How blockchain will reshape re/insurance

Those in the industry still baffled by the phrase blockchain will need to get up to speed quickly if the technology’s potential to reshape the industry is realised. Intelligent Insurer reports.

It is suddenly one of the most widely used phrases in the re/insurance industry—and probably many other industries. Few seem able easily to explain what it means, but many believe that blockchain technology can revolutionise the industry in a number of ways.

Blockchain, for readers not yet au fait with the term, is basically a method of recording data—transactions, contracts, agreements—in a way that means the data are simultaneously stored, but also updated in real time—on hundreds or even thousands of computers globally.

Without getting too technical, the advantage of this is that it makes the data almost impossible to tamper with or hack into—yet it is also accessible and updated instantly for every user.