FARMINGTON, CT--(Marketwire - Feb 28, 2013) - [ The Innovation Group plc (Innovation Group) ] today announced the company and its flagship solution, Innovation Insurer, were named a winner of a 2013 IBM Beacon Award for Best Insurance Industry Solution. This honor is awarded each year to a select number of IBM Business Partners who have delivered not only innovative solutions, but have set the standards for business excellence, ingenuity, and creation of an exceptional client experience.

"We are honored to be recognized by IBM with the Beacon Award for Best Insurance Industry Solution," said Andy Roberts, Group CEO of Innovation Group. "With so much uncertainty in the insurance industry, it is important that companies are able to manage increasingly complex end-to-end insurance processes with confidence. Innovation Insurer is designed to do just that, simplifying a vast ecosystem of agents, partners, suppliers, technical experts and policyholders in one flexible platform. What's more, it delivers demonstrable improvements right across the insurance value chain, by driving down costs, improving speed to market and, most importantly, improving customer service and retention."

The Beacon Awards are a vital element of IBM's Business Partner recognition program. Announced at the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, and selected by leading industry influencers and IBM executives from among hundreds of nominations, the Beacon Awards recognize IBM Business Partners who have demonstrated business excellence in delivering IBM-based solutions resulting in client transformation and business growth. This year's awards recognized Business Partner achievements across 30 award categories.

"The IBM Beacon Awards recognize IBM Business Partners who have delivered exceptional innovation by creating a solution proven to drive business value by transforming the way their clients do business," said Mark Hennessy, general manager, IBM Global Business Partners. "We congratulate Innovation Group on winning the Beacon Award for Best Insurance Industry Solution and demonstrating its ability to provide client value by incorporating leading technology and business best practices for the entire insurance value chain into Innovation Insurer." 

Innovation Group's commitment to building and maintaining a solution portfolio that delivers distinctive capabilities on a cohesive, comprehensive, and configurable platform to enable insurers to unleash new ideas, break legacy paradigms and embrace change is the foundation of Innovation Insurer. Innovation Group's award-winning Insurer Policy, Insurer Claims and Insurer Analytics components offers insurers an integrated suite of software with modules that can be implemented individually or as part of a broader migration strategy.

For more information about the IBM Beacon Awards, including information about winners and finalists, please visit
[ https://www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/wps/servlet/ContentHandler/pw_com_prb_beacon ] 

To learn more about IBM PartnerWorld, a comprehensive program that offers marketing and sales resources, training, certification and technical support to help create new revenue and market opportunities for IBM Business Partners, visit [ http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld ]. To find an IBM Business Partner with a particular set of skills, a technology reseller or a consultant with industry expertise, visit the Business Partner Locator at: [ https://www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/wps/bplocator/search.jsp ]

About The Innovation Group plc:
The Innovation Group plc (LSE: TIG.L) is a global provider of business process outsourcing and software solutions to the insurance, fleet, automotive and property industries. Innovation Group provides contact centers, 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, Hertz, 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 ]

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