PwC Blockchain Project Creates Living Audit for Wholesale Insurance

PwC has released details on a new proof-of-concept (PoC) it says successfully created a real-time audit process for policy creation in the wholesale insurance market.

The professional services firm launched the project earlier this summer in partnership with think tank Z/Yen’s Long Finance initiative, describing it at the time as a "high-level policy placement flow" that would reimagine how policies could be accepted by prospective clients.

Within the proposed network itself, node participants include insurers, brokers and regulators. PwC used the Multichain platform, developed by Coin Sciences, as a basis for the PoC.

The report details:

"An insurer can view policies on the blockchain, and make offers to back risk on a particular policy, with the broker having the ability and control to accept or decline these offers. This communication and negotiation between parties takes place all within the blockchain. When a policy is fully backed, a formalized insurance contract is created and again shared on the blockchain."

Included in the publication was a diagram of project's design, showing the broker, insurer and regulator nodes connected to the conceptual network.

PwC indicated that the test helped yield insight into how blockchain applications can cut down on physical paperwork, streamline regulatory reporting structures and create what is essentially a real-time audit trail.

The project is one of a number of application tests being conducted both within the professional services industry as well as the broader finance world.

The past year and a half has seen projects focused on concepts ranging from fantasy sports share markets to blockchain-based banks.

Images via PwC, Shutterstock