This interview is part of our new Blockchain In Insurance series, where we interview the world's leading thought leaders on the front lines of the intersections between blockchain and insurance.
In this interview we speak with Massimo Ciaglia, Founder of Poleecy, to understand how his company is using blockchain to transform the insurance business, and what the future of the industry holds.
1. What’s the story behind Poleecy? Why and how did you begin?
MC: Poleecy is a startup that operates in the field of instant insurance. It was born from the meeting between Elio Mungo and I. Moreover, Poleecy has established an important strategic collaboration with European Insurance Brokers, one of the most important and innovative insurance brokers on the market. Poleecy's goal is to guarantee customers the possibility of take out an insurance policy wherever they are using the digital channel, thus providing an immediate response to the need for customer security. Poleecy wants to offer a service that is the policy that reaches the customer when it is necessary and not the opposite as it is now.
2. Please describe your use case and how Poleecy uses blockchain:
MC: The signing of the micro policy contract is ensured by means of asymmetric digital keys certified by a Certification Authority (CA) and, whose hash is stored on a block-chain. The company has decided to use Hyperledger technology, more specifically, Hyperledger Fabric. Hyperledger Fabric uses the technology of the containers to host smart contracts called “chaincodes” that include the logic of the system application. Before leaving, it is a question that many people ask themselves: “Will we need insurance?” In case you could no longer leave, or if there was a problem with the car you booked, or if we still need a hospital. For these micro insurances you can download Poleecy app, which offers you different estimates. A person who goes on holiday with an airplane is insured when a smart contract is signed by mobile app. For example, if you lose a flight, blockchain technology checks the time and the delay through a specific system and provides for the automatic refund.
3. Could you share a specific customer/user that benefits from what you offer? What has your service done for them?
MC: Poleecy is positioned in the Insurtech market of micro insurance policies, starting from Italy, then the U.K., the rest of Europe and the world later. Poleecy has paid particular attention to South America, where there is a strong need for micro insurance solutions, as there is no long term policy culture, due to their high cost. The same applies to emerging countries such as African countries. Bima is a prime example, having acquired over 23 million users in a very short time with its policies in the healthcare world and positioning itself as a leading company in African countries. Furthermore, generation Y and millennials are becoming more and more active consumers. Poleecy intends to launch themselves on the insurance policies sales brokering market, in order to fill the gap of the instant insurance policies, that is, those policies that, unlike most of the others, cover the needs for immediate insurance coverage with limited time duration and extremely low costs.
4. What other blockchain insurance use cases are you excited about?
MC: The Fabric platform is also authorised, which means that is way more different from a public network without authorisation. In Fabric the participants know each other rather than being anonymous and fallacious. This means that while participants may not fully trust each other (they might, for example, be competitors in the same industry), a network can be managed according to a governance model that is based on whatever trust exists between participants, such as an agreement or legal framework for dispute management. One of the most important platform differentiators is the support for connectable consent protocols that allow the customisation of the platform more effectively, to adapt to particular uses and trust models.
For example, when deployed within a single company or managed by a trusted authority, fully tolerant consent to Byzantine failure could be considered unnecessary and excessive dragging on performance and throughput. In situations such as that, a CFT consent protocol may be more than adequate, whereas in a case of decentralised and multiparty use, a more traditional BTP (fault tolerant) consent protocol may be required.
5. Where will Poleecy be in five years?
MC: In the future, the company will become leader in microinsurance and become an insurance company specialized in micro insurance using the app through blockchain platform.
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