Blockchain: How insurers are building up trust by breaking down barriers

Conference Quickinfo
Date	23 - 24 Jan 2017
Location	Centre for Global Dialogue Rüschlikon, Zurich, Switzerland Click to open Google Maps

Tab navigation

Summary

Approximately 200 blockchain experts and enthusiasts from 16 countries were hosted at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue by Andreas Schertzinger, who leads Swiss Re's Reinsurance Technology Initiative, to discuss blockchain's potential for the insurance industry.

Click here to read the entire summary.

Presentations

Monday, 23 January 2017
18.00	Welcome address and opening remarks Andreas Schertzinger, Lead, Reinsurance Technology Initiative, Swiss Re
18.10	The Blockchain Revolution: How the technology is changing money, business, and the world Alex Tapscott, Co-Author of Blockchain Revolution, CEO of Northwest Passage Ventures
18.55	Demo: Using Blockchain to make charitable donations Guido Baroncini Turricchia, CEO Helperbit
19.15	Apero and welcome dinner
Tuesday, 24 January 2017
8.00	Coffee and networking
8.30	Introduction to day 2 Andreas Schertzinger, Lead, Reinsurance Technology Initiative, Swiss Re
8.35	Keynote 1: How blockchain enhances the insurability of goods Leanne Kemp, Founder and CEO, Everledger
9.05	Keynote 2: Blockchain-resident smart contracts: opportunities and challenges Casey Kuhlman, CEO, Monax Industries
9.35	Keynote 3: Blockchain: Disruption or sustained innovation? Kamesh Raghavendra, Vice President at The Hive
10.05	Demonstration: Insurance blockchain in action David Edwards, Founder and Product Lead, ChainThat
10.25	Coffee break & Visit to blockchain kiosks
11.15	Interactive breakout sessions on the opportunities and challenges of blockchain (Round 1) Building enterprise grade blockchains Matthew Roszak, Co-Founder, Bloq and Founding Partner, Tally Capital Understanding the Ethereum Blockchain Protocol Taylor Gerring, Consultant, Ethereum Ensuring privacy and confidentiality on the blockchain Gabrielle Patrick, co-founder and general counsel, Epiphyte Digital identity and sensitive data on blockchains David Birch, Director of Innovation, Consult Hyperion The impact of blockchain on financial market infrastructure Ian Haycock, Chief Operating Officer Asset Management, Swiss Re Jürg Unger, Head Custody & Vendor Relationship Managment, Swiss Re
12.00	Lunch
13.00	Interactive breakout sessions on the opportunities and challenges of blockchain (Round 2) Building enterprise grade blockchains Matthew Roszak, Co-Founder, Bloq and Founding Partner, Tally Capital Understanding the Ethereum Blockchain Protocol Taylor Gerring, Consultant, Ethereum Ensuring privacy and confidentiality on the blockchain Gabrielle Patrick, co-founder and general counsel, Epiphyte Digital identity and sensitive data on blockchains David Birch, Director of Innovation, Consult Hyperio The impact of blockchain on financial market infrastructure Ian Haycock, Chief Operating Officer Asset Management, Swiss Re Jürg Unger, Head Custody & Vendor Relationship Managment, Swiss Re
14.00	Intra Group Retrocession (IGR) use case demo Richard Phipps, Senior Finance Project Manager, Swiss Re Jags Rao, Blockchain Workstream Lead, Swiss Re
14.30	Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative (B3i) update Sylvain de Crom, Head of R&D, Aegon Blue Square Reinsurance Paul Meeusen, Director Finance Global Business Solutions, Swiss Re
14.50	Coffee break
15.20	How start-ups are testing the value of blockchain in the insurance industry Symbiont: Blockchain Catastrophe Swap (demo) Caitlin Long, Chairman and President, Symbiont Skuchain: Blockchain for supply chain insurance (demo) Srinivasan Sriram, Founder & CEO, Skuchain Tradle: KYC and identity decentralised workflow on blockchain (demo) Gene Vayngrib, CEO & Co-founder, Tradle
16.20	Keynote 4: Preventing the use of blockchain for nefarious purposes Mariusz Nowostawski, Associate Professsor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
16.50	Panel discussion on blockchain's implementation challenges and opportunities Moderated by: Elizabeth Wesson, Director Digital Strategy, Swiss Re Panellists: David Birch, Director of Innovation, Consult Hyperion Perianne Boring, Founder and President, Chamber of Digital Commerce Elizabeth Stark, Co-founder & CEO, Lightning
17.30	Wrap-up Andreas Schertzinger, Lead, Reinsurance Technology Initiative, Swiss Re
17.40	Farewell drink

This event may be photographed, filmed and/ or recorded. A summary of the event, pictures and/or a video of the event in which you may appear may be posted and made available on Swiss Re’s and the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue’s internal and external websites and in printed materials.

Speakers

Ian Haycock

Chief Operating Officer Asset Management

Group Asset Management

View profile of Ian Haycock

Richard Phipps

Solution Design & Delivery Lead

Finance Reinsurance

View profile of Richard Phipps

Jags Rao

Business Development Lead

Finance Reinsurance

View profile of Jags Rao

Andreas Schertzinger

CEO iptiQ EMEA P&C

iptiQ EMEA P&C

View profile of Andreas Schertzinger

Jürg Unger

Head Custody & Vendor Relationship Mgmt

Group Asset Management

View profile of Jürg Unger

Elizabeth Wesson

Head Corporate Development

iptiQ EMEA P&C

View profile of Elizabeth Wesson

Exhibitors

Accenture
Accenture is a pioneer on Blockchain Technology, focusing on: Development of Distributed Ledger Technologies; thought leadership & patents; co-innovating proof of concepts (PoCs) and evolving solutions; and building an ecosystem of partners. The company has global research and development teams in the US, Europe and Asia, as well as numerous patents, including the “redactable Blockchain” patent. Accenture acts as innovation ecosystem enabler and co-innovation partner to the industry, FinTechs and consortiums, such as Hyperledger, Digital Asset, Ripple, MultiChain, Linux and MONAX. Accenture has been delivering real life implementations as well as PoCs and pilots for banks, exchanges, and the insurance industry, and is part of regulatory discussions and standard definition working groups on Blockchain.

Accenture will showcase a selection of insurance-related Blockchain use cases including Pension fund administration, Blockchain for Healthcare (IoT based) and Smart oracle (IoT based).

https://www.accenture.com

Adridadou and managination
Insurchain was first implemented as a proof of concept by David and Micha Roon of Adridadou and managination at the 2016 EPAM Blockchain Hackathon in Zurich, where it claimed first prize. Insurchain is the brainchild of Zurich Insurance’s Antony Elliott. Its aim is to eliminate manual reconciliation from the insurance reselling process by using the Ethereum blockchain as a trusted data store. This automation improves the profitability of low price, high volume insurance products.

Adridadou and managination offer consulting services and training to companies that enable them to create and maintain successful blockchain projects.

Bitcoin Suisse AG
Bitcoin Suisse AG is Switzerland’s leading full-service Bitcoin company. Located in the Swiss "Crypto Valley,” as the area around the city of Zug is known, they provide a variety of financial services including brokerage, trading and advisory. The Company also deals in physical precious metals and other Crypto-curriencies like Ethereum. Bitcoin Suisse also operates the largest network of two-way Bitcoin ATMs (BTMs) in the country allowing clients to buy *and* sell Bitcoin for Swiss Francs. Lastly, they produce novelty Bitcoin certificates and physical coins to help generate public awareness for the crypto-currency. Bitcoin Suisse AG is your Swiss partner in regards to Bitcoin, crypto-currencies & decentralized finance!

https://www.bitcoinsuisse.ch/

Shift Devices AG
This Swiss startup designs, builds and markets **physical keys for the digital world**. The keys seamlessly connect to computers and can be used as simply as opening a front door. Yet, they provide optimal security through advanced cryptography, physical isolation from online thieves, and verifiable trust. Our hardware keys can secure, authenticate, and unlock any type of digital asset, without a need for centralized storage of sensitive data. The founders, a Bitcoin Core developer partnered with an ETH Zürich researcher, have launched their first product, a minimalist cryptocurrency hardware wallet called the Digital Bitbox.

www.shiftdevices.com

ChainThat
ChainThat is a technology-focused start-up that specialises in delivery of Blockchain-based enterprise distributed applications and products across different industry verticals. Our team has an extensive background in the insurance industry with over 100 years of experience designing and deploying insurance solutions, many of which have won industry awards.

Our team has invested in understanding Blockchain & decentralised technologies and how these can be adopted in practical and deployable enterprise insurance solutions. ChainThat is uniquely placed to help insurance organisations to execute their digital strategy and vision by leveraging the benefits of Blockchain technology to deliver competitive advantage.

http://chainthat.com/

Etherisc
Etherisc builds smart insurance applications on the blockchain. Decentralised applications on the blockchain can make insurance processes much more efficient, with lower operational costs and higher transaction speed compared to traditional insurance.

In September 2016, Etherisc launched the Flight Delay Dapp, which was created for Devcon2, the annual Ethereum developer conference that was held in Shanghai, China. Flight delays are a natural use-case for "parametric insurance", a product for which a damage and claim can be programmatically verified using a trusted data source.

https://fdd.etherisc.com/

Helperbit
Helperbit is an Italian startup that uses the Blockchain technology to allow people to donate digital and local currencies to charities as well as to people in need all over the world. Donors can trace their donation and the manner in which it is used, offering full transparency of economic flows.

This reverses the traditional home insurance model for natural disasters, thanks to a service powered by blockchain that empowers users to customise their premium. Microinsurance is also possible and claims payments are fast, fair and transparent.

https://www.helperbit.com/

Skuchain
Based in Silicon Valley, Skuchain is the thought leader in the Blockchain powered supply chain management space. With a strong team of serial entrepreneurs from Stanford, MIT, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania, Skuchain helps enterprises tap modern technology to harness the power of ‘Collaborative Commerce’. Skuchain has 6 patent applications and co-produced Blockchain University. The company also convenes the Blockchain Initiative for Commerce and captains Trade Finance in the Innovation Council at BAFT. Recently, Skuchain initiated the first live Blockchain transaction in trade finance with Wells Fargo in the US and Common Wealth Bank of Australia.

https://www.skuchain.com/

Tradle
Tradle sells software to major banks and insurance companies for user-controlled Know Your Customer (KYC) portability, blockchain-based workflows and real-time regulatory supervision. The company was a participant in the UK FCA Regulatory Sandbox, the MAS SG hackcelerator, and the winner of KPMG Fintech Challenge. Tradle is listed on the Fintech50, was chosen as a McKinsey 'KYC innovator', and is regarded by Citigroup as a 'blockchain KYC company to watch'. Tradle's mission is 100% KYC automation, so that capital can flow like electricity.

Tradle is the only solution to a massive KYC problem that works across all sectors of finance. It does not require a blockchain network effect as it provides significant value even inside the group. As the first mover in this space, Tradle successfully completed POC projects with Tier 1 institutions and has moved to live customer pilots. Tradle provides a mature omnichannel interface, direct and mediated, and compliant packaging for on-premises deployment. Its unique customer ownership and portability of KYC data fits the new EU regulatory regime. Tradle's KYC, digital identity and workflow platform decreases operational costs, speeds up revenue generation, and is now used by Tier 1 banks and insurance companies to develop new digital product offerings.

https://tradle.io

About the event

Blockchain technology has opened up a number of new possibilities once considered unimaginable. Whether it's the possibility of instant payments, self-executing "smart" re/insurance contracts, lower transaction fees, less paperwork, or other efficiency gains, the insurance industry is taking note. A number of new entrants as well as the industry's established players are keen to identify and leverage the business opportunities that blockchain technology promises.

At the event "Blockchain: how insurers are building up trust by breaking down barriers", hosted by the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue, participants interacted with top-notch experts and exchange ideas and insights about blockchain with the goal of 1) improving understanding of business opportunities and challenges and 2) determining how the insurance industry can best position itself to capitalise on the opportunities and 3) accelerating cross-company efficiency.

The event also offered participants the opportunity to test real life applications of blockchain technology and interact with companies that are developing new products and services that could transform the insurance industry.