Insurance giant John Hancock fully explores blockchain to pave the way for insurance applications

To demonstrate how distributed ledger technology can reshape established processes in the insurance industry, life insurance and financial services giant John Hancock Hancock has begun several blockchain proof-of-concept experiments.

However, so far, these proofs of concept have nothing to do with insurance. Instead, the giant company, which paid $24.6 billion to customers last year, is exploring blockchain applications in various business areas, with actual insurance applications relegated to the future.

Ace Moghimi, head of innovation at John Hancock, said his team is working on several blockchain applications aimed at making the company more transparent and efficient.

(Photo: John Hancock Center)

Moghimi told reporters:

“Usually we start with a customer need, or a business problem we’re trying to solve. But with blockchain, we want to look at the impact this technology can have on our operational efficiency and effectiveness.”

Specifically, Moghimi said John Hancock is conducting a KYC (know your customer) pilot, which is being run within Hancock’s legal department and is designed to streamline the company’s back-office operations.

Explore Proof of Concept

The proofs of concept were built by Hancock’s Boston-based Lab of Forward Thinking (LOFT), which was established in May 2015 to enable Hancock employees to develop new technologies related to insurance (as well as wealth and asset management).

During an internal brainstorming session at the lab, Moghimi said the company has met with representatives from ConsenSys and BlockApps, two startups working on the ethereum blockchain, to explore several possible applications.

Igor Lilic, chief technology officer at ConsenSys, said that when he first met Moghimi and the rest of the LOFT team, they were already well versed in blockchain technology.

Lilic described how ConsenSys worked with LOFT to build the prototype:

“They are a team that has been tasked with innovation, so they need to spend time understanding blockchain technology, and it makes sense for them to list various applications. As a team, we work closely together to explore and move forward through these applications.”

Starting off

As of now, the blockchain team of John Hancock's Lab for Advanced Thinking (LOFT) consists of four people who are building a minimum viable product (MVP) for an employee rewards application based on blockchain technology.

Moghimi said he couldn’t share details about the app just yet, but he detailed what’s next for the app.

It is reported that this minimum viable product will be released in about a month, after which John Hancock will end its partnership with ConsenSys and BlockApps in the platform construction phase. In the next phase, the team will focus on consulting services for ConsenSys.

And all of this is just the beginning of John Hancock’s work to build a larger, practical blockchain insurance service.

According to the latest U.S. Treasury Department report, the insurance industry in the United States alone, including the market for life, health, property and casualty insurance, reached $1.04 trillion, an increase of about 4% over the previous year.

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/insurance-company-john-hancock-begins-multiple-blockchain-proof-concepts/
By Michael del Castillo
Translation: Overnight porridge
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/john-hancock-blockchain)