Efma and Accenture (NYSE:ACN) have issued a joint call for entries for the second annual Innovation in Insurance Awards, with insurance and bancassurance companies invited to submit their entries by 8 March 2017.

For information on submitting an entry, please click here or visit www.efma.com/innovationininsurance/.

Accenture partnered with Efma, a global association comprising more than 3,300 insurance and banking members, to launch the global awards program in 2016. The annual awards seek to recognize outstanding new services and encourage innovation across the sector, while providing a forum to share industry insights and best practices.

The first round of the awards attracted more than 224 submissions from 148 institutions across 37 countries.

“These awards will unearth the best insurance innovation in the world, while providing a unique platform for executives to come together, learn from each other and take away new ideas to improve their business,” said Karine Coutinho, deputy general manager and head of delivery at Efma, and project leader of the awards initiative.

Piercarlo Gera, senior managing director, Financial Services, Accenture Distribution & Marketing said: “As insurers continue to grapple with a challenging macroeconomic environment, changing customer behavior and wave after wave of new regulations, technology’s role as an enabler has never been more prominent. Old business models are being up-ended by nimble, new solutions, so it’s imperative that insurers constantly look for new approaches. These awards are a critical part of that process.”

The 2017 Innovation in Insurance awards will canvass the best solutions across five categories:

  • Connected Insurance or Ecosystems: Innovations that use the Internet-of-things to create new business models by effectively combining insurance with technology, ecosystem services and partners.
  • Customer Experience and Engagement: Innovations that radically enhance the way insurance players engage customers. New approaches may include seamless and personalized experiences across physical and/or digital channels, new customer management (service) models, and innovative management of customer loyalty and satisfaction.
  • Intelligent Automation: Innovations that leverage the disruptive power of artificial intelligence technologies (such as intelligent automation, robotics, machine learning etc.) to deliver sophisticated, effective business solutions.
  • Best Disruptive Product or Service: Innovations that enhance, extend or replace the traditional offering, creating new profit pools by serving new customer segments or existing segments in new ways, and entering or creating new markets typically beyond the reach of insurance players.
  • Global Innovator: The most innovative insurer. The global winner is the organization whose corporate vision commits it successfully to continuous innovation and transformation, to the development and leadership of a broad ecosystem of partners extending beyond insurance, and to the exploitation of emerging technologies that improve the experience of its customers and the performance of its business.

Global Innovator is a special category for which the jury will select finalists based on the other four categories. Across all categories, an Innovation Committee will shortlist finalists for each award, with a jury of insurance executives and Efma members then voting for the winners.

The winners will be announced at the Efma Insurance Summit in London on 26 April 2017. Information about last year’s categories and award winners is available here.

About Efma

A global non-profit organisation, established in 1971 by banks and insurance companies, Efma facilitates networking between decision-makers. It provides quality insights to help banks and insurance companies make the right decisions to foster innovation and drive their transformation. Over 3,300 brands in 130 countries are Efma members. Headquarters in Paris. Offices in London, Brussels, Barcelona, Stockholm, Bratislava, Dubai, Mumbai and Singapore. Learn more at www.efma.com.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 384,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.