Qorus and Accenture Announce Winners of 2023 Insurance Innovation Awards

The awards, which honor the best ideas and practices transforming the industry for the benefit of insurers and customers, attracted more than 350 entries from 43 countries, with applicants ranging from agile start-ups to the world’s largest financial institutions.

Winners were selected across seven categories through a peer-based voting process combined with a panel of judges from leading global financial firms. The winners of the Qorus-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards 2023 are: 

·       Generali Group (Italy) – was named Global Innovator 2023 for the firms’ ongoing dedication to innovation, as part of its commitment to becoming a future-ready company, and delivering world-class experiences to its customers, agents and employees. This strategy has led to the launch of several new products and services across a number of countries, including its Future4care innovation accelerator in France, an online medication service in Brazil and its WeInnovate program that enables all of its employees to innovate.

 

·       Fidelidade (Portugal) – received the Connected Ecosystems & Marketplaces award for its MyPets pet care ecosystem, which includes pet liability and health insurance, gamification incentives and rewards, partnerships with animal food and care providers, and a digital information platform. This innovation capitalizes on the fast-growing pet market. 

 

·       ZA Tech (Singapore) – received the Insurtech award for Graphene, a cloud-based digital core and distribution system that supports any insurance business model. Flexible and product agnostic, the system enables insurers to accelerate their digital transformation, grow their product offerings and distribution channels, and reduce the complexity and cost of their technology resources. 

 

·       John Hancock Financial Services (USA) – received the Product & Service Innovation award for advancing its services beyond death benefits by offering its policyholders access to the Galleri cancer test. Developed by healthcare firm Grail, the test screens a blood for sample for more than 50 types of cancer.

 

·       Zurich (Brazil) – received the Re-imagining the Customer Experience award for its Remote Diagnosis in Claims service. Once a policyholder submits a claim, a member of the carrier’s technical team examines their insured appliance using photographs or a video, and determines how it should be repaired. If the claim is approved, a technician is scheduled to perform the repair. 61% of the company’s extended warranty repair claims are now resolved with the help of remote diagnostics. 

 

·       Bradesco Seguros (Brazil) – received the Social, Sustainable & Responsible award for Sinistro Sustentável, a recycling service that collects, salvages, disposes and tracks automotive waste. The company’s Automotive Ecological Disposal service currently operates in São Paulo and the company plans to extend it to other cities, reinforcing its support for sustainability.

 

·       Generali Investments (Italy) – received the Workforce Transformation award for its Citizen Developers Programme that encourages its employees to become innovators and develop digital solutions to promote collaboration and increase employee engagement. The insurer provides workers with training and smart automation tools, which require little or no programming, to enable them to create solutions that enhance their work capabilities. 

 

“Since their inception in 2017, the Awards have played a critical role at the center of industry innovation by recognizing and rewarding the best and brightest ideas so others can learn and grow,” said John Berry, Qorus CEO. “The insurance sector is facing ongoing and complex disruption, but despite this, continues to show remarkable resilience. This year’s submissions offer rich inspiration, illustrating how insurers are broadening and diversifying their products and services to tackle disruption head on and exceed customer needs; investing in digital innovations; creating new ecosystems and marketplaces, and championing the sustainability imperative.”

 

Daniele Presutti, who leads Accenture’s European Insurance industry group, said, “Innovation is foundational in creating the new business models required for the insurance industry of today and tomorrow. As carriers navigate volatile macroeconomic conditions, evolving consumer expectations and environmental risks, a strong digital core is a key driver for future growth and industry reinvention. This year’s Qorus submissions are further evidence that insurers are setting a new performance frontier for the industry.”