FirstBest Customer XL Takes a Top Honor in Novarica Impact Award Transformation Achieved with Global Underwriting Platform

BEDFORD, Mass., Sept. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstBest® Systems, Inc., provider of insurance software solutions for American and international property and casualty insurance carriers, today congratulates FirstBest customer XL Group which was named the winner of the Novarica Research Council Impact Award in the category of Transformation for their Global Underwriting Platform.

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The Novarica Research Council Impact Awards are awarded annually based on a review of case studies submitted by insurers. The winners were chosen from a pool of 11 nominees as selected by a nominating committee of insurance CIO's.   Members of the 2013 nominating committee included executives from Ameritas, Amica, Glatfelter, Liberty Mutual, National Life Group, New York Life Investments Mgt, Pioneer State Mutual, Sammons Group, The Hartford, and Wilton Re.

"Over 50 insurer CIO members of our council voted to choose the winners, making the Novarica Research Council Impact Awards the largest peer jury-awarded recognition in the industry," said Novarica managing director Matthew Josefowicz.

Prior to the implementation of XL Group's Global Underwriting Platform, underwriting processes were commonly paper-based, risk data was not stored, and workflows were unstructured. With the FirstBest solution at its core, underwriters experience improved collaboration, access to data and the ability to integrate with policy processing systems to evaluate and price a risk, as well as create a quote proposal and policy documentation.  The quantitative payoff is an expected 40% improvement in underwriter productivity, measured in annual premium per underwriter.

"I am so proud of our team and the overall transformation underway at XL.  We are achieving excellent results with every step of our transformation roadmap," said Seraina Maag, XL's Chief Executive, Property & Casualty, North America  "The Global Underwriting Platform (GUP) is one of the most visionary achievements among our strategic transformation roadmap.  GUP, which includes the FirstBest Underwriting Management System, provides users across 95% of the enterprise a single underwriting desktop, with seamless access to third-party systems for pricing, risk management, legacy integration, and reporting. It will enable XL's business units to respond rapidly to new market opportunities and conditions."

"Every day we help our customers to transform their businesses, turning underwriting and the front office into a profitable growth engine for their companies," said John Belizaire, FirstBest Founder and CEO.  "It was my privilege to be in attendance when XL received the transformation award from Novarica.  In addition to the tangible results that XL is achieving, this award signals that senior leaders from across insurance have acknowledged the transformational impact of XL GUP, and the significance of that is humbling."

About FirstBest 
FirstBest® Systems is the leading provider of insurance software solutions that help insurance companies improve underwriting profitability, scale their business and achieve high service levels with agents, across the enterprise. The patented and proven FirstBest Front Office Suite has processed more than $11 billion in quotes and includes modular underwriting workstation, mobile underwriting, agent portal, agency upload and system configuration applications. Leading American and international carriers such as XL Group plc, OneBeacon Insurance Group, IWIF, ICW Group Insurance Companies, and others rely on FirstBest to improve underwriting efficiencies and quality, institutionalize knowledge and best practices, and empower everyone in the process to rapidly quote, collaborate, issue, and bind business on a single real-time platform from anywhere.  To learn more, call +1-781-863-6000.

SOURCE FirstBest Systems, Inc.