AXA Equitable Named DALBAR 2011 Annuity Service Award Winner

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AXA Equitable's Equivest Variable Annuity Service Center has been selected as a DALBAR 2011 Annuity Service Award winner. The company is among just five winners in this category.

"The DALBAR Annuity Service Award symbolizes the achievement of the highest tier of service within the annuity industry, and is awarded only to those firms that exceed industry norms in key service areas," said Kathleen Whalen, managing director at DALBAR. "Recipients illustrate their excellence in service to contract holders and can consider themselves service leaders within the annuity industry."

For over two decades, DALBAR has conducted rigorous testing of service delivery and, each year, identifies those annuity firms that were found to be above their peers in service to clients after a full year of rigorous testing.

The award is based on systematic testing of customer service throughout the year. DALBAR conducts thousands of tests to measure how financial companies respond to the need for service from their customers. Companies that exceed a variety of industry benchmarks after one year of testing earn the DALBAR Annuity Service Award.

"The DALBAR Service Award is a highly recognized award in our industry symbolizing professionalism, quality, and accuracy in customer service," said Sue Lavallee, senior vice president, Retirement Savings, AXA Equitable. "Achieving this award is a team effort, and it is extremely gratifying for all involved who dedicate themselves to being attentive, available and reliable for customers every day."

"This honor demonstrates we're going in the right direction to reach the level of customer centricity we strive for, and we are all very proud to be recognized for our efforts," Lavallee said.

About DALBAR

DALBAR Inc., the nation's leading financial services market research and consulting firm, is committed to raising the standards of excellence in the financial services industry. With offices in both the US and Canada, DALBAR develops standards for, and provides research, ratings, and rankings of intangible factors to the mutual fund, broker/dealer, life insurance, property and casualty, and managed account industries. Measurements include investor behavior, customer satisfaction, service quality, communications, Internet services, and financial professional ratings.

About AXA Equitable

In business since 1859, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (NY, NY) is a leading financial protection company and one of the nation's premier providers of life insurance, annuity, and financial products and services. The company's products and services are distributed to individuals and business owners through its retail distribution channel, AXA Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) and to the financial services market through its wholesale distribution channel, AXA Distributors, LLC.

Find AXA Equitable on Facebook and Twitter or visit the company's multi-media newsroom The Source @ AXA Equitable.

AXA Equitable, a subsidiary of AXA Financial Inc., is part of the global AXA Group, a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management. "AXA Group" refers to AXA, a French holding company for an international group of insurance and financial services companies together with its direct and indirect consolidated subsidiaries. For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.

SOURCE AXA Equitable