of businesses, including in healthcare, financial services, and insurance. This most recent blockchain platform seeks to improve cost efficiencies in both the container shipping and maritime insurance industries. We will continue to monitor further insurance developments using this important technology.