TCS joins B3i community to work on blockchain solutions for insurers

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday said it has partnered with Zurich-based insurer consortium B3i Services to create blockchain solutions for the insurance industry.

The partnership will help the Mumbai-based information technology (IT) services provider design, develop and launch ecosystem innovations based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) for the insurance industry, it said in a statement.

B3i’s DLT platform provides tailored solutions to support risk managers, insurers, brokers, reinsurers and industry service providers. The consortium, created by Munich Re and Swiss Re -- two of the world's largest reinsurers -- along with insurers Aegon, Allianz and Zurich, was set up to explore blockchain technology applications in the industry.

“Partners and customers will be able to leverage the B3i Fluidity platform by reusing common components and services, as well as ensuring interoperability with other applications in the B3i ecosystem,” TCS said.

B3i’s Fluidity platform offers libraries of codes for the development, delivery, distribution and monetisation of interoperable and distributed applications across its ecosystem.

Additionally, TCS’ work in curating ecosystems across industries, including manufacturing, distribution, logistics, retail and insurance, will enable B3i participants to close the ‘protection gap’ by identifying opportunities for new or existing insurance products, the statement said. 

“By working together with trusted partners, the insurance industry can solve long standing problems that individual insurers and brokers can’t solve alone. TCS’s capabilities and global scale complement B3i’s specifically in the insurance industry, where participants in B3i are establishing protocols, curating minimum standards, safeguarding interoperability, and setting a solid foundation to digitally transform the insurance industry,” B3i CEO John Carolin said.

Set up in 2016, B3i is currently owned by 20 major insurers from five continents, with a community comprising over 40 companies. It builds a broadly supported platform and protocol to address critical insurance industry needs through growing its network and developing partnerships with other company-led and industry-led initiatives throughout the world.

TCS’s other exploits with blockchain technologies, in recent past, include a new blockchain framework designed to address privacy and trust issues in peer-to-peer digital networks, its blockchain product Quartz made generally available on the Microsoft Azure Blockchain Service, and a crypto trading solution for banks and other financial institutions.