MetLife Korea has launched the fifth edition of its open innovation program, which aims to encourage global entrepreneurs and insurtechs to help solve some of the insurer’s biggest innovation challenges in Korea.

For ‘collab5.0’, participants will compete for a US$100,000 contract to develop solutions across insurance value chains in areas such as customer engagement, sales, and operations, and to pilot these solutions with MetLife in Korea, a statement by the insurer said. It will select six finalists and pair them with employee mentors, who will guide the contestants to hone their solutions for use by the insurer.

“I’m very pleased that MetLife Korea is hosting collab 5.0 where innovative ideas of insurtech experts from around the globe will compete on an open platform,” said Young Rok Song, senior vice president and general manager of MetLife Korea. “Collab 5.0 is an opportunity for the insurance industry to move to the next level amid the 4th industrial revolution, and to explore and develop cutting-edge solutions that generate greater value for customers.”

Created by MetLife’s Asia innovation arm LumenLab, collab 5.0 follows four previous programs, including one in Singapore, one in MetLife’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, and two in Japan.

Since first launching in 2016, collab has received 538 entries from over 60 countries. Throughout this period, MetLife has awarded around US$900,000 worth of contracts to help firms develop value-generating solutions.

“External collaboration is critical to driving greater innovation in the insurance industry,” said Zia Zaman, CEO of LumenLab and chief innovation officer of MetLife Asia. “Collab is helping us build partnerships and connect to new ideas and creative thinking to innovate ahead of tomorrow’s challenges. Together, we can have an ever-greater impact on our customers.”