Blockchain is one of many new emerging technologies alongside AI, machine learning, robotics and much more. Most insurance companies unfortunately look at these technologies in silos and thus get a limited return on their investment. BlockClaim is an exciting insurtech that had the foresight to design an offering that combines both AI, machine learning and blockchain. In this exciting podcast we had the pleasure of interviewing Niels Thoné, CEO of BlockClaim, who passionately shared his insights on the convergence of AI, machine learning and blockchain.

 

What is blockchain?

On a high level blockchain is all about storing and processing sensitive information, like financial transactions, on a lot of different computers rather than with a single central authority. What this means is that the need for trust in a central authority is removed because if it fails the network doesn’t fail. For BlockClaim, a private blockchain is a great way to connect various actors with different systems, software or legacy IT in a super light touch way. It allows BlockClaim to gather information from all these different systems in real time without interfering any kind of workflows.

Blockchain creates a unified data format that allows you to feed that into any AI or machine learning and increase its efficiency through the use of smart contracts for automation of workflows or processes of claims for example.

 

The new stack

Here at Insureblocks we are great believers that the future resides in looking at emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI, machine learning, IoT, big data, and robotics as the “new stack”. Because it is only by combining them that we can really get the most ROI out of them. We asked Niels his thoughts on how the insurance industry was embracing these new technologies.

Insurers have a tendency of looking at these new technologies in a “trendy way”. Five, six years ago it was RPA, then it became AI and machine leaning and last year it was blockchain. A lot of insurers have a tendency of just following the latest technology trends which complicates things.

However Niels is quick to point out that sometimes you meet a C Level director that gets it and sees the value of combining these new technologies to help them achieve their vision. He gave the example of a CEO of a bank insurer who stated her vision of settling claims in one day and wanted to find out what set of technologies would help her achieve that vision.

Innovation department at insurance companies are also a great way for start-ups to have that first conversation. However these innovation departments are more like gatekeepers who do put you in touch with different sections of the business but they don’t have any budget or any kind of decisive authority.

 

Data – the new natural resource

In episode 40, IBM’s 2019 Insurance Predictions, we interviewed Sandip Patel, global managing director for insurance across IBM. In podcast he stated that there is a fundamental shift in how we think of data. Where data is becoming the next natural resource, particularly in Insurance from a few perspective:

* Volume of data: The rate and pace at which data sets are evolving is growing exponentially.

* Type of data: the nature of data is changing. 60 – 70% of the data sets such as from wearables, sensors, and drones, often referred as unstructured data sets

* Temporal factor of data

Data basically enables BlockClaim to make informed decis...