Algorand Targets Insurance Fraud With New Partnership

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm Algorand has partnered with blockchain-based tamper-proof media verification platform Attestiv to target fraud within the insurance industry.

The firms will combine their tech to develop a single platform for verifying digital media for a multitude of stakeholders across the insurance sector — including insurers, customers, repair vendors and carriers.

Media is validated using Attestiv’s AI-based platform “either at the point of capture or via forensic analysis” before being “fingerprinted” and uploaded to Algorand blockchain to create an immutable record of the validated documentation.

Alogrand COO Sean Ford described Attestiv as “disrupting the insurance industry”, adding: “We are excited to welcome the Attestiv team to the Algorand ecosystem and help them to transform the insurance industry.”

Disrupting insurance fraud with DLT

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Attestiv chief executive, Nicos Vekiarides, stated that the two firms connected last year through the Boston Blockchain Association. 

Vekiarides explained that blockchain can be deployed to eliminate many redundancies in the gathering and maintenance of records in insurance.

“Within the insurance sector, DLT allows for greater data transparency and trust amongst a large ecosystem,” he said, adding:

“When you look across stakeholders, ranging from carriers, brokers, MGAs, independent adjusters, construction and repair, to public safety, you find a lot of redundancy in gathering and maintaining records along with varying levels of technical sophistication.”

Ford told Cointelegraph that the partnership is Algorand’s first major use case in the insurance industry, noting that the project “aligns with the overall focus of Algorand to remove the friction from the exchange of value”.

Blockchain-based contact tracing

Last week, Algorand founder and Turing Award recipient Silvio Micali discussed his proposal for a blockchain-based contact tracing system with Cointelegraph.

Micali’s system aims to ensure the anonymity of participants while delivering key information on when and where individuals come into proximity of a confirmed COVID-19 case to health organizations. 

Micali emphasized the value in using a blockchain ledger to create “a shared truth” amid the coronavirus outbreak, stating: 

“In situations such as the public health emergency we are currently facing, having public access to accurate data is critical. Truly decentralized blockchains can be of enormous value in this.”