Deloitte and China Life Insurance (Overseas) developed the first cross-border Bancassurance DLT platform in Greater China

Published: 14 December 2017

Deloitte and China Life Insurance (Overseas) ("CLIO") jointly announced the successful development of the first cross-border bancassurance distributed ledger technology ("DLT") platform in Greater China. CLIO and China Guangfa Bank Co. Ltd. ("CGB") have deployed the DLT platform in production in real business scenarios. Working together with banks, CLIO aims to promote integrated collaboration within the financial services industry and to improve customer service. 

The endorsement of CLIO and Deloitte top management also reflects the commitment from all parties to draw in various resources to develop the DLT platform, and actively promote collaboration within the financial industry for better customer experience. After conducting in-depth analyses of many different insurance blockchain scenarios, CLIO and Deloitte have taken into account the specific demands of bancassurance sector in Hong Kong and Macau, and developed this platform, the first ever DLT use case for cross-border bancassurance.  In March 2017, they successfully registered the DLT platform under the National Internet Finance Association of China ("NIFA") and have become the only NIFA endorsed project, namely "Research on blockchain application for premium settlements", led by a state-owed financial institution. With the acknowledgment from regulatory authorities in Hong Kong and Macau, CLIO, CGB and Deloitte are committed to maximizing the commercial value of DLT by actively promoting the research and development of this priority technology and its deployment in various application scenarios.

"Through an authorised DLT platform, we can eliminate vast amounts of paperwork and clerical processes, thus increasing operational efficiency. This enables insurance companies and banks to integrate their systems through existing channels in a more streamlined manner, which allows insurance companies to introduce new products to developing countries at a faster pace", commented Dr Paul Sin, Consulting Partner and Lead of Deloitte's Asia Pacific Blockchain Lab.

Ms Yang Xiaoyuan, General Manager, Shenzhen Service Center, China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Limited, commented, "Blockchain is a cutting-edge financial technology, which enables decentralization, transparency and immutability. It also generates other benefits such as cost saving, trust enhancement and increased transparency of capital flows. Industry practitioners are actively exploring how to bring these benefits into financial services and unleash the business value of blockchain. CLIO and Deloitte have conducted in-depth research and fully considered a wide range of scenarios during the selection of blockchain applications in the insurance sector. Together with CGB, we have developed the first use case leveraging the blockchain features to address existing issues in bancassurance sector. It helps crystalize the value of blockchain in business applications. Looking forward, CLIO will continue exploring new businesses along the service chain. We hope to engage more partners in other locations to participate in the DLT platform, thus offering better customer experience together."

"Banks are one of the major channels for insurance sales and payment transactions. However, due to the lack of informatization in cross-institutional settlement, customer experience in existing payment process is not satisfactory. The DLT platform we have deployed in production has leveraged cutting-edge financial technologies to re-design the business process in Bancassurance, with advantages including distributed storage of transactions history and immutability. It can effectively solve the problems and challenges in payment settlements between banks and insurance companies, improve customer service experience, and significantly enhance the quality and security in information sharing," said Mr Hu Min, President of Macau Branch, China Guangfa Bank Co. Ltd.

Deloitte has been at the forefront of the development of DLT, commonly known as blockchain, in the financial services industry. Earlier this year, Deloitte partnered with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other industry participants to develop a Distributed Ledger Technology proof-of-concept for Trade Finance.

Deloitte’s Asia Pacific Blockchain Lab – comprised of more than 20 people in HK and 70 developers in China, further supported by 900 Blockchain practitioners across 20 countries in the global Deloitte innovation GRID – works with international organizations looking to roll out blockchain-enabled solutions. Deloitte has developed more than 40 blockchain-related prototypes, covering a multitude of uses such as digital identity, digital banking, cross-border payments, trade finance, and loyalty and rewards solutions, as well as distinct efforts for the investment management and insurance sectors.