Tokio Marine & Nichido, NTT DATA trial blockchain for marine cargo insurance claims

Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance and NTT DATA have announced the successful completion of a proof-of-concept (PoC) for applying blockchain technology to marine cargo insurance claims.

The PoC involved using blockchain technology in marine cargo insurance claims’ procedures among 8 different global sites including Germany, Netherlands, China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Chile, and the United States.

In the existing setup, the process of filing a marine cargo claim is largely manual with agents required to collect required documents in paper form or PDF files. The agents then confirm insurance coverage with insurer by email.

The shortcomings of the manual process can be addressed using blockchain technology which enables data sharing among network participants while preventing data tampering.

According to the official release, the PoC of marine cargo insurance claims using blockchain technology was conducted from November 2017 to August 2018.

The companies said that they verified that they can promptly distribute, share and utilize the real data used for insurance payment procedures such as damage report, photography of damaged cargo, Invoice and etc. on blockchain among 8 overseas claims settling agents and surveyors located in Europe, Americas and Asia.

The blockchain-based system helped to accelerate insurance payment – shortened the period from more than 1 month to one week at most, and enhanced performance and operational efficiency.

“We have confirmed the effectiveness of blockchain technology in marine cargo insurance claims’ procedures through this PoC,” the companies said adding that they aim to achieve the practical use in FY 2019.