Aon, Oxfam and Etherisc’s blockchain solution for agriculture insurance has announced its very first payouts in Sri Lanka. The solution was aimed at providing farmers access to micro-insurance which insures them from the risk of losing their crops due to extreme weather conditions.
The new technology helps in process automation and allows farmers easy and affordable access to insurance. The claims process is also automated without requiring manual submissions from the farmers. This has resulted in reduced operational costs with most of the premiums being used for immediate claims payouts.
The blockchain technology was rolled out in phases with the first phase involving 200 paddy farmers who were engaged with Oxfam in Sri Lanka. Aon and Etherisc enabled microinsurance policies to be stored publicly using blockchain technology and as a result, automatically triggered based on weather data. The project is also boosted by Sanasa Insurance with its local expertise and operational support, which enabled onboarding of farmers who lack internet and computer access.
The next phase of the project is focused on developing solutions which involve mobile payments and more weather information sources, as even today most of the farmers rely on cash, and also there are difficulties faced due to low weather data integrity.
According to Michiel Berende, the Chief Inclusive Officer at Etherisc: “We are proud to have real-world, on-the-ground success from a blockchain solution for microinsurance. We are delighted with the first phase results and we are excited to drive on and help more farmers.“