Insurance firms in China utilize the blockchain to handle coronavirus-related claims among the outbreak. South China Morning Post, English-language local news outlet, reported on Feb. 9 that this month Chinese online mutual aid platform ‘Xiang Hu Bao’ attached the coronavirus to the illnesses eligible for the maximum one-time payout of about $14,300.

Blockchain utilized for insurance claim processing

Xiang Hu Bao isn’t an insurance policy, its a blockchain-based collective claim-sharing platform that includes 104 million users. As per the report, blockchain technology is employed by the system to deter fraud and allow for the faster claim processing.

Xiang Hu Bao is owned by Chinese finance giant Ant Financial and applies its mobile payment processing service AliPay, which finances the payouts for coronavirus victims with its capital. A firm’s spokesman stated:

“Xiang Hu Bao has been able to process claims and make payouts to participants quicker, due to the decentralized, trust-free nature of blockchain technology. […] Claim applicants can submit their supporting documents as evidence, while investigation firms can get immediate access to them on the blockchain. All parties involved can see the entire process.”

Blockchain utilized to decrease paperwork

Also, Blue Cross Insurance, held by the Bank of East Asia, is reportedly assisting to reduce the bureaucratic effect of the coronavirus outbreak with a medical claims app. The insurance service’s managing director Patrick Wan said South China Morning Post:

“Our blockchain-backed claims service has played a key role during the outbreak of the coronavirus by eliminating the paper process and the need for back-and-forth documents delivery to clinics. […] This helps to mitigate the risk of infection from face-to-face contact.”

Blue Cross Insurance demands that its platform can manage about 1,000 transactions per second without individual involvement. Since its launch in April 2019, the medical claims app has witnessed a double-digit monthly policyholder user base growth. Patients utilizing the app can view the outcome of their claims within a day after the hospital visit.

Blockchain’s relationship with coronavirus

 Eight hundred eleven people died due to the coronavirus in China, and the number of confirmed infections rose to 37,198, according to the New York Times. An epidemic of this scale has seen many advocates for the tools offered by the cryptocurrency and blockchain space try to be used to address the crisis.

Blockchain-based applications developer Acoer has built a data visualization tool named HashLog to trail the fatal coronavirus that applies the distributed ledger protocol ‘Hedera Hashgraph.’

Syren Johnstone — executive director of the master in laws program at the University of Hong Kong — currently suggested that blockchain and Artificial intelligence-driven strategies should be executed to better tackle replies to the coronavirus epidemic. Moreover, blockchain startup Hyperchain declared the launch of a blockchain-based platform to combat against the coronavirus epidemic earlier this month.

The coronavirus also has a direct influence on the cryptocurrency industry, with various Asian blockchain events being delayed in acknowledgment of the outbreak. Also, Hong Kong-based blockchain remittance startup ‘Bitspark’ has abruptly declared its closure, indicating the virus among the reasons.