Insurance Technology (InsurTech) venture YAS is building upon the possibilities of luxury item insurance with the launch of TimeCare, an innovative insurance program powered by blockchain technology designed to cover luxury watches. YAS is an insurance technology venture established in 2019 to offer customized and autonomous insurance protection via connected data.
TimeCare is one of the latest products to come out of the InsurTech sector. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) defines InsurTech as the use of technology in insurance that is taking place across the insurance value chain “from distribution and marketing, product design, underwriting, claims management and balance sheet management.” InsurTech covers a wide range of insurance types, including valuable pieces of technological property.
An Overview of the InsurTech Sector
InsurTech is a subset of FinTech, which has altered the banking world with technologies and software like Square. Similarly, companies in the InsurTech space are changing the game and appealing to investors. According to research conducted by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services, InsurTech startups have amalgamated $16.5 billion in investments over the past decade.
In regards to future technologies that will have the most impact on the insurance sector, the NAIC credits big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile technology, artificial intelligence (AI), wearable devices, and blockchain technologies. Furthermore, the NAIC notes that as consumers become “increasingly well-versed in new technologies,” they are naturally “looking for a more hands-on approach” to managing finances and purchasing insurance products.
Blockchain Technology: What is It?
TimeCare boasts state-of-the-art blockchain technology to smoothly integrate insurance coverage into the watch purchasing process and ensure security, efficiency, and transparency during the claims process.
Blockchain technology is a highlight of TimeCare, but also an integral technological tool powering the growth of InsurTech. Developed in 2008 in tandem with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, a blockchain describes the use of “a decentralized database to maintain a continuously growing list of data records secured from tampering and revision,” according to the NAIC. The ledger technology’s name comes from its structure, consisting of chains of data structure blocks linked to one another, with each block housing sets of individual transactions with specific timestamps.
The appeal of utilizing blockchain technology in insurance is that records written into the blockchain cannot be deleted, which simplifies the auditing process to potentially “reduce fraud risk, streamline policy administration and manage claims in a transparent and irrefutable manner,” according to NAIC. Registering a device on a blockchain also helps to ensure proof of insurance, ownership, and consumer privacy.
With a successful launch in Hong Kong in partnership with a luxury watch retailer, TimeCare aims to expand to other regions and luxury products.
The Future of InsurTech
If the launch of TimeCare is any indication, it is that InsurTech is a rapidly growing sector with great value. InsurTech can innovate the way insurance operates at the consumer and industry level, but only if InsurTech startups and insurers partner together. As Deloitte puts it, “InsurTechs shouldn’t be viewed as a silver bullet. Instead, carriers can start thinking about adding together the capabilities of multiple InsurTechs to solve important business challenges, such as policyholder engagement or agent enablement.”
TimeCare seems to be taking this sentiment to heart by embedding it in its mission. William Lee, co-founder of YAS said in a company press release, “TimeCare is more than just insurance; it represents a commitment to trust, transparency, and efficiency as we build the future of insurance for the new generation.”
