Blockchain speeds up Disaster Recovery claims

Avalanche and Deloitte partnered to create Close As You Go™ (CAYG), a platform to improve State and Local Governments’ Recovery From Natural Disasters and Public Health Emergencies. This software as a service (SaaS) is a secure, cloud-based grants management solution that utilizes Avalanche blockchain technology to assist communities and organizations in managing eligibility requirements.

With a focus on Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance expenditures, CAYG helps users to strengthen preparedness capabilities, submit verifiable requests for reimbursement, and organize supporting documentation. CAYG is designed to help users maintain resilience and navigate the process with the goal of expediting recovery, while providing a decentralized, transparent and cost-efficient service that empowers both grant makers and funding recipients while minimizing fraud, waste and abuse.

The president of Ava Labs, John Wu, said in a statement: “Close As You Go features a user-friendly interface backed by the cutting edge of blockchains, helping state and local governments focus on their recovery, rather than extensive claims processes. We’re proud to work closely with Deloitte to offer this new, secure and beneficial technology for communities across the country.”

Why is Disaster recovery so important?

Deloitte research shows that there are more than 80,000 local governments operating in the United States, and each one can benefit from CAYG in a specific way. In the previous three years alone, there have been 60 events totaling $443.4 billion

They also found that 2020 was not only the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but also a record-setting year of 22 weather-related disasters with losses totaling more than $1 billion each

Enable trust and transparency with blockchain

Security features powered by innovative uses of blockchain fortify CAYG and safeguard uploaded documents. CAYG secures its application beyond required industry standards by utilizing the Avalanche blockchain, its subnets, and smart contracts to enhance authentication methods as well as silo and track data with protected file locations and cryptographic hashes. These functions work in concert to help you effectively manage eligibility requirements and documentation by allowing only authorized parties to distribute and verify time-sensitive information securely and efficiently.

• Empowering your recovery with a more effective grants management solution
• Accelerate recovery claims – Accelerate recovery by organizing documentation needed to demonstrate eligibility for reimbursement in near-real time
• Simplify retention – Simplify retention by storing and linking related documentation securely via blockchain technology
• Reduce administrative costs – Reduce administrative costs by automating the “digital packaging” of reimbursement requests with referenced federal, state, and local guidelines indexed to your documents
• Mitigate risk – Mitigate risk by establishing an authoritative repository of records tied to verified parties in the reimbursement workflow
  
• Build resiliency – Build resiliency by documenting compliance with federal procurement standards for standby contracts ahead of activation in your next event
  

From Deloitte: “When disaster strikes a community, state and local officials must act swiftly and deliberately to respond,” said Alex Haseley, principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP and Deloitte’s government and public services crisis management portfolio leader. “Our new Close As You Go platform can play a critical role in helping these leaders be prepared to aggregate and validate the documentation necessary to demonstrate eligibility for funding and reduce the risk of adverse audit findings down the road.”

Platform is live. For further information, visit the official platform’s website. Researched by Alexandre on November 2023