South Korea’s SK Telecom and LG U+ are launching a blockchain-based mobile phone insurance claims service to process pay-outs without submitting paper documents, a Yonhap News report said.
The solution called ‘Initial Mobile Phone Insurance Compensation Service’ can process insurance claims by retrieving documents directly from the service center. Currently, customers need to pay upfront for repairs of an insured mobile phone and then submit the repair statement and receipts to the insurance company.
Yonhap first reported SK Telecom’s initiative, which was shortly followed by LG’s announcement to adopt blockchain for mobile insurance.
SK Telecom has developed a blockchain application that would be used by the service center operators to issue the repair statement and receipts as an electronic certificate. This digital document is directly sent to the insurance company for review, speeding up claims.
While customers enjoy reduced pay-out timelines, it also helps insurers the documents are backed by blockchain’s immutability, thus preventing forgery.
The Korean telco is implementing the solution, starting with Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s biggest smartphone makers. It plans to add other phone manufacturers to the ecosystem soon. Meanwhile, LG U+ is offering the service to Samsung and LG mobile phone owners.
Like many other mobile operators worldwide, SK Telecom offers mobile phone insurance services to its customers. The company said that Samsung Galaxy device owners could use the service as part of the existing insurance plans and need not apply for a separate subscription process.
“The initials are applied to mobile phone insurance compensation services, so SK Telecom customers can receive more convenient and faster compensation services,” said Kim Seong-soo, Sales Manager at SK Telecom.
SK Telecom, which is the biggest telecom company in South Korea, has several blockchain engagements. Digital identity is probably the most explored blockchain use case by Korean telcos, and SK Telecom and LG U+ are collaborating with other sector peers to establish a common platform, the Initial DID Association.
Last month, KB Insurance said it was working with SK Telecom, KT Corp and LG U+ to use blockchain for insurance notification messaging service.
