RiskBlock Alliance » BCTECH LIST

Biographical Info

Launched in July 2017, The Institutes RiskBlock^TM Alliance is an unprecedented, industry-led consortium collaborating to unlock the potential of blockchain across the insurance industry.  RiskBlock aims to accelerate time to market and adoption through real-world applications and impactful blockchain use cases.

Setup by the leading not-for-profit provider of risk management and insurance education and research, ‘The Institutes’, as a neutral and industry-driven entity, it aims to promote industry-wide collaboration for advancing blockchain solutions.

The RiskBlock Alliance, based in Pennsylvania, U.S., now counts 30 global insurers, reinsurers and brokers as members, including BB&T Insurance Holdings Inc., State Farm, The Travelers Cos. Inc. and W.R. Berkley Corp.

Most notably, Accenture and EY have joined the alliance to assist in a number of enterprise level blockchain trials, of which RiskBlock has identified at least 40 potential use cases within the insurance industry.  They aim to implement and test multiple insurance use cases by the end of 2018, that include:

• A proof-of-insurance application that allows drivers and law enforcement to confirm insurance coverage in real time, without relying on paper forms.
• A first notices of loss data sharing process, which will create a more streamlined experience for both consumers and business.
• A subrogation tool that uses blockchain-enabled smart contracts to facilitate the netting of consortium members’ payments, reducing manual processes and creating efficiencies in the payment and accounting of claims processing.
• A parametric insurance application to automate the claims process, utilising a weather oracle and smart contracts.

2018 July – Accenture joins RiskBlock to act as the lead framework architect responsible for building the platform that will be used to develop, test and implement the blockchain use cases.

2018 August – EY, one of the big four, joins RiskBlock to serve as a primary service provider for blockchain-specific cybersecurity and risk management guidance.

CHRISTOPHER G. MCDANIEL – President

Christopher joins The Institutes with 25+ years of financial services experience, including organizational transformation and data analytics. Most recently, Christopher led the Life Institute for Deloitte Consulting LLP, focused on innovation across the insurance space and enabling technologies.

PATRICK SCHMID, PhD – Vice President

Patrick G. Schmid is an economist with a passion for blockchain. He oversees RiskBlock’s products, operations and technology departments. Dr. Schmid also coordinates the RiskBlock consortium of insurers, brokers and reinsurers and provides thought leadership for The Institutes. He has worked in the risk management and insurance industry for over a decade, researching trends on important market issues.