Carriers making the best use of new technologies are getting their due at the Celent 2009 Model Carrier Summit in New York. At the summit, insurers representing the breadth of the industry were recognized in 12 separate categories spanning all insurance operations.
Celent’s premiere award, Model Carrier of the Year, is bestowed upon the carrier that exhibited “superior performance in all categories."
This year’s winner is McPherson, Kan.-based Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance Co. The company employed a best-of-breed approach using the PipelineClaims offering from Honolulu-based Blue Wave Technologies for claims; the STG billing system from for Edison, N.J.-based MajescoMastek; the OneShield Dragon policy administration system from Westborough, Mass.-based OneShield Inc.; and Exstream Software from Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. for document automation.
The complete list of carrier winners in each category and, if applicable, their vendors, follows:
Agency Portal — General Casualty Insurance Cos. (AgencyPort Insurance Services Inc.), Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd.
Billing — Allianz Group and Aviva Life and Annuity Co. (CGI Group Inc.); GEICO (CSC)
Business process outsourcing — Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (Risk Righter)
Claims — Assurant Inc. (FINEOS Corp.)
Compensation management — Conseco Services LLC (CSC)
Document automation — Grinnel Mutual Reinsurance Co. (Hyland Software Inc.); Independence Blue Cross (EMC Document Sciences); Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corp. (Cincom Systems Inc.)
IT management — Allstate Insurance Co. (Infosys Technologies Ltd.)
New business automation — AIG Private Group (Exigen Insurance Solutions); Farmers Insurance Group (Pegasystems Inc.)
Policy administration — Penn National Insurance (ImageRight Inc., Oracle Insurance Insbridge Rating, Pegasystems Inc. and Exstream software)
Product design and development/ratings — The Harford Mutual Insurance Cos. (CGI Group Inc.); Real Insurance (Exigen Group)
Services — AssuranceAmerica
Underwriting —Transamerica Life Insurance Co. (MajescoMastek)
