Insurance Networking News

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A RIGOROUS APPROACH

IT’S NOT EASY DETERMINING THE BEST OF THE BEST. AFTER ALL, IT’S A MATTER OF OPINION, RIGHT? OPINION CERTAINLY ENTERED INTO THE PROCESS IN ASCERTAINING THE 2010 VANGUARDS IN INSURANCE PRACTICES AWARDS. HOWEVER, TO OFFER THE INDUSTRY THE MOST VALUABLE, OBJECTIVE LOOK AT THE OVERALL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS MARKET, INSURERS, INN EDITORS, AND INSURANCE INDUSTRY EXPERTS WERE CALLED UPON TO CONTRIBUTE TO A GLUT OF INTELLIGENCE. HERE’S A LOOK AT HOW THAT INTELLIGENCE WAS COLLECTED.

By Pat Speer and Craig Weber

For Phase I of our program, a true evaluation of technology vendors is best left with those with the most insight, i.e., those using the technology—insurers themselves. So we based the Vanguards in Insurance Program on data gleaned purely from the results of a survey of insurance carriers, brokers, agents and staff.

As with prior years’ surveys, our search was conducted using an online survey tool. Links to an online nomination form were publicized on the Insurance Networking News Web site, and made available to Insurance Networking News’ readers in several email blasts.

We asked insurance professionals to choose their preferred
provider, and offered the survey respondent a clear choice—
either from a number of popular provider names or by using
a free-form field so they could name their own, in four basic
yet critical areas—vertical and horizontal solutions, platform
technologies and IT services. To allow us to look at additional
findings beyond the raw vote tallies, respondents were also
queried on demographics, giving us insight as to their role and
their company. We also added an important question to the VIP
survey that would provide the “why” behind the ranking: “What
influenced your choice of preferred vendor.”
Between October and December, 2010, a total of 2,092
votes were cast in this ranking by 551 unique respondents.
Representing twice the number of votes/respondents from last
year, this data is impressive, especially considering that the
votes by respondents who appeared to be duplicates, or who
could be identified as non-carrier staff, were omitted from the
results.

These responses were reviewed, normalized and cleansed by Celent staff. For example, vendor company names were standardized to make it possible to generate accurate vote counts. Non-specific responses such as “couldn’t really say” were categorized as “n/a.” In addition, all responses that suggested an alternative approach to purchasing and installing technology, such as “custom solutions” and “internal builds,” were recoded under a single category.

Some respondents named multiple favorite vendors in a single category, despite instructions to the contrary. To be fair to all the vendors named, these additional vendor votes were counted. Some respondents also named a favorite in one category, while leaving others blank. This makes sense because the respondents’ positions and their areas of experience varied.

VIP PHASE II

Thanks to the tremendous popularity of Phase II of the 2009 INN Vanguards in Insurance Practices Program—the INN VIP Best Practice Award that recognizes best practices with the use of standards—we took the same approach in 2010. We broadened the nomination process to include all vendors that had earned a spot on our VIP Phase I ranking. The results this year over last were once again quite impressive, as INN received a three-fold increase in best practice nominations. And as with last year, many who submitted best practice case studies chose to focus on ACORD XML standards, proving that the insurance industry is in step to conforming to a unified, cohesive technical world.

The impressive number of Phase II nominees called for a number of experts to help us analyze their merits based on agreed-upon metrics. First, we applied the unique experiences and perspectives of Insurance Networking News editors as well as expert input from seasoned Celent analysts, including senior analyst, Jeff Goldberg. And because qualifying the “best of the best” clearly required a subjective review with distinctive metrics, INN further enlisted the help of its prestigious, seasoned editorial advisory board members, who used the same agreed-upon metrics. The INN advisory board members who participated in the VIP Best Practice Award review include Eric Bulis (SVP and CIO, SBLI USA Mutual Life), Ursuline Foley (SVP and CIO, XLRe at XL Capital), Dennis Mehmen (CIO, VP, Business Information Services, Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co.), Mike Murray (VP, Finance, OneBeacon Insurance Co.), Michael Romano (SVP, Corporate Compliance, Highmark Inc.), Anthony Sisti (Information Systems Director, Travelers Insurance) and Jan Tomlinson (past EVP and International Field Operations Manager, The Chubb Corp.).

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Celent and INN’s advisory board members for their valuable expertise, time and dedicated support of our efforts. And we congratulate the 2010 VIP winners in each category (see analysis), who are clearly helping move technology, associated standards and the industry at large in a positive direction.

Yes, this rigorous approach involved opinion—yours, your peers, and seasoned industry experts, which combined should provide you with a trusted and reliable source for technology solution provider information, and a great advantage as you formulate your technology spend plan for 2010 and beyond. n