The sharing economy presents different challenges to those of the rental sector. Traditional insurance excludes property damages by paying guests and household insurance does not cover damage from third parties, amongst other limitations.
Slock.it enables anything from lockers to villas to be rented in an ad-hoc, peer to peer fashion. For small items, our build-in deposit system will be often sufficient, but for higher value property, such as vehicles, office spaces or apartments, we have partnered with SafeShare to provide Slock users with a leading insurance product.
With Safeshare, Slock.it smart contracts will be able to offer a revolutionary , universal, on-the-spot insurance where users pay only for the type of insurance they need, when they need it. The insurance provider will read from the Ethereum blockchain when the objects are rented out, and owners will only pay for the time the property was required.
The simplicity and elegance of the implementation of the insurance mechanism prototype we are developing with SafeShare would surprise many — it is worlds away from the horribly expensive, slow to implement SOA frameworks from traditional integrators. In many respect, it’s a perfect example of how blockchain technology creates new business opportunities while reducing the cost of operations for the companies that adopt it.
We encourage you to learn more about SafeShare and their amazing team on their website: http://safeshareinsurance.com/
About the Author
Stephan Tual is the Founder and COO of Slock.it.
Previously CCO for the Ethereum project, Stephan has three startups under his belt and brings 20 years of enterprise IT experience to theSlock.it project. Before discovering the Blockchain, Stephan held CTO positions at leading data analytics companies in London with clients including VISA Europe and BP.
His current focus is on the intersection of blockchain technology and embedded hardware, where autonomous agents can transact as part of an optimal Internet of Things economy.
Twitter: @stephantual
Contact: stephan@slock.it