Insurance firms in China are using blockchain to manage coronavirus-related claims amid the outbreak.
On Feb. 9 South China Morning Post reported that online mutual aid platform Xiang Hu Bao added the coronavirus to the illnesses eligible for the maximum one-time payout of around $14,300 (100,000 yuan).
Xiang Hu Bao is not an insurance policy, but a blockchain-based collective claim-sharing platform that counts 104 million users. As per the report, blockchain technology is employed by the system to prevent fraud and allow for faster claim processing.
Xiang Hu Bao is owned by Chinese finance giant Ant Financial and uses its mobile payment processing service AliPay, which funds the payouts for coronavirus victims with its own capital. A firm’s spokesman said:
“Xiang Hu Bao has been able to process claims and make payouts to participants quicker, due to the decentralised, trust-free nature of blockchain technology. […] Claim applicants can submit their supporting documents as evidence while investigation firms can get immediate access to them on the blockchain. All parties involved can see the entire process.”
Meanwhile, Blue Cross Insurance, owned by the Bank of East Asia is reportedly helping to decrease the bureaucratic impact of the coronavirus outbreak with a medical claims app.
The insurance service’s managing director Patrick Wan told:
“Our blockchain-backed claims service has played a key role during the outbreak of the coronavirus by totally eliminating the paper process and the need for back-and-forth documents delivery to clinics. […] This really helps to mitigate the risk of infection from face-to-face contact.”
Blue Cross Insurance claims that its platform is capable of managing over 1,000 transactions per second without human involvement. Patients using the app can see the result of their claims within a day after the hospital visit.
Source: Cointelegraph.com
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