Press Releases
January 23, 2008
Ward Group® Offers New Finance Benchmarking Program for Insurance Companies
Ward Group, a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry and the leading provider of industry benchmarking and best practices services, kicks off a new benchmarking program for finance and related operations. Ward Group has applied its trusted apples-to-apples benchmarking methodology to analyze expenses and staffing levels for components of the finance function including operational analysis of investments, billing and collections, and internal and external audit. The finance benchmarking program is a one time study that will be conducted in 2008. Finance and related areas can be affected by premium size and ownership structure (public versus mutual) especially in the internal and external audit functions. This program will provide meaningful company comparisons segmenting results by operating profile to adjust for these factors.
"The challenges of the current market have hit the finance function at insurance companies particularly hard. Companies are forced to revisit areas such as the budgeting process, compliance functions, finance expense structure and the performance of their investment portfolios. Our new finance benchmarking program provides an operational snapshot that helps CFOs and other financial executives evaluate these important areas," said Jeff Rieder, President of Ward Group.
Ward Group provides comprehensive peer group intelligence for many areas including total company operations, and underwriting and servicing, claims, technology and finance operations. Ward benchmarks help decision-makers manage operating costs, improve operations and define strategy. Ward Group consulting capabilities help insurance companies to maximize the potential of opportunities identified in the benchmarking process and to define a clear course of action for improving profitability and efficiency.
Insurance companies interested in participating in the 2008 benchmarking program for finance and related departments can call 513-791-0303 or visit www.wardinc.com for more information.
July 16, 2007
Ward Group® Recognizes 2007 Ward's 50 Top Performing Insurance Companies
The list of Ward's 50 top performing insurance companies was released by Ward Group, an operational consulting firm and leading provider of benchmarking and best practices services to the insurance industry.
Annually, Ward Group analyzes the financial performance of over 2,700 property-casualty insurance companies and over 900 life-health insurance companies domiciled in the United States and identifies the top performers in each segment. This group is called the Ward's 50 for the year. Each Ward's 50 company has passed all safety and consistency screens and achieved superior performance over the five years analyzed.
"Changes in the insurance industry relating to market conditions, technology and customer demands have required companies to transform certain aspects of their operations. Most companies understand the importance of remaining competitive and efficient in this changing environment," explains Jeff Rieder, President of Ward Group. "The best companies identify what is important to the organization and customers and focus on meeting these needs." The Ward's 50 property-casualty insurance companies produced a 17.8% return on average equity from 2002 to 2006 compared to 12.3% for the property-casualty industry overall. The Ward's 50 life-health insurance companies produced a 16.1% return on average equity from 2002 to 2006 compared to 12.6% for the life-health industry overall.
The Ward's 50 benchmarks are available in Ward's Results®, an insurance industry financial reference series. To learn more about the Ward's 50 and Ward Group operational benchmarking and consulting services, visit www.wardinc.com.
2007 Ward's 50 Life-Health Top Performers
2007 Ward's 50 Property-Casualty Top Performers
February 26, 2007
Study of Employee Benefits at Insurance Companies Conducted by Ward Group®
Ward Group, the leading provider of benchmarking and best practices consulting services, is conducting an in-depth study of employee benefits at insurance companies. The study will provide extensive information about the design of employee benefit plans, including medical, dental and vision plans, life insurance, disability coverage, long term and short term care, and incentive plans. Each participant will receive a summary of the survey results. Responses must be returned no later than March 26, 2007.
Insurance companies interested in participating in the Employee Benefits study should contact Vince Albers at valbers@wardinc.com or call (513) 791-0303. Ward Group is committed to delivering information to support critical decisions about operational performance.
For more information about Ward Group consulting services, call 513-791-0303 or visit our new website at www.wardinc.com.
Empowering Companies through Knowledge®
January 17, 2007
Ward Group® Kicks Off New Benchmarking Program for Underwriting and Servicing
Ward Group, a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry and the leading provider of industry benchmarking and best practices services, kicks off a new benchmarking program for Underwriting and Servicing. Ward Group has applied its trusted apples-to-apples benchmarking methodology to analyze expenses and staffing levels for components of the underwriting, processing, loss control, agency management and customer service activities.
"Our program for Underwriting and Servicing is a natural fit to our benchmarking suite of services and reinforces our commitment to delivering information to support critical decisions about operational performance," said Jeff Rieder, President of Ward Group.
Ward Group provides comprehensive peer group intelligence for Total Company operations, and Underwriting and Servicing, Claims, and IT operations. WARD® benchmarks help decision-makers manage operating costs, improve operations and define strategy. In addition to our benchmarking services, Ward Group consulting capabilities help insurance companies to maximize the potential of opportunities identified in the benchmarking process and to define a clear course of action for improving profitability and efficiency. Ward Group has consulted in many areas of company operations, including process re-engineering, productivity improvement, cost reduction, distribution system analysis, cost allocation and agency management.
For more information about Ward Group consulting services, call 513-791-0303 or visit our new website at www.wardinc.com.
