Blockchain Insurance Initiative B3i Expands Its Group of Investors

Swiss blockchain-based insurance transaction platform B3i has expanded its group of investors in its ongoing funding round, according to a press release published on April 3.

Per the release, B3i has added three new insurer and reinsurers to participate in the company’s current funding round. B3i notes in the announcement that the first phase of the product scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2019 is being evaluated, while invitations for the second wave of investors are being extended.

Additionally, B3i formed a Board of Directors that includes nine senior executives of the investor companies. The chairman of the Board, Antony Elliott, who is also Group Head of Business Transformation at Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, said:

“B3i's community of shareholders and other network participants exceeds 40 companies who represent over half the world’s reinsurance premium and major primary insurers. B3i will continue to expand its shareholder and user base over the next several months as the initial products are rolled out.”

B3i is a blockchain initiative focused on multi-company syndicated risk placement, accounting, and claims. The company developed a product based on R3 Corda’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) which aims to increase efficiency and security of the insurance industry.

As reported in late March, B3i raised about $16 million in February, having maximized its capital to 22,475,945 Swiss francs ($22.6 million). The company raised 8.27 million Swiss francs ($8.34 million) in the form of cash, while the remaining part of the sum, 7.9 million Swiss francs ($7.9 million) comes as converted debt.That same month, blockchain consortium R3’s trade finance platform Marco Polo completed its first real transactions between Germany and China, involving two German firms. One transaction saw couplings delivered from Germany to China, while a second was based on hydraulic pumps delivered within Germany.