Applications are now open for Efma and Accenture’s seventh annual Innovation in Insurance Awards, a global competition celebrating the best innovations in insurance.

Insurers and insurtechs are invited to submit their ideas for transforming organisations and the industry; and bringing new value to customers.

Established in 2016, the program rewards the best new innovative ideas and projects in insurance and provides a forum for organisations to share best practices. Last year, 460 submissions from 289 institutions in 55 countries were received.

Efma Chair Jean Marc Pailhol says innovation in insurance has been dramatically shaped by changes to customer preferences in recent years, accelerated by the pandemic.

“Now, it is a matter of capitalising on those fundamental shifts, with technology at the core,” Mr Pailhol said. “Insurers must also embrace collaboration, co-creation, and digital platforms, both within the industry as well as externally.”

Each entry will be assessed for originality; strategic capacity to generate long-term competitive edge and return on investment; and adaptability for use in other markets and countries. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges comprising global senior insurance executives and an online vote by insurance institutions.

This year, there are seven award categories: Global Innovator (the overall winner), Connected Ecosystems & Marketplaces, Insurtech, Product & Service Innovation, Re-imagining the Customer Experience, Social & Sustainable & Responsible and Workforce Transformation.

Entries can be made here until April 8. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 15.