The Analysis of Application, Key Issues and the Future Development Trend of Blockchain Technology in the Insurance Industry

Abstract

Blockchain, as an emerging technology, is essentially a shared database in which data or information is stored with features of “unforgeable”, “whole-process traceable”, “transparent” and “collective maintenance”. Based on these characteristics, blockchain technology has a broad prospect of application in the insurance industry because it has laid a solid foundation of “trust”, and created a reliable cooperation mechanism. At present, blockchain technology has been widely used in the fields of transportation, logistics, trade and charity. It has also attracted the attention of banking, insurance and other financial industries. The application of blockchain in other industries has been discussed in many other publications already, but it has not been systematically discussed in the insurance industry. This paper will make people have a deeper understanding of “blockchain + insurance” by introducing the basic concepts and technological advantages of blockchain technology, reviewing the researches and applications of blockchain by the insurance companies, and pointing out several key problems of applying blockchain technology to the insurance industry. Finally, the article will make predictions about the trend of development of applying blockchain technology in the insurance industry.