EVANSTON, Ill., Jan. 13, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Beacon Research announced today that it has been selected to provide a customized front-end application for BISYS' producer Web site. The application will enable BISYS-affiliated agents and brokers to easily and quickly select the most appropriate fixed annuities for their clients.
Under terms of the agreement, Beacon also will supply and maintain information on all fixed annuity products marketed by BISYS. The Beacon Research AnnuityNexus database features carrier-approved, institutional quality information unique in its accuracy, completeness and timeliness.
"This enhancement to our Web site is part of our ongoing initiative to provide producers with the best insurance products and support in the industry," said Dale Humphrey, marketing business leader at BISYS Insurance Services. "Beacon Research is the insurance industry's leading source of fixed annuity data. Its Web-based software tools are powerful and easy to use. We look forward to simplifying the fixed annuity selection process for our producers and dramatically reducing that number of submitted applications that are not in good order."
Humphrey also expects a bottom-line impact. Sales should increase as producers primarily focused on life insurance take advantage of the new fixed annuity front-end, while data maintenance costs decline.
"As the industry's largest independent distributor of life insurance products, BISYS Insurance Services is committed to supporting agents and brokers with the distribution resources they need to be successful," said Jeremy Alexander, president of Beacon Research. "We are very proud to be part of fulfilling this commitment."
About BISYS Life Insurance Services
BISYS is the nation's largest independent distributor of life insurance, linking a national network of approximately 100,000 financial services professionals with the products manufactured by approximately 200 highly rated insurance companies. BISYS supports the distribution of traditional and variable life, long-term care, disability, and annuity products with the industry's premier sales and back-office support services, including agent licensing, contracting, and continuing education solutions; sales support; access to an unrivaled product portfolio; advanced case design; application processing; medical underwriting support; commission reconciliation; and policy owner services. BISYS' technology-based insurance distribution solution, which is equally as efficient for large institutional clients and individual independent agents, also includes the insurance brokerage industry's most advanced Internet-based capabilities and the preeminent administration system that supports all aspects of processing with multiple insurance companies. During its fiscal year 2003 (ended June 30th), BISYS brokered the sale of life-related insurance with annual policy premiums of approximately $400 million, and annuities representing approximately $1.8 billion in premiums.
About BISYS
The BISYS Group, Inc. (NYSE:BSG), headquartered in New York City, provides business process outsourcing solutions that enable investment firms, insurance companies, and banks to capitalize on convergence by entering new segments of the financial services industry. BISYS currently supports more than 22,000 domestic and international financial institutions and corporate clients through three business units. Its Investment Services group provides administration and distribution services for approximately 370 clients, representing approximately 2,100 mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, and other alternative investment products with approximately $700 billion in assets under administration. BISYS' largest group also provides retirement services to more than 17,000 companies in partnership with 40 of the nation's leading banks and investment management companies, and offers analytical research and competitive intelligence through its Financial Research Corporation (FRC) subsidiary. Through its Insurance and Education Services group, BISYS is the nation's largest independent distributor of life insurance and the premier provider of the support services required to sell traditional and variable life, long-term care, disability, and annuity products. BISYS is also the nation's second largest independent wholesale broker of commercial property/casualty insurance. This group complements its insurance distribution services with a comprehensive compliance management solution that supports insurance and investment firms and professionals with more than 215 certification and continuing education training courses, and a sophisticated suite of products and services that automates the entire licensing process. BISYS' Information Services group supports approximately 1,450 banks, insurance companies, and corporations with industry-leading information processing and imaging solutions, turnkey asset retention solutions, and specialized corporate banking solutions. Additional information is available at www.bisys.com.
About Beacon Research
Beacon Research is an independent research organization and application service provider founded in 1997. It compiles market intelligence on fixed annuity products for subscribers to its Web-based systems at www.annuitynexus.com. Carriers access these systems to support product development, rate setting and competition research. Distributors use them for product analysis and selection. The new AnnuityNexus Sales Support System is an important resource for retention teams and sales desk staff throughout the distribution chain. Beacon's new Fixed Annuity Premium Study is the first to track these sales at the product level, with analysis by Milliman USA. Beacon also licenses information and software tools to other platforms, including Web sites for sales representatives, AnnuityNet's annuity automation platform, and LifeLink Corporation's insurance sales platform. The Beacon Fixed Annuity Index: Average Benchmark Seriessm -- the industry's first historical benchmarks of fixed annuity yields and returns -- is available through Ibbotson Associates. Directly and through strategic alliances, Beacon information can be accessed by hundreds of financial institutions and distributors.