THE USE OF SMART CONTRACTS TO STREAMLINE CLAIMS IN SOUTH AFRICA: A CASE OF THE BUILDING INSURANCE SECTOR: A LITERATURE REVIEW
The building insurance sector in South Africa plagued by inefficiencies particularly in processing claims, which often leads to delays, errors, customer dissatisfaction and fraud. This literature review explores the potential of smart contracts to address these challenges by automating and streamlining the claims process. Smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements coded on blockchain technology, offer significant advantages such as increased speed, accuracy, transparency of claim settlements and security. This study examines existing literature on the implementation of smart contracts in the insurance industry, identifies key benefits and challenges, and highlights gaps in current research. The findings from the literature suggest that adopting smart contracts could significantly enhance the efficiency of claims processing in the South African building insurance sector, providing quicker resolution of claims and improved customer satisfaction. Based on the findings, the paper recommendations modernisation of the building insurance sector through digital innovation to improve processing of building insurance claims in South Africa and elsewhere.
Smart Contracts, Building Insurance, Claims Processing, Blockchain Technology, South Africa.