A new pilot is underway to use the tech most often associated with cryptocurrencies for new uses.
A number of companies are working together on a blockchain insurance technology pilot program. The idea is to trial the platform for the global shipping industry.
The tech has now gone live and has started being used for commercial purposes through the pilot.
The new blockchain insurance technology platform is called “Insurwave.” The Earnst & Young professional services firm worked with the Guardtime software company on this project. The platform was created using Microsoft’s Azure cloud-based tech, as reported by CoinDesk.
Blockchain is most often recognized as the type of technology used for cryptocurrencies. A growing number of industries and individual companies have been working to adapt blockchain to their own needs. For instance, Maersk, the shipping giant based in Denmark, joined those taking part in the pilot back in September. At that point, the solution was in its initial pilot phase and had not yet gone live. Others among the participants include XL Catlin and MS Amlin.
The purpose of the blockchain insurance technology is to completely change and improve the ecosystem.
The idea is to make it possible for each shipping insurance ecosystem participant to be able to apply a distributed ledger that will record shipment data and provide insurance transaction automation when required. This has the potential to greatly enhance both transparency and efficiency within this industry.
The group anticipates that the platform will be capable of executing more than 500,000 automated blockchain transactions as they apply to over one thousand vessels within its first twelve months of live use.
Moving forward, Earnst & Young said it intends to broaden the blockchain insurance technology to include other business insurance forms. This could include areas such as global energy, aviation and logistics. This new announcement also represents Maersk’s latest effort to bring this type of tech directly into its own operations. At the moment, that company is teaming up with IBM to develop and use a Hyperledger Fabric 1.0 blockchain-based global trade digitalization platform. This would transact global shipping supply chain cargo data.