At the Blockchain Expo in London, England, on Thursday, attendees compared the use of blockchain technology in the banking and insurance industries.

Although many bankers have expressed some anxiety about blockchain technology, it seems that people in the insurance industry believe that this emerging technology is very promising.

At a symposium on blockchain financial services at this conference, Claudia Coppenolle, head of digital market management at Deutsche Bank, believes that the commercial application hype of blockchain technology has passed:

“People are starting to focus on research and figure out blockchain technology applications by launching a minimum viable product. But we still have to learn that we can’t just release a product and hope it will work, that’s not realistic.”

Like the banking industry, risk aversion is also one of the most important tasks for insurance companies. In fact, industry giant Allianz Insurance has already begun to explore the application of blockchain technology with start-ups such as Etherisc. Etherisc co-founder and CEO Christoph Mussenbrock (Christoph Mussenbrock) said that they have developed a real-time blockchain product, in which insurance payouts are based on data provided by the Ethereum blockchain. If the flight is delayed, or the flight arrives late, those who have purchased punctual insurance against this risk will be directly compensated.

Oliver Volk, a blockchain expert from the reinsurance department of Allianz Group, delivered a speech on behalf of the insurance alliance Bi. He said that with the first appearance of the contract prototype, more new members joined the insurance alliance. Added 23 new members. Currently, Allianz Insurance is running a blockchain pilot project and has also launched an internal cryptocurrency "Allianz Token", which aims to transfer money more efficiently within its global affiliates.

Martin Baier, project manager for business innovation and development (including blockchain) at Zurich Insurance, believes that other blockchain use cases may also hit the market soon, and the first real blockchain insurance use cases are expected to revolve around improving the efficiency of claims processing. and combating insurance fraud.

Unlike the positive attitude of the insurance industry, experts in the banking field seem to be more cautious.

Herve Francois, head of blockchain at Dutch banking giant ING, said:

"We're still undervalued, there's always a tendency to overestimate the value in the short term and ignore the long term impact."

Boris Spremo, Director of Emerging Business and Architecture Operations at BNY Mellon said:

"Blockchain technology is not ready yet."

According to him, one barrier to blockchain adoption by banks is regulation, adding:

"Regulators are very cautious, especially in the capital markets, we need critical mass for the technology to work."