10 more insurers and reinsurers have joined an industry initiative to advance the use of blockchain technology to exchange data more efficiently between reinsurance and insurance companies, giving the initiative a truly global scope with members from Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The Blockchain Insurance Industry initiative B3i, which was founded in October 2016 by Munich Re and Swiss Re with five members, now counts the following 15 players as members: Achmea, Aegon, Ageas, Allianz, Generali, Hannover Re, Liberty Mutual, Munich Re, RGA, SCOR, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Swiss Re, Tokio Marine Holdings, XL Catlin and Zurich Insurance Group.
The consortium will collaboratively test the ability of distributed ledger technologies to increase efficiencies in the exchange of data between reinsurance and insurance companies. To realise a proof of concept, the 15 member firms will implement a pilot project aimed at transacting reinsurance contracts amongst each other. B3i intends to share first results in June 2017.
B3i’s efforts come as the financial industry ramps up initiatives to use blockchain to simplify a wide range of processes such as the settlement of securities and international payments.