Blockchain Insurance Policy Developed for Hurricane-Prone Puerto Rico

The firm behind a blockchain protocol tailor-made for the insurance industry has designed a decentralized policy to cover natural disasters in hurricane-prone Puerto Rico.

According to an announcement Tuesday, Etherisc was approached by two local ethereum developers to develop a policy that specifically provides hurricane damage cover for the Caribbean island's residents.

The need for the policy arose from the many small businesses and low-income households that were hit by Hurricane Maria and later faced delayed claims and refusals to pay out on policies from traditional insurers, according to the startup.

Hosted on its distributed platform, Etherisc said the new policy will cut premium costs by eliminating the middle-men in the insurance claims process, as well as providing more transparency, with every transaction visible for both insurers and residents.

Making use of embedded smart contracts, the decentralized policy would trigger automated insurance payouts based on predetermined weather parameters, the team said.

Commenting on the upcoming launch, co-founder Stephan Karpischek said:

“The hurricane insurance is the first use case that embodies our belief in what insurance should achieve – helping people solve real problems and manage risks in their communities.”

The new policy marks Etherisc's latest exploration into using blockchain technology to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction within the insurance industry.

At an event last Friday, co-founder Christoph Mussenbrock spoke of another product developed by the firm that automates insurance payouts when flights are delayed based on data transacted over the ethereum blockchain.

Hurricane Maria image via Shutterstock