2008-09-16 00:38:04 -

www.sourcemedia.com/ - Insurance Networking News magazine, a SourceMedia publication, today released the results of its 2008 INNovators Award, a special designation intended to advance the spread of business technology acumen in the insurance industry.

Nominees for the second annual INNovators program included insurance carriers, agencies and brokerages. The 2008 winners were determined to have led or contributed to a business application innovation or project anywhere in the insurance industry supply chain that uses technology to successfully drive business impact, technical impact or the innovation itself.

"From an editorial perspective, it's inspiring to see the depth and breadth of dynamic and versatile technology innovations that serve as critical engines moving our industry forward," said Pat Speer, Editor in Chief

of Insurance Networking News.

Winners were determined by a panel of judges representing several insurance stakeholder communities, including industry analysts/consultants such as Matthew Josefowicz from New York-based Novarica, Mark Gorman from Mark B. Gorman & Assoc., Minneapolis, INN's editors and members of the prestigious INN Board of Advisers.

The following companies are recognized as 2008 INNovators: -0- First Place Pinnacle Life, New Zealand Online direct-to-consumer sales (Nominated by Pinnacle Life) Second Place Allied North America, Jericho, N.Y. Online collaboration implementation (Nominated by Allied North America) Third Place Harleysville Insurance, Harleysville, Pa. Predictive analytics/underwriting solution ((Nominated by Harleysville Insurance) Runner Up Cincinnati Insurance Co., Fairfield, Ohio Claims systems implementation (Nominated by SAP) Runner Up Metropolitan P&C Insurance Co. Integrated litigation system (Nominated by Computer Sciences Corp.) Runner Up Transamerica Reinsurance Mortality management system (Nominated by MajescoMastek)

"We were pleased to see the number of technology innovations that support collaboration, as well as those that are dedicated to increasing their organization's awareness and acceptance--both on the business and IT side--of emerging technologies that impact the entire insurance value chain," said Speer. "Congratulations to our INNovators."

Holli Gronset, Insurance Networking News' Associate Publisher, remarked, "These winners did not accomplish their INNovations in a vacuum. Many are dependent on technology solutions and consulting services to achieve their goals, and those technology providers played a key role in fostering their successes. Insurance Networking News would like to congratulate the following TOP 20 select number of nominees, whose "innovation" deserves special recognition." -0- Nominee Nominated By Innovation Accident Compensation Corp. FINEOS Claims Center Solution Solution Center AIG SAP Implementation Transaction Allianz Life TrinTech Reconciliation Allied North America Online Collaboration Insurance Brokerage Allied North America Implementation Sales Management AON Accenture/Salesforce.com Implementation Bennion Taylor AMS Services Agency Management System Cincinnati Insurance Co. SAP Claims System Solution Policy Darwin Professional Processing/Underwriting Underwriters OneShield Platform Customer Experience Esurance Tealeaf Technology Geico AT&T Contact Center Solution Harleysville Predictive Insurance Harleysville Insurance Analytics/Underwriting The Hartford Bottomline Technologies Legal E-Billing Solution Infinity P&C Predictive Insurance Co. SPSS Analytics/Claims MarineBid Exchange Nationwide Online Auction/Claims Distribution Mass Mutual Mgt./Compensation Financial Group SAP Solution Metropolitan P&C Integrated Litigation Insurance Co. CSC System Texas Health & Life Norvax Online (Agent) Texas Health & Life Quote/Sales Automation Online Direct to Pinnacle Life Pinnacle Life Consumer Sales Spreadsheet-Based Rating Southern Risk LLC Pagos System Transamerica Mortality Management Reinsurance MajescoMastek System

The 2008 INNovators program was designed as an educational vehicle and, as such, Insurance Networking News will publish the winners' stories as a special supplement that mails with its October issue.

About Insurance Networking News and SourceMedia, Inc.

Insurance Networking News is a trusted source for information on how technology is being implemented to support insurers' strategic business objectives, providing insightful analysis of - and case studies on - how technology is being innovatively utilized to automate critical processes. Every issue of Insurance Networking News is written to help senior insurance executives bypass the hype and get to the heart of resolving industry challenges. Readers rely on carefully researched content that is both engaging and analytical.

SourceMedia, an Investcorp company, is the pre-eminent provider of timely and essential market information - including industry news, analysis, research and insights - for members of the financial services community, as well as related fields such as accounting and technology. Through its comprehensive library of professional publications, suite of industry-standard data applications, and in-depth seminars and conferences, SourceMedia (www.sourcemedia.com) offers its clients and subscribers a valuable and sophisticated range of products and services.

Insurance Networking News
A SourceMedia Company
Holli Gronset, 312-983-6178
Associate Publisher
holli.gronset@sourcemedia.com