The $30 billion marine insurance market, a cornerstone of London’s place as a global business centre, is set to undergo the world’s first large-scale test of whether the technology underpinning cryptocurrency could be used to revolutionise the biggest financial markets.
Marine underwriting costs could halve if the introduction of a blockchain system to the Lloyd’s of London market is successful. Backers of the project include AP Moller-Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, and MS Amlin and XL Catlin, two of the industry’s biggest insurers.
From next year blockchain technology, which allows records to be securely and instantly updated, will be introduced to the market, allowing real-time updates of shipping contracts, overhauling paper-based systems that have changed little in more than 300 years.
Blockchain, a continuously
