Year 2018 - INSURTECH & NEW MARKETS 保險科技興新市場

專題探討 FEATURE Bitcoin has changed the money transfer process, but it’s that the technology behind the currency, blockchain, will have the greater impact to the financial world. Blockchain is a way to implement a distributed ledger, a record of consensus with a cryptographic audit trail which is maintained and validated by thousands or millions of separate nodes. Blockchain can validates the transactions in the ledger and share them among a network of computers. By using cryptography, blockchain enables network participants to make changes to the ledger securely without a central authority, hence blockchain is decentralized. This new technology offers many business advantages, including simple and fast transactions, full transparency and security, constant accessibility, reduced cost and a single point of truth. Why is it so important to insurers? Blockchain has the ability to ensure process transparency and trust, which are the most important insurance value proposition, by explores the potential of distributed ledger technologies to better serves clients through faster, more convenient and secure services from smart contracts, the Internet of Things (IoT), improved fraud detection and enhanced underwriting. The benefits of blockchain include: • Simple and fast transactions – participants can transfer information or data without third party intervention. International banking transaction often involve several institutions and international money transfers systems around the globe, which may take days. • Fully transparent and secure – users control the transactions. When a user wants to add or change information, the request is broadcasted to all participants holding copies of the existing blockchain. Not until the majority of participants validated the transaction with the whole blockchain history, the new transaction will not be approved and no new block can be added to the chain. • 24/7 accessibility/availability – no bank holidays • Reduced cost – one ledger, controlled by secure and transparent technology, reduces mediators and costs. What could be the future use of Blockchain for the Insurance Industry: 1. Smart Contracts A smart contract is a digitally signed, computable agreement between two or more parties. A virtual third party, a software agent, can execute and enforce at least some of the terms of such agreements. Smart contracts are written using computer programming languages. It establishes the rules and consequences, similar to a regular contract, and automatically executed by a distributed ledger system. Smart contracts powered by a blockchain technology could provide customers and insurers with the means to manage claims in a transparent, responsive and trusted manner. Contracts and claims could be recorded onto a blockchain and validated by the network, ensuring only valid claims are paid. It also enforces the claims, for instance, triggering payments automatically when certain conditions are met. 32 2017 年刊與 2018 展望 YEARBOOK 2017 & PROSPECT 2018