InsurTech4Good Weekly Newsletter – #9, 2025
Dear readers,
Here is a summary of the most important regulatory and policy news that caught my attention last week.
Andres
DeFi self-regulation
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) could redefine financial services by offering automation, transparency, and global accessibility without intermediaries.
However, its rapid expansion introduces risks—ranging from smart contract vulnerabilities to governance centralization and financial stability concerns.
Traditional regulatory approaches are often ill-suited for DeFi’s decentralized nature, necessitating an industry-driven self-regulatory framework.
This report provides a structured DeFi Self-Regulation Proposal, detailing key risk categories and specific best practices to ensure security, compliance, and long-term sustainability.
By implementing real-time financial reporting, decentralized governance models, and standardized security audits, the DeFi industry can mitigate risks while preserving innovation.
The report covers some insurance aspects as well.
Read more here.
Decentralised Finance in South Africa
The purpose of this research report by South Africa financial market supervisor FSCA is to provide an overview of the DeFi landscape in South Africa, highlighting its potential benefits and associated risks. The study delves into the characteristics and various use cases of DeFi, such as payments, lending, borrowing, and asset management.
It underscores the benefits DeFi can offer, including enhanced financial inclusion and increased transparency within the financial system. However, the report also addresses the inherent risks, associated with decentralisation and open systems, as effective DeFi relies on the integrity of smart contracts, the stability of its liquidity pools and the general sophistication and maturity of financial customers.
Read more here.
FinTech Associations: Global Approaches and Good Practices Study
This Global Fintech Industry Association Study provides valuable data and insights into the approaches and practices of the global community of Digital Financial Services / FinTech industry associations.
The findings from this study aim to help industry associations, policymakers, regulators, market participants, and the development community better understand the work of industry associations.
It can be used both as reference material and a tool to strengthen the operations of fintech industry associations, especially those which are nascent.
For more established industry associations, this research provides new insights into benchmarking and surfaces commonalities and learnings across diverse fintech markets.
Read more here.
Graph LLMs and insurance
What are Graph LLMs and what does it mean for insurance?
Graph LLMs refer to the integration of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) with Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance the understanding and processing of data that has both textual and relational (graph-structured) components.
This hybrid approach leverages the strengths of LLMs in natural language understanding and the capabilities of GNNs in modelling relationships between entities.
Zurich Insurance for example uses knowledge graphs to enhance claims processing and improve risk insight.
Read more here.
Algorithmic discrimination under the AI Act and the GDPR
After the entry into force of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act in August 2024, an open question is its interplay with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The AI Act aims to promote human-centric, trustworthy and sustainable AI, while respecting individuals' fundamental rights and freedoms, including their right to the protection of personal data.
One of the AI Act's main objectives is to mitigate discrimination and bias in the development, deployment and use of 'high-risk AI systems'.
To achieve this, the act allows 'special categories of personal data' to be processed, based on a set of conditions (e.g. privacy-preserving measures) designed to identify and to avoid discrimination that might occur when using such new technology.
The GDPR, however, seems more restrictive in that respect. The legal uncertainty this creates might need to be addressed through legislative reform or further guidance.
This is also important for the insurance sector.
Read more here.
UK - Australia InsurTech Pathway
The UK-Australia InsurTech Pathway is an initiative in partnership with the UK Department for Business and Trade, InsurTech Australia, and InsurTech UK.
The Pathway aims to encourage and support both UK-based and Australian InsurTechs in exploring opportunities in each other’s markets.
Read more here.
The Data Innovation Toolkit and Data Innovation Repository
The Digital Innovation Lab of the European Commission has developed a toolkit to help data enthusiasts effectively leverage data for the public good.
Despite the abundance of data, the excitement around AI, and the potential for transformative insights, many public administrations struggle to translate data into actionable strategies and innovations. Public servants working on data-related initiatives need practical, easy-to-use resources to enhance the management of data innovation projects.
To address these needs, the iLab of DG DIGIT at the European Commission is developing an initial set of practical tools designed to facilitate and enhance the implementation of data-driven initiatives.
Furthermore, while the web offers numerous resources to support the development of data initiatives, these are often underutilized due to their scattered availability and difficulty in finding relevant materials.
To overcome this challenge, the Data Innovation Team has developed a repository that provides a comprehensive, practical collection of available resources to guide individuals throughout the development of their initiatives.
This compendium, which includes over 100 resources, improves access to existing tools and methodologies, making the innovation process more seamless.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading! If you need help with regulatory strategy, InsurTech research, thought leadership, or policy advisory, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or via email.
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