TEJO SURTY: InsCoin

The 1st Blockchain Based Insurance Company

Insurance is one of the oldest industries, and can be seen as representing part of the growth of the modern business which has come to define societies all over the world.

While insurance in a form we would recognise today began with the first insurance contract in 1347, methods for transferring and distributing risk in a monetary economy have been observed in China in the third millennia BC.

One thing that has defined the insurance sector over thousands of years is its ability to adapt its practices to fit with a changing technological landscape.

From contracts written on parchment to websites and big data, the industry has changed rapidly.

Blockchain is the latest technological game changer to enter the picture, and many are predicting that distributed ledgers could have profound effects on the way that insurance companies are able to operate.

One important issue that blockchain technology seems tailor made to address is the underlying principle of ‘utmost good faith’ in insurance contracts.

This principle states that every party entering into an insurance contract has a legal obligation to act with a standard of “honesty greater than that usually required in most commercial contracts”.

This means that the insurer is required to trust that they are being told the truth by the person looking to take out insurance.

This differs from other contracts, which are usually based on the principle of ‘let the buyer beware’, or the idea that the buyer assumes the risk that the product may fail to meet their expectations.

Applying blockchain to this issue would mean that both the insurance contract and the consumer’s personal data could be stored on a distributed ledger, with the consumer being in control of who has access.

The data remains stored on the user’s personal device and this may eliminate the need for brokers and other intermediaries that have emerged as mediators between insurers and consumers.

Not only does blockchain offer the promise of cost reduction and efficiency, but it could also enable revenue growth, as insurers attract new business through higher-quality service.

Blockchain technologies can help the wholesale insurance sector fulfill its role in underpinning the global economy more effectively.

Just as blockchain is being pursued as a force for positive change in other areas of society – from identification for refugees to better public service delivery – it can also help wholesale insurance to discharge its responsibilities for the common good.

The KNOX project will be the first insurance company that merges the real world with the digital one using Blockchain technology, creating the most efficient and advanced structure in the sector, to find a solution to the problem of certification and anti-forgery of insurance policies.

With the smart contract the spread of false insurance policies is avoided because it is the same system that issues them after receiving the payment.

With the smart contract the company won’t have delay in collecting credits, as the policy is issued only after receiving the payment.

This factor aims to significantly improve the management of the company itself.

With the smart contract in the event of accidents the real judge who will decide whether or not to pay them is no longer the company, which could have an opportunistic behavior, but the blockchain system that, in a totally disinterested by the human opinion, will decide if this accident is compliant with the provisions in the policy.