Ace, WAHVE, FirstBest Win Insurance Entrepreneur Awards

When it comes to innovation in insurance, Ace Private Risk Services, Work at Home Vintage Employees (WAHVE) and FirstBest Systems top the list, according to a competition that identified new underwriting, distribution or technology solutions.

Participants in the Entrepreneurial Insurance Awards competition included admitted companies, excess and surplus lines companies, retail agents, brokers, service providers, technology firms, software developers, as well as individuals. Three categories evaluated were underwriting, distribution and technology.

MarketScout, in concert with Microsoft and The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, selected the 2010 Entrepreneurial Insurance Awards winners from among 11 finalists:

• Underwriting: Ace Private Risk Services, Water Damage Analysis and Prevention, for a new product to help mitigate water penetration and water claims in high net worth properties.
• Distribution: WAHVE, Work at Home Vintage Employees, for its network that provides agencies and carriers with the opportunity to hire skilled insurance retirees who want to supplement their retirement income by working part-time from home.
• Technology: FirstBest Systems, for its APPReader application that converts existing ACORD applications into XML compatible formats, enabling quoting, binding and issuing policies in a single transmittal.

The winners were chosen from 11 finalists. Underwriting finalists were ACE Private Risk Services; Ironshore for Healthcare Liability; and Lexington Insurance Co. for LexPlorations. Distribution finalists were Marsh USA for MarketConnect v2; Wells Fargo Insurance Services for CyberSure; and WAHVE. Technology finalists were Allied World for i-bind; Combined Group/Brown & Brown for Quote Express; FirstBest Systems; and Risk Metrics Corp. for Real Time Analytic and Geospatial Policy Mapping.

Judges ranked them based on applicability to the insurance industry; impact on the broader marketplace; financial implications; unique features and other relevant factors.

Richard Kerr, CEO of MarketScout, chaired the judges from the Insurance Innovation Alliance, which he founded. “Any one of the finalists would have been a good selection,” Kerr said.

Kerr wants the industry to become more creative. “Clearly, the old line insurance world is changing and those companies focusing on innovation will gain market share,” he says.

Among the invited members of the Alliance are Microsoft, National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, Allied World, Ironshore and Lloyd’s of London.