The New-York headquartered insurance firm Marsh has allied with Evident, a data-security company, in a bid to provide a blockchain-based application for clients in the sharing and gig economies, per a November 1, 2018, report by Digital Insurance.
Simplification of Onboarding Process for Gig Economy Workers
The distributed ledger technology (DLT) enabled solution will simplify the identity verification procedure, thus allowing hassle-free on-boarding for freelance workers.
Both companies involved believe that the buyers of the application will benefit greatly, as it will ease the process of insurance to a great extent, while also creating a trustful and safe network to verify identity. Interestingly, the product is undergirded by IBM’s Blockchain Platform and the open source project Hyperledger.
While Marsh and Evident expect to release the product by early 2019, discussions related to the idea had already commenced in May 2018. Subsequently, the offering was placed into beta mode in October.
The plan to enter the blockchain frontier is not something the companies devised recently. Earlier this year, Marsh partnered with IBM, Acord, and ISN to announce the first commercial blockchain solution for proof of insurance. The move was aimed at speeding up the necessary business functions, including hiring contractors, transfer of risk, and increasing coverage certainty.
Access to Evident’s Identity Assurance Platform further bolsters the move, as it will allow seamless digitization of certificates of insurance to readily accessible unalterable records.
Sastry Durvasula, Chief Digital, Data and Analytics Officer at Marsh, lauded the characteristics of blockchain technology – including its ability to provide unparalleled trust, security, and efficiency. Durvasula said:
“As the need for insurance and identity verification grows, our collaboration with Evident harnesses the power of blockchain to transform a major business challenge for the sharing and gig economies.”
Durvasula also mentioned that Marsh is exploring opportunities to partner with clients from other industries – including consumer business, cyber security, gig, and workers compensation sectors. Durvasula concluded, “We are keeping our opinions open, and will partner with the right players as well with technology.”
Blockchain Catering to Digital Nomads
With the advent of the internet, it has become easier for freelancers and for those who do not fancy sticking to a fixed location for work to search for online gigs and get their finances covered.
The introduction of cryptocurrencies and the underlying blockchain technology has further bridged the gap between the workers and their clients.
BTCManager reported in March 2018 how Bitcoin and Ethereum are taking over the gig economy by easing out the payment process for the clients, as they can instantaneously make payments to workers across the world with minimal transaction charges.
