PAL Network, an insurtech startup using blockchain technology to offer smart contract-based insurance products, has signed two memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreements with Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Allianz Malaysia to develop proofs-of-concept (PoCs), the startup said on Wednesday.
The partnership with Toyota Tsusho focuses on using PAL Network’s blockchain technologies to develop a PoC to facilitate underwriting and the creation of new insurance products on smart contracts customized for the group. These products will be targeted at the Southeast Asian region.
Similarly, the partnership with Allianz Malaysia seeks to use PAL Network’s blockchain technologies and implement PoC on new protection coverage with automated claims for the Malaysian market.
Singapore-based PAL Network has developed a dual-layered protocol for financial assets with a particular focus on insurance products. The startup aims to offer a blockchain-based ecosystem for insurance underwriting, distribution and claims process, where individuals and partners can design and customize new financial products powered by smart contracts. Through APIs, partners can easily cross-sell relevant insurance products at the point-of-demand.
Besides Toyota Tsusho and Allianz Malaysia, PAL Network has partnerships with insurance companies FWD and Ergo to explore use cases of its decentralized protocol. The company has also established collaborations with blockchain projects NEM, Qtum, Sentinel Protocol, MediBloc, Digix and traceto.io to offer CryptoProtect, a cybersecurity service to protect cryptocurrency assets and PAL Network’s first product line, and mainstream insurance products for the projects themselves along with their respective communities.
PAL Network raised 23,809 ETH (US$20 million) in an initial coin offering (ICO) in early 2018 and launched its mainnet in December. The company is now preparing to launch three new microinsurance products as well as B2B solutions to its partners and insurance providers such as Insurer’s Dashboard and Marketplace, allowing insurers to create personalized insurance products.
PAL Network was launched in 2017 by the team behind PolicyPal Singapore, an affiliated entity. PolicyPal Singapore is a digital direct insurance broker that provides an insurance application which uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to simplify and digitize insurance for end users. It serves over 50,000 individuals and was Singapore’s first graduate from the Monetary of Singapore’s (MAS) fintech regulatory sandbox.