PwC has announced that its blockchain division in Belfast has created a working blockchain prototype for the London Market Target Operating Model (TOM) Innovation Exchange, which it says reduces costs for London insurance market claims.
PwC’s blockchain team in Belfast is made up of 25 specialist blockchain engineers, and the new proof of concept developed by the team shows that by utilising blockchain technology London market players can reduce costs and improve the speed of the payment process.
“This proof of concept demonstrates the potential for efficiency and the elimination of error and duplicated information. It shows how blockchain can reduce costs and speed up the claims process in the London Market, allowing experts to focus on more value-add complex claims,” said Steve Webb, financial services blockchain leader, PwC.
The proof of concept was completed over a six-week period, and focused on enhancing interactions between a number of different London Market players that are involved in a claims process, which includes third party administrators, claims approvers, and brokers.
The process, which is automated, includes claims creation, supporting documents, invoice creation and also the approval or rejection of invoices, and PwC says this demonstrates how blockchain can increase the efficiency of the claims process when interaction between multiple parties takes place.
PwC explains that part of the six-week trial period saw various parties undertake different roles and permissions to view data.
“Smart contracts were used to automatically approve claims which met pre-agreed conditions, resulting in reduced administrative costs and burdens as well as faster claims approval and payment,” said PwC.
