Introduction to Decentralized Insurance Workshop
Decentralized insurance: a hands-on introduction
Presented by Rodrigue Kazzi
In this interactive session, we start by getting a first look at what makes an insurance model decentralized and how it differs from traditional insurance. Together, we explore what gaps decentralized insurance can fill, what principles it can respect, and what information or inputs it can rely on.
Decentralized insurance – some theoretical aspects
Presented by Jan Dhaene
In this part of the workshop, we give a basic overview of some recent results on decentralized insurance, which is a risk-sharing alternative for the classical insurance approach with a central insurer. We consider risk-sharing pools where each participant is compensated from the pool for his loss and pays in return an ex-post contribution to the pool. The contributions of the participants follow from an appropriate risk-sharing rule, which is chosen such that the pool is self-financing.
Decentralized risk-sharing revives early forms of mutual insurance and has been applied for centuries in traditional communities. The recent interest in a sharing economy, collaborative consumption and decentralized finance, together with recent advances in technology have made decentralized risk-sharing a viable candidate to disrupt the traditional insurance sector.
We introduce and discuss a list of relevant properties of risk-sharing rules. A number of candidate risk-sharing rules are considered, including the simple uniform risk-sharing rule, as well as the conditional mean risk-sharing rule and the quantile risk-sharing rule. Their compliance with the proposed properties is investigated. Also, axiomatic characterizations of the above-mentioned risk-sharing rules are considered.
Decentralized insurance from a global perspective
Presented by Runhuan Feng
Decentralized insurance encompasses a diverse array of risk-sharing and risk-transfer mechanisms that enable participants to pool resources and provide mutual protection. Unlike centralized insurance, where risks are consolidated and managed by a single insurer, decentralized insurance distributes risks among participants. This concept, rooted in principles that have been practiced across cultures and throughout history, represents a fundamental approach to collective risk management.
This presentation provides an overview of various social and economic forms of decentralized insurance, including mutual aid, takaful, tontines, catastrophe risk pooling, stokvels, moai, loan compensation funds, and crypto insurance. By exploring the global diversity of decentralized insurance practices, we aim to demonstrate its pivotal role in fostering innovation in risk management as human civilization evolves.
Democratizing insurance through blockchain: How decentralized finance is transforming risk management
Presented by Marco Mirabella
This presentation examines the transformative potential of blockchain technology in reshaping traditional insurance models through decentralized finance (DeFi) principles. Drawing on empirical evidence from real-world implementations, we will explore how blockchain-based insurance platforms are addressing longstanding inefficiencies in the insurance sector while creating unprecedented opportunities for financial inclusion.
The insurance industry has historically been characterized by high operational costs, limited accessibility, and slow claims processing. Decentralized insurance platforms leverage smart contracts to automate underwriting, policy management, and claims settlement, significantly reducing these friction points. The presentation will analyze how stablecoin-denominated capacity managed by smart contracts creates capital efficiency, enabling broader participation in insurance markets previously restricted to institutional investors.
Particular attention will be given to parametric insurance models, where smart contracts execute automatic payouts based on predefined events verified through oracle systems. This approach eliminates the need for manual claims processing and demonstrates measurable improvements in settlement speed and customer satisfaction. The discussion will include specific applications in underserved markets, highlighting how blockchain-based insurance solutions are extending coverage to communities traditionally excluded from formal insurance mechanisms.
The presentation will conclude with an examination of key challenges facing decentralized insurance, including regulatory uncertainty, oracle reliability, and smart contract security. By identifying both opportunities and obstacles, this analysis provides a balanced assessment of how DeFi insurance may fundamentally reshape risk management practices in the digital economy.
Speaker biographies
Rodrigue Kazzi
Rodrigue Kazzi is a quantitative insurance inspector at the National Bank of Belgium and a part-time professor of actuarial science at both the Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG) of the University of Lisbon and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK). His main research interests are decentralized insurance and uncertainty in solvency models.
He worked at KU Leuven on a decentralized insurance project led by Prof. Jan Dhaene and served on the board of directors of the Actuaires du Monde association, focusing on how decentralized insurance could reach underserved populations.
He earned a PhD in actuarial science from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and an associateship (ASA) from the Society of Actuaries (SoA). He is also a member of the education committee of IA|BE (Institute of Actuaries of Belgium).
Jan Dhaene
Jan Dhaene is a full professor in actuarial science with the Research Centre Insurance at the Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, Belgium. His main current research interests are in risk management for financial institutions, integrating financial and actuarial models and decentralized risk-sharing. He has published over 150 scientific papers in refereed journals.
Together with R. Kaas, M. Goovaerts and M. Denuit, he is co-author of ‘Modern Actuarial Risk Theory’ (Kluwer, 2001), ‘Modern Actuarial Risk Theory – Using R’ (Springer, 2008) and ‘Actuarial Theory for Dependent Risks – Measures, Orders and Models’ (Wiley, 2005).
He has been co–chair holder of the Fortis Chair in Financial and Actuarial Risk Management (2006- 2009) and chairholder of the AG Insurance Chair in Health Insurance (2010-2019) at KU Leuven.
He has held visiting appointments and/or has been teaching at University of Antwerp (Belgium), University of Ghent (Belgium), University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Warsaw University (Poland), University of the Free State (Bloemfontein, South Africa), University of Sao Paulo (Brasil), University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Université de Lausanne (Switzerland), Duisenberg School of Finance (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Institut Supérieur de Management Adonaï (Cotonou, Benin), Université d’Abomey-Kalavi (Cotonou, Benin), Central University of Finance and Economics (Beijing, China), Tsinghua University (Beijing, China), University of Turin (Turin, Italy), Universitas Padjadjaran (Bandung, Indonesia), Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan), University of Bologna (Bologna, Italy) and University of International Business and Economics (Beijing, China).
He is an Associate Editor of Insurance: Mathematics & Economics (since 2000), a member of the Editorial Board of ASTIN Bulletin (since 2007), Advisory Editor of Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics (since 2008), Associate Editor of Istatistik, Journal of the Turkish Statistical Association (since 2012) and Associate Editor of North American Actuarial Journal (since 2019). He is a member of IA|BE (Institute of Actuaries of Belgium) and I.A.A. (International Actuarial Association).
Runhuan Feng
Runhuan Feng is a Chair Professor in the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, where he is also the Director of the China Center for Insurance and Risk Management and a Fellow of the National Center for Economic Research. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst. Prior to joining Tsinghua, he was a tenured Full Professor, the State Farm Companies Foundation Endowed Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Faculty Lead for the Finance and Insurance sector at the Discovery Partnership Institute of the University of Illinois System.
He has published over fifty papers on a variety of topics on insurance, risk sharing, retirement, financial technology and authored several books. He is currently a Co-Editor of North American Actuarial Journal and the Founding Executive-Editor-in-Chief of Risk Sciences. He won numerous international awards including the 2019 Global Association of Risk Management Professionals’ Best Paper Prize for Quantitative Methods in Finance, and the 2022 Jeffrey Haywood Prize by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
He is a strong advocate for academic-industry collaboration. He currently serves as a Chair of the Research Executive Committee at the Society of Actuaries. He was previously a Chair of the Education and Research Section Council. He served as an external consultant for the State University Annuitants Association and the Illinois General Assembly and performed actuarial analyses for pension obligation bonds, which was used later as the basis of several legislative proposals. Feng’s research has received attention by various media outlets, including Thomas Reuters, Crain’s Chicago Business, China’s national media CCTV, etc. He has provided his expertise as an independent board member and consultant for many insurance and blockchain companies.
Marco Maribella
Marco Maribella is the Founder and CEO of Ensuro, a blockchain-based reinsurance company licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Under his leadership, Ensuro has pioneered the application of cryptocurrency and smart contracts in the insurance industry, democratizing access to insurance markets through decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions.
Marco's innovative approach has led to significant industry achievements in the insurtech sector. His work has particularly focused on serving underrepresented markets, including collaborations with microfinance providers to support farmers in underserved regions.
Prior to founding Ensuro, Marco served as Chief Strategy Officer at BigGo, a leading price comparison platform in Southeast Asia and Latin America, and co-founded Cartesi, a layer-2 blockchain solution addressing scalability challenges. His career began in venture capital at SOSV, a $1 billion fund, where he developed expertise in fintech investment strategies and emerging technologies.
Marco holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and Engineering from Politecnico di Milano with a double degree in Mechanical and Production Engineering from Tongji University in Shanghai.
As an active participant in the blockchain and insurtech communities, Marco regularly contributes to industry discussions, sharing insights on the transformative potential of blockchain technology in financial services and insurance models.