We are pleased to announce the opening of nominations for the Model Insurer Awards, which honor best practices in technology usage critical to success in the insurance industry.
We've seen a notable increase in the application of AI and generative AI across the insurance value chain, alongside a growing focus on customer experience, underwriting and claims automation.
These trends highlight the necessity for innovative, personalized, and holistic insurance solutions, presenting firms with opportunities to leverage advanced technologies and data analytics to better understand and meet the unique needs of their clients. In this competitive landscape, insurers should adopt a thoughtful approach to integrating NextGen technologies—such as generative AI, machine learning, and data analytics—to enhance data management, streamline processes, and deliver tailored experiences to an expanding client base.
We are excited to learn about the innovative initiatives that financial institutions have implemented to support the shifting insurance landscape.
OVERVIEW
Celent Model Insurer is the premier award available in the insurance industry globally. Celent awards this honor to insurers, reinsurers and MGAs who demonstrate extraordinary results for best practices in technology usage across a variety of areas critical to success in insurance. It is an annual program, celebrating its 19th anniversary in 2025.
For 2025, we will be accepting nominations in five categories: Data, Analytics and AI, Digital and Emerging Technologies, Innovation Execution, Customer Experience Transformation, and Legacy and Ecosystem Transformation.
Submissions for our 2025 program are now open and will close on January 17, 2025.
We will announce our Model Insurer winners at our flagship Innovation & Insight event on June 18, 2025.
NOMINATION CATEGORIES
Data, Analytics and AI
Data is now a key source of competitive advantage for identifying profitable niches, managing risk, and improving service. External data sources, data derived from devices, and new techniques for interpreting data are pushing the competitive boundaries for insurers at an accelerated rate. This theme recognizes projects such as:
·Predictive analytics (claims fraud, underwriting, pricing, climate analysis)
·Prescriptive analytics (triage, sales automation, “next best action”)
·Virtualization (dashboards and heat maps, catastrophe management, network analysis, geopolitical risk analysis)
·Innovative functionality enhancements for consumer digital platforms (e.g. mobile apps, online)
·Artificial intelligence techniques used to achieve the next level of benefits (in underwriting, claims processing, fraud identification, propensity modeling)
Digital and Emerging Technologies
Digital transformation is moving from person-to-person interaction toward person-to-machine or machine-to-machine. Emerging technologies are those whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized and that are often perceived as capable of changing the status quo. Often, emerging technologies are the basis for achieving groundbreaking digital transformations. This theme recognizes projects such as:
·The industrialization of processes
·Integration with business partners
·The leveraging of social networks
·IoT based value propositions
·Emerging technology PoCs, pilots and MVPs
·The use of mobile-based technology
Innovation Execution
Celent defines innovation as fundamental changes to products, services, or business models that break existing trade-offs and provide value to the customer. New hardware, software, and network technologies feed insurance innovation. This theme focuses on how insurers implement innovation and recognizes projects such as:
·Innovation labs implementation
·Programs aiming at innovation idea generation and prioritization
·Partnerships or investment in innovation accelerators or incubators
·Development of an innovation culture within an IT organization
·Change management program to foster innovation
Customer Experience Transformation
Transforming the customer experience is increasingly important to insurers who are looking to differentiate themselves and drive sustainable growth. This category looks at the work insurers are doing to improve the experience for prospects, policyholders, distributors, vendors and other constituents. This theme recognizes initiatives such as:
·Simplification of the new business application process – e,g. data prefill, new UI, computer vision etc.
·Implementation of new technologies to improve the customer experience – e.g. video communication, augmented reality for claims natural language processing, etc.
·Implementation of new tools or services to provide new capabilities for customers e.g. connected home solutions, advice engines, social pay, etc.
·Other initiatives that transform the customer experience.
Legacy and Ecosystem Transformation
Legacy technology can hinder innovation, since insurers must typically offer backward compatibility. Insurers must not only modernize, but also transform their internal systems and how they interact with customers, counterparties, and regulators. This theme recognizes projects related to core system replacement or transformation that leverages new technology and methods (i.e. cloud, APIs, Agile, DevOps). This theme includes all aspects of the application architecture such as:
·Core systems - policy admin, billing, claims, rating, reinsurance, illustrations, new business etc.
·Enterprise level systems – CCM, Document management, financial systems, ERP, reporting
·Customer facing systems – agent, policyholder or vendor portals, customer relationship management, integration with agency management systems
·Other point solutions – loss control, premium audit, medical bill review, litigation management
Join Us for Innovation & Insight Day 2025
To learn more about the Model Insurer Awards, we invite you to visit our I&I Day 2024 hub page. Here, you can access interviews with last year’s winners, gain insights from our team on key trends and themes from the 2024 program.
Please be sure to read our FAQs carefully before submitting your nomination. Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to modelinsurer@celent.com.