EVANSTON, Ill./POMPANO BEACH, Fla., April 2, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Blue Frog Solutions, a leading e-business solutions provider, and Beacon Research, Inc., the insurance industry's leading source of fixed annuity data and related software tools, today announced that they have formed a strategic alliance.
Under the agreement, Blue Frog and Beacon will work together on XML data exchange solutions that will provide a rapid, simple process for carrier transmission of accurate annuity product information to their distributors through Beacon's AnnuityNexus.com platform. Blue Frog's ADMServer System includes a PPfA (Product Profile for Annuities) Administrator module that allows carriers to manage their products internally and transmit information about individual product features to Beacon through The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation's (DTCC) Insurance Services Repository for annuity and life product information. Beacon will integrate these profiles utilizing the Blue Frog system and enhance them for redistribution to carriers' bank, broker-dealer and insurance distributors.
The PPfA is part of the XMLife data interchange standards being developed by the Association for Cooperative Research and Development (ACORD). It was developed in cooperation with the National Association of Variable Annuities (NAVA).
As part of the agreement, Beacon named the Blue Frog ADMServer System as its preferred software solution for carrier migration to the PPfA standard. The agreement includes Beacon's endorsement and commitment to support this standard and the DTCC Insurance Services Repository. The Repository is subject to regulatory approval, which is currently pending.
To facilitate and speed the carrier's ability to provide accurate, timely product information through the AnnuityNexus.com platform, Beacon will accept data transmitted in the PPfA XML standard to update its fixed annuity database, the most extensive and reliable of its kind.
"Beacon Research is known in the insurance industry as the premier provider of high-quality fixed annuity information," said Brad Levine, CEO of Blue Frog Solutions. "We are delighted to be working with Beacon to help carriers assure that their distributors receive the most accurate and complete information about their products."
"Product and rate inaccuracies on distributor websites are a frequent problem for everyone in the annuity distribution process," said Jeremy Alexander, CEO of Beacon Research. "We're excited to team up with Blue Frog to address this problem with their cutting edge technology tools for creation and dissemination of annuity product information in the PPfA XML standard."
About Blue Frog Solutions
Blue Frog Solutions is a leading provider of ACORD middleware software solutions for data transfer, messaging, and transaction processing between life insurance carriers/underwriters and distributors/agents. The ADMServer Suite supports the entire XMLife model. Blue Frog is headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida and was selected as a 2002 "Tech Company of the Year" by the South Florida Business Journal. For additional information about Blue Frog Solutions, visit its web site at www.bluefrogsolutions.com.
About Beacon Research
Founded in 1997, Beacon Research is an independent research organization headquartered in Evanston, IL. It compiles and publishes comprehensive, accurate market intelligence on fixed annuity products for subscribers to its website - www.annuitynexus.com. Carriers access the AnnuityNexus website to support product development, rate setting and competition research. Distributors use it for product analysis and selection. The new AnnuityNexus Sales Support System is an important resource for sales desk staff throughout the distribution chain. Beacon's upcoming premium study will be the first to track fixed annuity sales at the product level, with analysis by Milliman USA. Beacon also licenses information and software tools to other platforms, including websites for sales representatives, AnnuityNet's annuity automation platform, and LifeLink Corporation's insurance sales platform. Beacon's fixed annuity benchmark series -- the industry's first - is available through Ibbotson Associates. Directly and through strategic alliances, Beacon information can be accessed by hundreds of financial institutions and distributors.
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