In partnership with the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS), Linux Foundation has launched a blockchain-based platform to improve service delivery in the insurance sector.

In a statement, Linux Foundation, the non-profit consortium that backs the Linux operating system, announced the Open Insurance Data Link (OpenIDL) platform and the project. The project aims to reduce insurance reporting costs and operationalize a uniform insurance data repository utilizing blockchain technology.

The OpenIDL platform and project were developed in collaboration with the American Association of Insurance Services, which serves as an insurance advisory organization within the United States.

According to the press statement, this will focus on promoting a standardized distributed ledger in sharing information and processes in the insurance industry. Apart from lowering costs, the platform will also act as a “connection point” for different third parties delivering its members' applications.

The project is backed by some of the world's most prominent insurance players, such as Selective Insurance Group and Hanover. It also brings together some big tech and services providers such as Chainyard, Mobi, and KatRisk that will help share business data and business processes within the insurance sector.

As per the foundation, one of the first use cases of the project will be tackling regulatory reporting for the property and casualty (P&C) insurance sector that is commonly referred to as general insurance.

Utilizing fundamental aspects of blockchain like immutability and transparency, the platform will enhance trust and guarantee to regulators and various insurance sector players that data reporting is highly accurate and fully complete.

“Blockchain is a team sport, and with the OpenIDL platform, companies, regulators, and vendors are forming an ecosystem to collaborate on common issues for the betterment of the insurance industry. The entire industry will benefit through more accurate data and better decision making,” explained Isaac Kunkel, Chainyard’s consulting services vice president.

OpenIDL is developed on nodes that are run by various firms linked by a common distributed ledger.