ROLLING MEADOWS, IL--(Marketwire - Feb 8, 2012) - [ The Innovation Group plc (Innovation Group), ] a global provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) and software solutions to the insurance, fleet, automotive and property industries, today announced the company has been recognized in Gartner's 2011 Insurance BPO: Growing Demand and Maturing Provider Market report published by Kimberly Harris-Ferrante on December 19, 2011.

The report notes that business process outsourcing (BPO) can serve multiple purposes for an insurer, including overcoming legacy limitations, providing economies of scale and filling high-skilled labor gaps. Selecting the right tasks to outsource, for the right reasons with the right provider, is imperative in finding the needed business results.

Furthermore, drivers to adopt BPO continue to be more tactical (such as staffing limitations and quick turnaround for responding to a new regulation) than strategic (for example, a focus on reallocation of staffing to value-added activities, or to drive competitive advantage such as focusing on claims transformation or product innovation). However, mature organizations with long histories of using BPO providers are crafting strategies to gain more value from the use of BPO services such as quasi-virtual operating models. The value of BPO is slowly shifting from tactical to strategic, and Gartner expects that this will continue during the next two years.

Gartner further notes that many BPO providers are also starting to leverage their platforms to enter new markets, such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for core processing. Those providers already offering their platforms as software are better positioned at making this transition than pure play BPO companies.

"We are very pleased to be highlighted in the Gartner Insurance BPO report," said Andy Roberts, Group CEO, Innovation Group. "Our company's long history and expertise in BPO, along with our software, Innovation Insurer, which is being implemented in our BPO operations, demonstrates the trend noted by Gartner, and highlights our strategic value and ability to help customers transition to alternative models."

Uniquely, Innovation Insurer, Innovation Group's best-of-breed suite for property and casualty (P&C) insurance, can be delivered via on-premise, ASP, BPO or SaaS, and integrated with Innovation Group's extensive repair network for auto and property, providing a powerful solution in the drive for business transformation. Innovation Group is implementing Innovation Insurer in their BPO operations and is live in France and Spain in over 100 insurers, with plans underway for other regions.

About The Innovation Group plc:
The Innovation Group plc (LSE: TIG.L) is a global provider of business process outsourcing and technology solutions to the insurance, fleet and automotive industries. Innovation Group provides contact centres, repair networks, process management, supply chain and technology operations and decision support analytics to support accident management, repair and estimation and claims management services. Innovation Group has over 800 global clients including AXA Insurance, RSA, Encompass, Esurance, Hertz, CNA, Main Street America Group, American Modern Insurance Group, LeasePlan, The Ford Motor Company, Aviva, Toyota and Zurich. The Group processes more than 4 million claims per year with 20 per cent direct claims cost saving achieved. Innovation Group's 2,300 people are located in the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain and United States. [ www.innovation-group.com ]