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BlueWave Technology Congratulates Farmers Alliance's Andy Edwardson
Recently Named Elite 8 by Insurance & Technology
| Source: BlueWave Technology
HONOLULU, HI--(Marketwire - November 10, 2009) - BlueWave Technology is pleased to congratulate Andy
Edwardson, vice president of IT for Farmers
Alliance Mutual Insurance, for his recognition as one of the 2009 Elite
8 Award honorees as named by Insurance & Technology. The award
was presented at the 11th Annual Insurance &
Technology Executive Summit in Phoenix, Arizona.
"I am very pleased to congratulate Andy on his selection as one of the 2009
Elite 8," said Keith Birkhead, CPCU, president and CEO of Farmers Alliance
Companies. "Since becoming head of IT, Andy has developed and led a team of
professionals that are successfully integrating information technology
initiatives and investments with our corporate business objectives. His
ability to blend his technical and business knowledge is helping provide
Farmers Alliance the tools necessary to remain a leader in serving rural
America."
Insurance & Technology's Elite 8 is an annual award recognizing senior
insurance carrier IT executives who have used technology strategically to
successfully support overall company business objectives. Recipients are a
cross section of distinguished individuals from the property/casualty, life
and health, and reinsurance insurance sectors. The award is given annually
during Insurance & Technology's Executive Summit.
"While many financial institutions -- including some that are much bigger
than Farmers Alliance -- are still weighing the pros and cons of legacy
systems replacement, and still debating the prudence of moving to a
service-oriented architecture, Andy Edwardson has transformed the company
in a big way," said Kathy Burger, editorial director, Insurance &
Technology. "The I&T editorial team is very pleased to include him among
this year's Elite 8 honorees."
During his tenure at Farmers Alliance, Edwardson has held various positions
of increasing responsibility, including developer, database administrator,
and IT manager, before becoming VP of IT in 2006. He has more than 15
years experience in the property/casualty insurance industry, and his work
on Farmers Alliance's current technology initiative, iFAMI, piqued industry
analysts' interest and helped the company win Celent's 2009 Model Carrier
of the Year Award. Edwardson holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems
from Emporia State University and is currently seeking his CPCU
designation.
"Andy has been a visionary leader from vendor selection to implementation,"
said Riki Fujitani, president of BlueWave Technology. "His vision for iFAMI
as an innovative technology initiative was clear, but at the same time he
is not afraid to reevaluate the process and change course to meet strategic
objectives for Farmers Alliance. It has been our pleasure to work with
him."
Farmers Alliance won the 2009 Celent Model Carrier of the Year Award
for recent technology initiatives, including an overhaul of their core
claims system during which several legacy systems were replaced with the
browser-based PipelineClaims from BlueWave
Technology.
About BlueWave Technology
BlueWave Technology,
developer of PipelineClaims, a state-of-the-art, browser-based, technology
solution that combines core claims administration capabilities with
business process management (BPM) and configurable business rules, offers
rich functionality to help property/casualty insurance companies,
third-party administrators (TPAs), and self-insured organizations improve
customer service, enhance profitability, drive down claim costs and
increase customer retention rates through modern technology with the lowest
total cost of ownership (TCO) available in the insurance industry today.
For more information about BlueWave Technology or PipelineClaims, please
contact Renata Bell at 866.927.9981 or rbell@bluewavetechnology.com.