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Wholesale insurers deal with large or complex transactions, typically for big corporations.
These transactions usually involve large numbers of participants across geographies, and claims that can reach billions of dollars. This means that the impact of poor or manual processes may be even greater for wholesale insurers than their retail counterparts.
Blockchain technology can help wholesale insurers improve efficiency in three key areas, according to new research from PWC and Z/Yen. Documentation. Contracts for wholesale insurance usually have a large volume of supporting documents that all stakeholders need. Making sure these copies are all accurate and consistent can take up considerable time. Blockchain technology is well suited to manage large complex files like these because it enables the creation of one tamperproof copy that is accessible to all.
Anti-Money Laundering/Know Your Customer (AML/KYC). Each participant in a wholesale insurance deal has to meet KYC/AML requirements. This means gathering significant data on a client, which is typically a heavily manual and time consuming process. PwC and Z/Yen have built a blockchain-based prototype designed to speed up this process. It stores customer documents and evidence of validation from an issuing authority while enabling the client to maintain control of the records. Clients can provide firms with access for a limited time, as required.
Claims management. Multiple underwriters are involved in wholesale insurance, and each needs to review and agree to claim documents. This usually results in multiple versions of these documents being created. PwC and Z/Yen suggest that blockchain technology could be used to create a single version of the documents to be reviewed and monitored by underwriters in real time, cutting down on time and lowering costs.
PwC […]
